1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,840 What up crossing family? It is so good to be able to 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,240 spend some time with you all and welcome those of you gathering 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,280 online, those of you gathering with the crossing inside. 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,800 We are celebrating the 11 baptisms that happened there all 5 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,040 across this region. That's exactly right. 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,600 And I also want to welcome all of you joining at one of our 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,440 physical locations. Now, before we get into the 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,040 message, we definitely need to address what happened yesterday, 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:28,880 early or late afternoon, early evening. 10 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:36,040 One, if you did not pay attention to our sermon series 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,960 called Don't Take the Bait on Faith and politics, I would 12 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,800 encourage you to watch it. I am so thankful to God that 13 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,200 we've already done this series and that this is not the 14 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,040 introduction to a series on faith and politics. 15 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,560 Two, I am incredibly thankful that President Trump was not 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:59,000 seriously harmed. We should never wish death or 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:05,480 pain on anyone. My core conviction is that I am 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,080 not completely sure that Donald Trump has an intimate personal 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,240 relationship with Jesus. And I believe that this opens up 20 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,960 a great window for someone to be able to have that conversation. 21 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:16,480 And so we should be praying for that. 22 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,520 Third thing we should know is that the rhetoric that is 23 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,720 happening on all of the mainstream media, and they'll be 24 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,120 conspiracy theories and there will be memes and they'll be all 25 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,000 kinds of that stuff that that is not how Christians operate or 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,360 behave. We should be a light in the 27 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,600 darkness anytime something like that happens. 28 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,480 Third, the way you conduct yourself tells them where your 29 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,200 hope is placed. And your kids, this will be 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,200 their 911. They will remember how you 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,560 acted, how you responded, how you behaved. 32 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:53,080 So set a really, really good example. 4th, the shooter. 33 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,520 I don't know all those details, but boy, you got to be in a dark 34 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,760 spot. And there's going to be a mom 35 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,400 and a dad and sisters and brothers and cousins who are 36 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,440 going to gather around a grave and they're going to bury 37 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,760 somebody that they love and that the whole world hates. 38 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,640 When we say that we care for people and lost people, that's 39 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,040 our heartbeat. So pray for the upcoming 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,360 political season. Pray that people don't lose 41 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,120 their mind. Thank God that Trump is still 42 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,600 alive. Pray for Biden as he finishes 43 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,600 out his term. And pray for those who are 44 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,520 affected and will be hurt and misguided. 45 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,600 And pray for people who are in dark spots. 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,720 Because Christians are people of prayer and we are people of hope 47 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,600 and we are people of peace. And all of that comes from our 48 00:02:51,600 --> 00:03:00,480 Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Deal now next week we will be 49 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,240 starting a brand new series called I'll Get to this left 50 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,680 Third Decisions in the Desert, and we will be looking at one of 51 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,200 the most famous stories in all of scripture. 52 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,600 It is one of the most referenced stories in all of scripture and 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,640 this story will help you understand your story. 54 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,240 The decisions that you make in the desert will determine your 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,800 destiny. The decisions that you make in 56 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,720 the desert will define you. And Jerry Harris will be here to 57 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,160 start the first two weeks of that sermon series. 58 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,720 And I'm telling you, if you guys have hated this sermon series, 59 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:40,000 which is the last one, the next sermon series is going to be the 60 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,880 perfect sermon series for you to invite a friend. 61 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,040 And this series is 14 weeks long. 62 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,160 So here's the challenge I'm issuing to you. 63 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:51,680 Crossing family. There is probably somebody that 64 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,360 you love, that you care about, that you wish had a relationship 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,560 with Jesus. And during the next 14 weeks, 66 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,000 I'm going to encourage you to bring that friend, say, hey, I'm 67 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,560 going to take you out for lunch afterwards. 68 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,440 We'll go golfing after that, hey, I'll, you know, pay your 69 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,880 mortgage, whatever you want to do to help your friend show up 70 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:12,440 for church. Because this series, I mean, it 71 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,079 will be transformative if somebody is new to their faith 72 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,959 or doesn't have a faith. And So what I want you to do 73 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:20,959 when I was saying that you probably thought of somebody. 74 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,840 So what I'm going to do is we're going to take a little bit of 75 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:24,920 time and we're going to pray for him. 76 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,600 Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the way that you love 77 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,640 us and you care for us. God, obviously right now our 78 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,560 country is in crazy political turmoil. 