1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,000 There's a tendency when you're reading the Bible to put 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,760 yourself in the role of the hero. 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,760 For instance, when you're reading the story of David and 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:17,560 Goliath, you might be tempted to think that you too, if you were 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,640 standing along the line the battle lines as the Israelites 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,400 squared off against the Philistines, that when the giant 7 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,600 of Gath, Goliath came forward and issued a challenge, that you 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,080 too would go I can kill this giant. 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,480 Or when you're reading about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:44,080 and how the Babylonian king had put up a giant statue 90 feet 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,800 tall in the plains, An issue that when the music is played, 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:52,240 that everybody is to bow down and worship this false God. 13 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,920 That when the music played and everybody else bowed, that you 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:02,720 too, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, would go, Nope, not 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,600 today. It's human nature. 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,440 It's what we do when we watch movies. 17 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:13,240 We put ourselves in the role of the main character and we allow 18 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,560 ourselves to go on the journey with them through all of the 19 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:21,680 emotional ups and downs. The problem is, is that when it 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:26,800 comes to Scripture, we're very selective about what role we 21 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,840 want to play because when the person in the story does 22 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:38,120 something that we don't agree with, we distance ourselves. 23 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,640 Quick Devo, when you are reading the Bible, which I think you 24 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:47,960 should do, when you're reading the Bible, you are not the hero. 25 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,240 The hero is a God who loves us, Jesus who saves us, and the Holy 26 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,360 Spirit who guides us and empowers us to live the life 27 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,080 that he has called and created us to live. 28 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,640 The different people that show up in Scripture for all of their 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,919 highlight reels and for all of their mistakes are there to show 30 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:15,040 us that God can use and redeem messed up people just like us. 31 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,280 I want to welcome all of our different locations. 32 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,800 Those of you watching online and inside, we're so glad that we 33 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,520 get to be with you. And I have a quick announcement 34 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,400 I want to make in the spirit of our core values, and I'm just 35 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,640 going to list a couple of them. One of our core values is 36 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:30,720 outward. We will do whatever it takes to 37 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:32,960 reach people who are far from Jesus. 38 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,080 Another one of our core values is relevant. 39 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,880 We will do fresh things in fresh ways to reach people nobody else 40 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:45,680 is reaching and then innovate. We will take big faith filled 41 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,440 risks and never insult God with small thinking and safe living 42 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,800 in the spirit of these core values. 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:58,280 On the weekend of July 10th and 13th, whether that's a Thursday 44 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,440 or Sunday depending on when you attend at your location, we are 45 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,200 going to start a four week sermon series called At the 46 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,280 Movies. And this sermon series is 47 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,720 specifically designed to give you a great reason to invite the 48 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:20,800 people in your life that are close to you but far from God. 49 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:24,920 Because of the nature of the series, pay attention online 50 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:29,960 audience, We will not be broadcasting the sermon online. 51 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,160 So unless you are at one of our physical locations all across 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,080 this region, you will not get to experience this series. 53 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,160 And you're So if you can make it to one of our locations, we 54 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,400 would love to have you. Now, if you're watching from all 55 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,400 over the place and you can't get to one of our physical 56 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,280 locations, we will still have services for you online, but 57 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,720 it'll just be the most watched sermons of the last year, 4 of 58 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,840 them. So if you're like, I didn't like 59 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,160 the sermon the first time you preached it, it'll just be rough 60 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:03,120 for four weeks. OK, now for the next three weeks 61 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:09,160 we're going to be in a sermon series called 3 Lies and a Bunch 62 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:14,400 of Gospel Truth. The Bible calls Satan a liar. 63 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:20,320 In fact, more than that, Jesus says that Satan is the father of 64 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,000 all lies. Let me set the stage. 65 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,160 Jesus, when he was carrying out his earthly ministry, 66 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:35,200 experienced extreme opposition and his primary opposition was 67 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:43,560 from people who claimed to be followers of God but weren't 68 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,560 from people who claimed to be, if I were to put it in modern 69 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,160 day language, Christians but weren't. 70 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,280 Their claim was that they were children of God. 71 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,760 But Jesus had this to say to this group of people. 72 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,240 John chapter 8. Jesus said to them, If God were 73 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:10,600 your father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. 74 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,840 I have not come on my own. God sent me. 75 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,840 Why is my language not clear to you? 76 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:19,880 Why is what I'm saying not make sense to you? 77 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,760 Because you are unable to hear what I say. 78 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,440 Why can't the people hear what Jesus has to say? 79 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:31,520 He tells them because you belong to your Father, the devil, and 80 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,120 you want to carry out your Father's desires. 81 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,360 He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the 82 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,880 truth, for there is no truth in him. 83 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:48,360 When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a 84 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:55,560 liar and the father of lies. Yep, because I tell the truth. 85 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,120 You do not believe me. Can any of you prove me guilty 86 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,160 of sin? If I am telling the truth, why 87 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:12,280 don't you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears 88 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:16,600 what God says. The reason you do not hear is 89 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:27,000 that you do not belong to God. Satan takes no days off trying 90 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,720 to get you to believe a lie. This has been his ambition from 91 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,480 the very beginning. The lies are to get people to 92 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,840 doubt the truth of God, what He's done through. 93 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:44,000 They are for them through the work and sacrifice of Jesus. 94 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,000 He lies to keep us from doing the very things that Jesus 95 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,840 expects of His followers. They're really, really big lies. 96 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,640 You guys know these lies. Lies about whether or not God 97 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:03,120 actually loves you. Lies about whether or not God 98 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:08,400 can forgive you. You 2 have probably sat across 99 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,680 the table from people who believe those lies that because 100 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,480 of what they've done, there's no way that God could ever love 101 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:15,800 them. Because of what they've been 102 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,800 through, there's no way that God actually loves them. 103 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,560 And there's people who are going, yeah, but I mean, you 104 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,240 have to look at the cross because when you look at the 105 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,040 cross, you realize that God loves everybody. 106 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,000 They're going, man, I've sinned too much. 107 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,600 I've made too many mistakes. There's no way that I could be 108 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:34,880 forgiven. But there is no sin so great 109 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,960 that it outpaces the grace of God and the blood of Jesus. 110 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,200 But then there are some subtle lies with big implications. 111 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:49,440 Lies like you're saved, Satan whispers. 112 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,760 Lies like you're a Jesus follower, when in reality we're 113 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,640 just following our own selfish desires. 114 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,240 Satan lies when you're reading something in the Bible and you 115 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:06,440 don't like it and you go, well, this verse is for other people. 116 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:12,480 This verse isn't for me. And so we distance ourselves. 117 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,680 This verse is not for you, it's for somebody else. 118 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:23,720 Let me show you Luke chapter 18. A certain ruler asked him, him 119 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:28,560 as Jesus good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 120 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,400 Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. 121 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:36,720 No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. 122 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,080 This is still Jesus talking. You shall not commit adultery, 123 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,440 you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give 124 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,440 false testimony, honor your father and mother. 125 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,080 All these I have kept since I was a boy, he said. 126 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:55,280 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one 127 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:00,680 thing, sell everything you have and give to the poor and you 128 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:06,160 will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me. 129 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,480 When he heard this, this is the ruler, he became very sad 130 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:17,760 because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said how 131 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,320 hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. 132 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:27,120 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 133 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:33,000 needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of 134 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,560 God. And when you saw the word rich, 135 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,960 did you think of you or did you go? 136 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:46,520 Boy, I'm glad so and so's here. I hope they're listening. 137 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:51,440 It's nice to have a weekend off. Where did you go? 138 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,160 Yeah, this one's actually for me. 139 00:09:55,360 --> 00:10:01,360 I know that today I'm speaking to a wide range of people, but 140 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:07,480 for the most part, with a few exceptions, I'm speaking to a 141 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:14,960 group of rich people locally, globally and historically. 142 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,480 Let's start locally. Locally the average household 143 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,080 income in our region across all of our different locations spans 144 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,000 between 42,000 and $56,000 a year. 145 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:33,360 So if your household earns between 42 and $55,000 a year, 146 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:35,920 you are average and some of your like that's us. 147 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:37,560 We've been average our whole lives. 