79 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,360 And God, I'm asking that you would help us to live 80 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,800 differently, live in a way that reflects you and your glory and 81 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,160 the presence of your Spirit. God, I pray that you would watch 82 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,120 over our words and our actions and our influence over our kids 83 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,720 and our relationships. And God specifically, there are 84 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,320 people in our lives that we care deeply about, that we want to 85 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,240 find what we have found in you. And God, I pray that you would 86 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,280 open up doors in this upcoming series for us to see those 87 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,840 friends come to faith in you and in my pray. 88 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,960 Amen. Well, today we are finishing up 89 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,840 the sermon series called Map Makers, where we have been 90 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:16,520 charting a path to better stewardship, less stress and 91 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,680 greater impact. And today at the very end of 92 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,120 this message, I'm going to talk to you about what greater impact 93 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,240 looks like. But the reason for this series 94 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,400 is because while we are some of the richest people in all of 95 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,880 human history and some of the richest people in the world, 96 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,000 statistically, we are not good with our money. 97 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,160 And as a result, we are struggling with mental health, 98 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,000 with stress, with anxiety, with worry. 99 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:44,160 Furthermore, our inability to handle finance as well is 100 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,040 impacting this. The health of our marriages and 101 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,960 the length of our marriages. And beyond that, how we handle 102 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,520 our money impacts us spiritually. 103 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,480 The stat that kind of broke my heart was this. 104 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:02,200 When asked Americans said this, 48 percent, 48.6% of Americans 105 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,960 consider themselves to be broke. 66.2% of Americans feel like 106 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,080 they are living paycheck to paycheck. 107 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,280 So since we believe that God's way is the best way, and since 108 00:06:13,280 --> 00:06:16,400 we know that God blesses obedience, we've been talking 109 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,480 about what it looks like to handle our money the way God 110 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,160 says to handle our money. And the very first thing we 111 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,640 learned is that everything we have, everything belongs to God. 112 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,200 That's what it says in Psalm 24. One, the earth is the Lord's, 113 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:34,840 and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. 114 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,960 You belong to God, your stuff belongs to God, everything 115 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,680 belongs to Him. The second thing we're supposed 116 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,560 to do is we're supposed to tithe. 117 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,520 Malachi chapter 3, verse 10, bring the whole tithe into the 118 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,320 storehouse. So bring 10% to the local church 119 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,320 that there may be food in my house. 120 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,080 Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not 121 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,240 throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much 122 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,560 blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 123 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,720 Tithing is 10% of our income. Our increase is to be brought to 124 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,520 the church where we attend, where we serve, where we grow, 125 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,840 and where we make a difference. I wasn't going to do this, but 126 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,960 during this series I've answered emails and I've heard pastors 127 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:21,760 talk about some of the conversation they've had with 128 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,520 people who call the crossing home. 129 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:24,720 And so there's a bunch of questions. 130 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,200 And even though what I'm about to say was not really the 131 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,760 general thrust of this sermon series, I realized that I have 132 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,840 not clearly communicated some stuff to you that might be 133 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,360 advantageous to you as you're processing. 134 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,480 So this is what we're going to call a 10 minute rabbit trail, 135 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,200 which means we're going to get you guys out of here by noon. 136 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:48,680 All right? The tithe is not something that 137 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,960 you and I control. The tithe belongs to the Lord. 138 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,200 God is the Lord of the tithe, which means the only thing I'm 139 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,560 supposed to do is I'm supposed to give 10% to where I attend, 140 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,120 which is what Jennifer and I do. We attend here, we give 10% 141 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:03,520 here. I don't get to choose what I 142 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,480 want to do. So when I'm at, you know, some 143 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,600 place and they say, hey, would you like to round up for, you 144 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,400 know, basically when I'm at McDonald's and they say, do you 145 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,400 want me to round up? OK, that round up is not a part 146 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,160 of my tithe because that would be me controlling where my money 147 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,520 went. Anything time I'm doing that 148 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,840 after I've started tithing, anything I do beyond that is 149 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,000 where I get to become a generous person. 150 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,320 So when we are faithful in tithing, that's where we give 151 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,400 10%. Our generosity journey begins 152 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,240 after that, that's where we get to have greater impact, which is 153 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,000 the general thrust of what today's message is. 154 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,880 Now, the sad truth is that many people today do not honor God 155 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,760 with their money. And that puts a limit on the 156 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,440 effectiveness of their church. It impacts the relationship with 157 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,080 God, and it puts a lid on their spiritual life. 158 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,280 And in my experience, there are three reasons why people don't 159 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,560 trust God with their finances. And some of you, you might see 160 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:01,520 yourself in one of these three categories. 161 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,880 The first one is ignorance. You don't know any better. 162 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:09,160 You're young in your faith. You didn't know how you're 163 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,280 supposed to operate financially and you didn't know what you 164 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,640 don't know. And how can you be obedient to 165 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:18,080 God in an area of your life that you don't know where God expects 166 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,800 you to operate you? The Bible says how can they 167 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,040 believe upon the one in whom they have not heard? 168 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,840 How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news? 169 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:29,560 So there are people who are living in ignorance because they 170 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:31,880 don't know what God expects of them to do. 171 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,560 Hopefully this series has taken a lot of you out of the 172 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:37,720 ignorance camp. The second category that kind of 173 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,160 people find themselves in is the area of disobedience. 174 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,840 They know better, but they ignore what God says. 175 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,560 Maybe you struggle with selfishness and you want to keep 176 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,240 it all for yourself. Or maybe it's pride and you just 177 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,720 want to remain in control. Maybe it's consumerism and so 178 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,400 you kind of get out of pocket. And then the third reason, which 179 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,360 is why I think most people operate, is worry. 180 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,560 You're just simply scared to trust God and walk by faith. 181 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:08,000 You haven't grown to a spot in your intimate personal 182 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,320 relationship with Him where you trust him to do exactly what he 183 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,040 says he will do. You read Malachi and you're 184 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,760 like, I'm supposed to bring the whole tithe in. 185 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,000 Well, what does the blessing actually look like? 186 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,760 If I knew that I was going to get the blessing, then I'd do 187 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:27,080 the tithing. So let me give you context for 188 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:32,520 our church here at the crossing. There are a lot of people that 189 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:38,040 attend and I'm going to use some internal language for you to 190 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,440 give you context. So we would say that there's 191 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,720 about 30,000 people that would say the crossing's my church. 192 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,640 So I'll be at a restaurant and somebody like, oh man, I go to 193 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:48,720 your church. Like that's awesome. 194 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:53,120 They're like, so you know, do you preach at 48th St. 195 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,320 Like, yeah, yeah, I'm there pretty much all the time. 196 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,040 I'm almost, I'm almost ever never someplace else. 197 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,040 So you're like that person. They'll be here on Easter. 198 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:04,840 OK. Then out of that group, there's 199 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,080 about 12,000 people that we would call insider language, 200 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,680 active people who are regularly engaged in the crossing in some 201 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:14,280 way should perform. Out of that 12,000 people, 202 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:20,040 there's about 4000 people that give a dollar or more, OK. 203 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:25,600 And out of that group of 4000 people, there are about 400 204 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,720 couples, 800 adults who demonstrate what I would call 205 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,200 tithing behavior. And that group of 400 people 206 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,360 make up 60% of everything that you see happen here at the 207 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,120 crossing. That means that a vast majority 208 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,440 of the people who call the crossing home find themselves in 209 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:49,080 one of these three categories. And just so you know, if I can 210 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,800 speak on behalf of the 400 plus families who demonstrate tithing 211 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,080 behavior, I want you to hear me say this. 212 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,360 And I think, you know, you guys, if you're one of the 400, you 213 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,760 can e-mail me and say don't speak for me ever again. 214 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,720 But these 400 people, I think this is what they tell you 215 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,120 because this is what Jennifer and I would tell you. 216 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,520 We love it that you call the crossing home, and it is our 217 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,160 privilege to do everything in our power to make sure that you 218 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,440 have a place to call home. We love it when you show up in a 219 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,360 seat that you didn't pay for. We love it when you show up for 220 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,640 a room and you complain about the temperature even though you 221 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,240 didn't pay the utility bill. We love it when you wipe with 222 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,800 toilet paper because your beautiful little booty needs to 223 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:29,880 be wiped. And we want you to know that 224 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,320 when you drink from the water fountain, we are happy to supply 225 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:33,840 it. And when we send your kid off to 226 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,400 camp and when you want us to show up at the nursing home or 227 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,520 the hospital, we are happy that to do it because we don't ever 228 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:41,440 send a bill. We love it when you bring your 229 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:42,960 friend to church. We love it when you come to the 230 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:44,440 steps for the very first time and pray. 231 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,800 We love it when you raise your hand to worship for the very 232 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,320 first time. And boy do we love it when you 233 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,400 bring a person that you love into the baptistry and they find 234 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,520 an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 235 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,320 It is our joy. It is our privilege. 