148 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,440 I've never seen a be on my report card this I just kind of 149 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,280 hang out in sea land. But there are others of you who 150 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:50,920 you are 2X the average household income, 3X4X5X. 151 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:57,320 Some of you are 10X and 20X. You'll be hard pressed to see 152 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:06,800 yourself as not rich if you are a factor larger than the average 153 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:13,480 household income in our region. Some of you are going, but hey, 154 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,800 that's where we are. OK, well, I haven't got 155 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,400 everybody yet, so let's go globally. 156 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:29,880 There's so much to be said here. Presently, the top 1% of income 157 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:39,880 earners in the world manage 47% of the entire global wealth. 158 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:49,400 The bottom 53% of income earners steward a mere 2% of the entire 159 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:53,720 global wealth. And this is where a lot of us 160 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,840 want to point fingers at the professional athletes, the tech 161 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,520 CE OS from Silicon Valley, the Wall Street bankers. 162 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,800 Those are the rich people after all. 163 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:12,280 But to be in the top 1% of global income earners, you don't 164 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,960 have to earn $1,000,000 a year, you don't have to earn $100,000 165 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,120 a year. You don't even have to make 166 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:27,040 $50,000 a year if you are in the top 32 or if you are in the If 167 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:34,840 you make $32,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of income earners. 168 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,120 The chances of me talking to 1 percenters today is really, 169 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,200 really high. When I preached this on 170 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,200 Thursday, the only people that were still smiling at this point 171 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,240 in the message were the high schoolers. 172 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,320 They were like man, mom and dad, you should listen to this one. 173 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,800 We had to go through the social media one, but this sermons for 174 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,160 you. Well, let me get everybody. 175 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:06,000 Historically, we are the richest society ever. 176 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:11,680 How many of us have more than one vehicle for our family? 177 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,600 Recently, we were sitting around the table at my house and one of 178 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:23,000 my sons was talking about the car he was going to get from us 179 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,320 when he turned 16, as if this was just a done deal. 180 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,840 And he goes, when you guys give me that car, I'm going to sell 181 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,040 it and I'm going to get something different. 182 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,440 I mean, it's just. And my wife goes no. 183 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:43,480 And he goes, yeah. I mean, once you give it to me, 184 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,000 it'll be mine. And my wife's like, no. 185 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:52,320 Even when you get to drive it, it still belongs to us. 186 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,080 But the fact that that goes through the minds of my kids. 187 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,960 You've been there. But we're just expecting. 188 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:03,520 All right, I'm 16 now. We need another vehicle. 189 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,480 How many of us are? Driveways are more like parking 190 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:12,640 lots. Many of us, we have houses for 191 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,880 our cars. We just don't call them our car 192 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,160 house. We call it a garage. 193 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,720 And many of us, we can't actually park in our car house 194 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,240 because we got so much junk that doesn't fit in the real house 195 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:33,000 that we put it in the car house and we put the junk under roof 196 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,200 and the stuff that depreciates faster than lightning out to get 197 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:42,360 baked in the sun. And then some of us, we still 198 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,920 have too much stuff. And so we go and we get 199 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:50,120 ourselves one of those storage units to keep our other stuff 200 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:56,360 that we're never going to use. We have stuff. 201 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,400 Why? Because we're rich. 202 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:05,600 Many of you today, you had a hard time getting ready and you 203 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,840 uttered these words. I have nothing to wear and you 204 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,800 walked into a closet. Some of you have a walk in 205 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:20,760 closet and you have to like move stuff aside to hang something 206 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,000 up. It's not it's not that you don't 207 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,960 have anything to wear. It's that you have so many 208 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,360 choices. You don't know what to wear. 209 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,320 It just takes too long to figure out what are we wearing today? 210 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:39,600 Can you imagine talking to somebody from 500 years ago, 211 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:44,360 1000 years ago, about life with us today? 212 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,320 Imagine having somebody from 1000 years ago over to your 213 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:54,200 house to hang out and it starts to get a little hot in the 214 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,600 house. And so you go, well, you know 215 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:58,840 what? It's a little warm in here. 216 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,040 Let me walk over here to this little magic box and turn it 217 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:04,760 down. Like, what are you doing? 218 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,280 I'm making it colder. That box controls the weather. 219 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:15,080 Yeah, we're sorcerers. Or you're to say, hey, let's 220 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:17,880 let's go to this place. It's about 100 miles and like, 221 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,960 Oh my goodness, we got a pack. It's going to be a multi day 222 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:21,840 trip. Like, Oh no, we're going to, 223 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,880 we're going to get there in under 2 hours. 224 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,080 How are you going to do that? We're going to take a car. 225 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,640 You have horses? Not not really. 