236 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,240 We will give you all the time that you need to grow and 237 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,480 develop in that relationship with Jesus Christ. 238 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:10,040 But our hope is that one day you will find what we have found and 239 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,600 you will experience what we have experienced. 240 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,880 And we look forward to the day where you are not just a 241 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,720 consumer of what is happening at the crossing, but you are a 242 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,880 contributor to what God is doing at the crossing and 243 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,240 participating in what He is doing in our midst as we try to 244 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,080 make this region the hardest place on planet earth to get to 245 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,800 hell from. We can't wait until you discover 246 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,320 that God's way really is the best way. 247 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,200 We can't wait until you experience that God blesses 248 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,680 obedience. I was, I was putting this sermon 249 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,880 series together. I've been praying for 100 250 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,720 families to take this step that out of a Church of this size 251 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,800 that there'd be 100 people who would say, you know what? 252 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,840 I'm ready to start being a part of what God is doing and taking 253 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,240 God at his word. And I know that 100 people 254 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,000 sounds incredibly small, and I know that God can do 255 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,880 immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. 256 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,560 But for our church to go from 400 families operating like this 257 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,640 to 500 families would be life changing. 258 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,840 That they would be able to go out on a limb and experience the 259 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,880 faith filled life that God has called him to. 260 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,200 End of rabbit trail After tithing, we discussed how to 261 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,480 live below our means, to live on less than what we make. 262 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:29,160 Proverbs 2120 In the House of the wise are stores of choice, 263 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:32,080 food and oil. But a foolish man devours all he 264 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,720 has. If you are living above your 265 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,960 means, you are going, you are devouring everything that you 266 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,440 take in. But a wise person lives below 267 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,120 their means, and they have something called margin. 268 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,520 And in many ways our addiction to consumption has put us in all 269 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,640 kinds of trouble, and it has removed our freedom and our 270 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,040 flexibility. Proverbs 25 verse 28 says like a 271 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:01,240 city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks 272 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,960 self-control. If you do not establish the 273 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:10,480 discipline of self-control now, it will ruin you later. 274 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:16,200 And there is a gift that you can give to future you, but that 275 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:21,160 gift of freedom and flexibility and margin has to be purchased 276 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,640 by present you. Then we talked about saving 277 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,840 Proverbs 1311. Dishonest money dwindles away, 278 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,720 but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. 279 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,240 Storms are going to come and we want to be prepared for them. 280 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,840 We want to be ready for them so that way when it happens, we're 281 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,000 not destroyed by them. As we begin to save, our 282 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,560 stewardship increases, our stress decreases, and it becomes 283 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,960 a gift that we give to our future self. 284 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,680 Ask yourself what are the things that future you wants to do? 285 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:02,640 Present you has to set future you up with those options. 286 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:08,240 When we do all of this, we will move into a place beyond the 287 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:13,480 tithe and we will begin our generosity journey. 288 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,800 John Wesley, a famous theologian and evangelist and church 289 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,760 leader, stated that Christians should make all we can save all 290 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,840 we can so we can give all we can. 291 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,760 In the book of Job in the Old Testament, we find these words 292 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,040 Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. 293 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,560 As Jerry Harris used to say, there are no U hauls behind a 294 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,920 hearse. You can't take it with you. 295 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,720 You don't get a If you get buried with all your stuff, your 296 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,280 stuff just disappears in the box. 297 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:52,280 Proverbs 1124 says this one person gives freely yet gains 298 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:57,560 even more. Another withholds unduly but 299 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:03,440 comes to poverty. Verse 25 A generous person will 300 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,040 prosper. So if you're going long term, I 301 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:06,640 want to be a person who prospers. 