226 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:30,640 We have horsepower. What's that? 227 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,480 Well, you you take a whole bunch of horses and you shrink them. 228 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:37,560 You feed them nothing but gas and oil. 229 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,520 You get in the car. You like? 230 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,120 You hungry? Yeah, I am a little hungry. 231 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:45,600 And they pull out their bow and arrow. 232 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,320 We got to go hunting. Oh, no, no, no, no. 233 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,880 We just go to this magic place. That's why it's got a big M on 234 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,600 it. You just roll up. 235 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:56,320 I know this is going to sound crazy. 236 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:58,960 You just roll your window down by pressing a button, and they 237 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,520 just magically hand the food out. 238 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,400 You have servants. Well, I didn't really think of 239 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,079 it that way, but yeah, kind of. They're called servers. 240 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:13,720 Can you imagine talking to them about life with us today? 241 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,160 Some of us, we have travel agents because the hassle of our 242 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,280 vacations is just too much for us. 243 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:24,680 So we want somebody else to navigate all the details. 244 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:26,480 And we're trying to explain that to them. 245 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:33,240 And they go, what's vacation? And we go, well, it's where we 246 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:38,080 don't work and still get paid. What? 247 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:45,800 Yeah, we have this thing where we can work and we we can work. 248 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:48,440 We cannot work so many days and they still give us money. 249 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,640 Person from a couple 100 years ago, we didn't have that one. 250 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,360 We had the you don't work today and you die. 251 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:01,760 That's kind of that was those were the worker conditions that 252 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,560 we had. Now imagine for just a second 253 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:11,360 you invited people from all over the world today and people from 254 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:17,680 all throughout history over to your house for a Bible study and 255 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,920 you were to read this passage of Scripture. 256 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:29,280 How obtuse do you have to be to not read that Scripture and 257 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,320 realize you're the rich person in the room? 258 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,000 How bad is it? How good is Satan at his job? 259 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,480 I just told you all that you're rich and none of you look happy 260 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,120 about it. Like I did not like today's 261 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:49,920 message. Why? 262 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,000 What did he say? He said we're rich. 263 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,680 Why? Why don't we look happy about 264 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,000 it? The sad truth today is that the 265 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:05,440 lie that we have been clinging to from Satan is that he keeps 266 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:11,680 telling us you're not rich and in reality you are. 267 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:18,880 Why does this matter? Well, because Jesus says it is 268 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:24,920 easier for a camel, the largest mammal in Jesus time in that 269 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:30,080 region, to go through the eye of a needle, the smallest opening 270 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:37,600 then for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of heaven. 271 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,480 Why is Jesus saying this? Now hear me, hear me, hear me. 272 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,800 Jesus does not have a problem with you being rich. 273 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,440 Turn your neighbor, say Jesus doesn't have a problem with you 274 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:55,040 being rich. OK, some of you guys like, OK, 275 00:19:55,200 --> 00:20:00,680 all right, fine, Jesus has a problem with your riches having 276 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:07,000 you. First Timothy chapter 6 gives us 277 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,320 some insight into this command. Those who are rich, that's us in 278 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:17,120 this present world, not to be arrogant or to put their help in 279 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:21,960 wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God. 280 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,400 Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 281 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:34,280 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be 282 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:39,760 generous and willing to share what happens when you do this. 283 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:44,000 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a 284 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:49,560 firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold 285 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:58,080 of the life that is truly life. When you are rich, you have a 286 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:05,520 tendency to put your hope and your trust in you and your 287 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,960 stuff. You have a tendency to have a 288 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,480 hard time taking hold of everything that Jesus offers 289 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,720 because you have such a firm grip on everything that the 290 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,800 world offers. What's the solution? 291 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:26,320 The Bible tells us to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be 292 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:31,160 generous, and the end result is that we lay up treasure in 293 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:35,680 heaven and then we are able to take hold of the life that is 294 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:40,480 truly life. You can't hold on to your riches 295 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:45,440 and hold on to Jesus. And you would think that since 296 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,200 Jesus says it, rich Christians would do it. 297 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:58,800 However, the sad truth today is that rich people are not 298 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,320 generous. Studies show that the wealthier 299 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,160 you become, the less generous you become. 300 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:13,840 Vanco did a study and they said this Only 5% of churchgoers 301 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,880 tithe. That means that only 5% of 302 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:23,480 people who claim to be Jesus followers are honoring Jesus 303 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,560 with their finances, being generous, laying up for 304 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,600 themselves. Treasure as a firm foundation in 305 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:37,600 the age to come that only 5% of people are truly taking hold of 306 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,280 the life that Jesus says is truly life. 307 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,560 Now remember, Satan is the father of lies. 308 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,880 And so he has convinced us that we are not rich when we really 309 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,680 are. And he has further convinced us 310 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,800 that we are generous and we're not. 311 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,760 Jesus gave a warning in John chapter 10 verse 10. 312 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:05,280 I use this verse a ton. The thief, this is Satan comes 313 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,840 only to steal and kill and destroy. 314 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,200 I that's Jesus have come that they may have life and have it 315 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:17,560 to the full. Satan is trying to steal, kill 316 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,520 and destroy, but Jesus wants you to have life and have it to the 317 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,720 full abundant life. He wants you to be able to take 318 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:32,320 hold of the life that is true life, but you can't hold on to 319 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,640 Jesus and hold on to your stuff. And that feeling that you have 320 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:42,840 in your gut right now is where war is taking place. 321 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,960 There is a part of you that wants to trust God and honor 322 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:50,520 God. And at the same time, Satan is 323 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,280 trying to tell you that there is no way you can honor God, no way 324 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,800 you should honor Jesus. There's no way you can obey God. 325 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,120 There's no way you should obey Jesus. 326 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,720 Jesus in his goodness, all throughout Scripture, even God 327 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,160 does this in the Old Testament, Jesus affirms us in the New 328 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,560 Testament, helps people start their generosity journey, and 329 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,560 they start their generosity journey with something called 330 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:23,280 the tithe. Tithe means 10%, your first 10%. 331 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:25,680 Now let me clear this up because there's a lot of people who say 332 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,440 this all kinds of bad. When it talks about tithing in 333 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,720 Scripture, it is not about tithing your time. 334 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,360 It's not about tithing your talents. 335 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,320 Tithing is about your treasure. It's about your increase. 336 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,400 It was always about giving back to God. 337 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:45,000 What is God's. Christians believe that 338 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,480 everything belongs to God. That's what it says in Psalm. 339 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,040 The Bible also tells us that it is God who gives us the ability 340 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:56,600 to produce wealth, that everything we have is from Him, 341 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:01,600 it all belongs to Him. And what God does as an act of 342 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,720 building our faith, strengthening our trust, 343 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:11,640 honoring Him, we are to give the 1st 10% of our increase back to 344 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,400 His Kingdom for its advancement. So let me kind of walk you 345 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:16,280 through what this would look like. 346 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:17,880 This would be like second grade math. 347 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,480 You guys will all do great. OK, so if you were a high 348 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,880 schooler and you mow yards, I don't have someone mow my yard, 349 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,440 but is what is that 2 yards, 3 yards, 4 yards. 350 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,560 I used to mow like 10 yards for 100 bucks, but whatever, 351 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,200 probably now it's like a front of a yard. 352 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,080 It's pulling 2 weeds. OK, If you made. 353 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:37,920 If you're a high schooler and you make 100 bucks, high 354 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:39,160 schoolers like, hey, leave us alone. 355 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:40,440 We were enjoying the weekend off. 356 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,760 A tithe would be how much smart people $10? 357 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:47,280 Yeah. Let's say you got a summer job 358 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:49,400 as a lifeguard. I don't know how much lifeguards 359 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:50,560 get paid. I would make a horrible. 360 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:54,600 I'm a buoy, that's what I am. And I wouldn't save people. 361 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:55,640 I'll be like, you got bad breath. 362 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,320 There's no mouth to mouth, but I'm going to pray for you. 363 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,840 Breathe, breathe. If you made $1000 being a 364 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,720 lifeguard, A tithe would be $100. 365 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,200 You guys are super smart. Let's say you started doing some 366 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,040 side hustle stuff and you kind of have some skills, talents and 367 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,720 abilities and you're under, you know, you, you had some space in 368 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,560 your life and you're like, you know what, I'm going to start 369 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,320 doing all kinds of little side projects and your side projects 370 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,720 brought you in $10,000. A tide would be $1000. 371 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,720 Let's say you're really starting to take some ground in your 372 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,800 profession and the people around you are realizing that your 373 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:29,840 replacement value is skyrocketing. 374 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,160 And so they give you that first six figure check and you're 375 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,600 like, come on baby, let's go. This feels great. 376 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:40,640 A tithe of $100,000 income would be yeah, let's say you're 377 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:45,280 killing it and you are. You got $1,000,000 let you know 378 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,600 this is, you know, your grandpa, your great grandpa, your 379 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,640 grandpa, they're all farmers. And you said, forget that I 380 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,400 ain't farming, I'm selling, OK. And you got you're going to sell 381 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,480 a piece of land for $1,000,000. A tithe off of that $1,000,000 382 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,000 would be whoa, that's a lot of money. 383 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,640 And let's say you invented something just wicked sweet and 384 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:10,000 everybody wanted it, and you were making $10 million. 385 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,440 A tithe would be 1,000,000 bucks. 386 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,360 It's the same math every single time. 387 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,760 So whether you make a little or you make a lot, every time you 388 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,840 experience an increase, you give back to God, honoring him, 389 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,840 recognizing him, acknowledging him, and participating with him 390 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,920 in the advancement of his King of the Kingdom. 391 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,600 Now let's go back to the story of the rich ruler. 392 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:42,360 Jesus asked him to give it all. Why is that? 393 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,320 Because when you come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, 394 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,920 what you are saying is everything I am and everything I 395 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:58,920 have belongs to you. My house is yours, my life is 396 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:04,360 yours, my marriage yours, my kids yours. 397 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:10,000 He asked the ruler to give him all of his wealth to the poor, 398 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:16,800 but he asks every person, you and me, to give a tithe off of 399 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,360 our increase to begin our generosity journey. 400 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,480 And we begin our generosity journey at the tithe. 401 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,600 Now watch what happens in this story, OK, Because this is going 402 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,720 to freak you out. After Jesus said this, after 403 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:35,840 Jesus said it is really hard. It is easier for a camel to go 404 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,640 through the eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the 405 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,000 Kingdom of heaven. There was this burning question 406 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,520 that the people around him started asking. 407 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,760 They were overhearing this conversation with a rich ruler 408 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,480 and guess what? They asked verse 26. 409 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,520 Those who heard this asked who then can be saved? 410 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:04,120 Did you catch that? The people watching the 411 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,720 conversation with Jesus and the rich person put themselves in 412 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:15,560 the position of rich people and said who then can be saved? 413 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,680 If it's hard for rich people to get into the Kingdom of heaven, 414 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:24,800 we're rich, how can we be saved? Jesus answered, You're going to 415 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,000 love this. Jesus is so good. 416 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:32,960 Verse 27 Jesus replied, what is impossible with man is possible 417 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,960 with God. How are people saved? 418 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,560 It's not by our abilities, it's not by what we bring to the 419 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,160 table. It's because of what God can do. 420 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:46,760 You and I saving ourselves is impossible, but nothing is 421 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,520 impossible with God. Salvation happens when you and 422 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:56,120 I, through faith, lay hold of what God did in His grace on our 423 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:00,840 behalf through the person and work and cross of Jesus Christ 424 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:05,360 and when He moved on our behalf, able to lay hold of that through 425 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:07,080 faith. Here's what I'm saying. 426 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:11,320 Pay attention. You can't give enough to be 427 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,800 saved. You can't serve enough to be 428 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:19,560 saved. You can't pray enough to be 429 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,960 saved. You can't read your Bible enough 430 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,320 to be saved. You can't invite enough people 431 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,360 to come to church with you to be saved. 432 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,280 You Can't Sing worship songs enough. 433 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,720 You Can't Sing worship songs loud enough. 434 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,760 You can't lift your hands high enough to be saved. 435 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:44,200 It is impossible for us to earn our salvation, but what is 436 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:48,520 impossible with us is possible with God. 437 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:55,400 God moved on our behalf. In a mighty act of mercy, God 438 00:30:55,400 --> 00:31:01,200 took filthy sinners who owed an eternal debt, and he saved them, 439 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:07,280 purified them, redeemed them, repurposed them, and he took his 440 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,120 enemies. And through Jesus he made them 441 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:18,080 his sons and his daughters. What God is saying, what Jesus 442 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,760 is inviting you to recognize, is that if you can trust God with 443 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:28,840 your salvation, you can trust him with everything else. 444 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,320 Watch how the rest of the story plays out verses what is it 445 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:38,320 verse 28 and 30? Peter said to him, We have left 446 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:43,080 all we had to follow you truly, I tell you, Jesus said to them, 447 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,120 no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or 448 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:53,360 parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail 449 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:58,640 to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come 450 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:06,720 eternal life. Jesus saying, I know, I know, I 451 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,680 know what you have given up. I know what you have done 452 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,600 without. I know what you have left for 453 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,640 me. I know what you have lost for 454 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,640 me. I know what you have given for 455 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,960 me. I know. 456 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:29,280 And I will reward you. If you can trust me enough to be 457 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:34,680 your Savior, you can trust me enough to be your Lord. 458 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:40,000 And that's the question that rich people like you and me have 459 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,680 to figure out. Will you trust him with more 460 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,160 than just your salvation? Will you trust him with 461 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,120 everything else? We're moving to a time of 462 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:56,240 decision. Recently, I was talking to 463 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,080 somebody about the struggles of life. 464 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:02,000 And I don't have to tell you guys, this life is just hard. 465 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,720 There are challenges everywhere. Seems like just as soon as you 466 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,000 get one problem figured out, two more problems pop up. 467 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,840 You're like playing whack A mole with life. 468 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:19,480 And there are lies everywhere. Lies about God, lies about 469 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:22,360 ourselves, lies about the future. 470 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,880 Shame and guilt are just dripping off of us. 471 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:33,360 We're just in it. And I told him this, that there 472 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:38,360 is not a part of you that is unknown to God. 473 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:45,640 There is not a part of you that God doesn't know about, and 474 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:52,160 there is not a part of God that doesn't love every part of us. 475 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,000 And if you are here today and you've never started an 476 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,320 intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I want you to 477 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,720 hear this. 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9 has this to 478 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,120 say. For you know the grace of our 479 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:16,679 Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he became poor for 480 00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:24,679 your sake, so that through his poverty you and I might become 481 00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:27,480 rich. Here's what this looks like. 482 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,679 Jesus was wrapped in all of the perfection and all of the 483 00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:40,800 holiness and all of the honor of heaven, and he took it off and 484 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:47,400 he came down and he wrapped himself in our sin and our 485 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:54,639 rebellion so that you and I could be wrapped in his riches. 486 00:34:56,679 --> 00:35:01,640 He was treated like we deserved so that you and I could be 487 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:07,720 treated like he deserved. Though he was rich, he became 488 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:12,680 poor so that those of us who are poor might be able to be rich in 489 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:16,880 Him. He gave up everything so that 490 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:20,240 you and I could have everything we need in Him. 491 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,320 And to those of you who have never started an intimate 492 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,360 personal relationship, that verse can become true for you 493 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,760 today. And so just a few moments, the 494 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,080 people around you are going to stand and sing, and some of them 495 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,800 are going to come to the steps and pray about all kinds of 496 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:38,040 things that are going on in their life. 497 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,600 But I want to encourage you to walk right over here underneath 498 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,080 that screen next to the baptistry and talk to somebody. 499 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,240 If you're watching online, just say, hey, I would like to talk 500 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,000 to somebody and they'll take you into a private prayer chat where 501 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,480 you can kind of go through what you're going through without 502 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,800 everybody on the screen knowing what's going on. 503 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,120 And one of our team members would love to connect with you 504 00:35:58,120 --> 00:35:59,600 and pray with you and talk with you. 505 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,200 But there is no reason today why you can't begin the right 506 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:09,080 relationship with Jesus Christ. That changes everything to the 507 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,800 rest of you in the room, to those of you who already have a 508 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:16,000 relationship with Jesus Christ. I just got a serious question. 509 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:21,280 What's holding you back from trusting him with everything? 510 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:27,880 Not just trusting him as your Savior, but trusting him as your 511 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,880 Lord, saying I'm trusting with the biggest thing in my life, 512 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:39,160 which is my salvation. God, I need your help to trust 513 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,240 you with every part of my day-to-day living. 514 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:49,240 Would you guys stand with me? Heavenly Father, you know what's 515 00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:51,160 going on in every heart and every mind. 516 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:57,560 God, you know every fear, every doubt, every frustration. 517 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,120 God, you know the step that every person in here needs to 518 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:09,840 take. I don't, but God, I know that 519 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:12,840 there are many of us that are going, man, today could be the 520 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:17,120 day. They're tired of being shackled 521 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,320 by the same old stuff, feeling guilty about the same old stuff. 522 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,200 And Satan has been lying to us for so long that it's just 523 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:28,080 really hard for us to hear your truth. 524 00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:35,120 But God, I pray that through your power, through your 525 00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:37,320 strength, that we would be able to take a step that we never 526 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:41,120 thought possible, an experience of victory we never thought 527 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:42,760 would be ours. You know my pray. 528 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:43,600 Amen.