302 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,079 The pathway to that is being generous. 303 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,280 We're not generous until we've become obedient in the other 304 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,640 areas of whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 305 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:20,560 People who curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray 306 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:24,680 God's blessing on the one who is willing to sell you and I. 307 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:29,280 This might surprise you when you feel the desire to be generous. 308 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,800 That is actually a natural feeling because you were created 309 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,880 in the image of God and God is a generous God. 310 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:43,120 However, our spending habits and our saving habits can get in the 311 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:45,600 way of what our heart wants to do. 312 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,480 I've told you some of my financial stories during this 313 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:51,160 sermon series. And I want you to know that not 314 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,320 all of my financial decisions have been great. 315 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,240 Because even though my dad taught me some great financial 316 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:00,720 disciplines, when I went off to college, I got a credit card. 317 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,200 And this is this is what happened. 318 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:12,960 I had a really good, generous heart, and I had a credit card. 319 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,280 And so there were some people in my life that were, you know, 320 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,040 struggling financially. And so when we would go out to 321 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,200 eat, I would pick up the tab for everybody. 322 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,560 Why? Because I had a really good 323 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:30,960 heart and a credit card. And then there were some people 324 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,480 who are navigating some real financial hardships. 325 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,920 And so I kind of interceded and took some of their financial 326 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:38,840 burden off of them. Why? 327 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:44,640 Well, that's because I had a really good heart and a credit 328 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:49,200 card. And I did this for a long time 329 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:55,720 because I had a really good heart and a credit card. 330 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,120 And then one day I kind of looked at the statement and I 331 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:05,520 realized I was in a hole that I was not getting out of. 332 00:19:12,630 --> 00:19:18,360 So I drove 65 miles and I sat down at my father's kitchen 333 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,280 table, the same table that I wrote out my budget when I was 334 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:30,480 13 years old. And I said, dad, I need your 335 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,240 help. It was the most embarrassed. 336 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:42,560 Oh, so embarrassed. My dad is a really good man, and 337 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:47,200 my dad bailed me out of my whole. 338 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,880 I had a really good heart, but I didn't have the discipline to 339 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,960 sustain it. And so my ability to do good for 340 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:02,240 other people and experience the joy of that giving was actually 341 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,640 covered by my dad's financial discipline. 342 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,760 I hated that feeling so much that I put me on a completely 343 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,160 different path for generosity and you guys can make fun of me 344 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:16,320 for this. But if I were to pull up my 345 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:21,520 accounts, you would see my general checking account, you 346 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,400 would see my car savings account, you would see my 347 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,680 general savings account, and then you'd see my generosity 348 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,360 fund. And every year Jennifer and I 349 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,760 determine an amount of money that is going to go into that 350 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:41,720 generosity account so that when a need surfaces, I have already 351 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,280 pre planned to be able to do something. 352 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,320 Because I hate being in that spot where you're like, I would 353 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:54,320 like to, but I can't. I wanted to build in margin so 354 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,800 that way my my heart can do what it wants to do. 355 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,800 And can I tell you, this is my favorite money to spend. 356 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,320 Every time I get paid, money goes into my generosity account. 357 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,720 And there's things that like I, I save up for. 358 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,400 So when we get ready to do camp scholarships, you need to know 359 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:11,840 this. Jennifer and I, we're the first 360 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,000 ones in because we love your kids and we can't wait to see 361 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,560 them find Jesus. When it comes time for year end 362 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,960 giving, we're the first people in because we can't wait for the 363 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,040 Kingdom of God to expand. And when there's golf outings, 364 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,600 we're the first ones in because we can't wait to see what God is 365 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,360 going to do. And we look forward for 366 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,000 opportunities to partner with people and help people and bless 367 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,520 people because we are consumed by people finding what we have 368 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,960 found in Jesus and that is an intimate personal relationship 369 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:41,560 with Him. And you need to know this by 370 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,480 refreshing others. Jennifer and I are abundantly 371 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:53,950 refreshed. Last year was 2023 was a really 372 00:21:53,950 --> 00:22:00,590 big year for us because last year was the first year we gave 373 00:22:00,590 --> 00:22:03,310 more money away than we paid towards our house. 374 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:09,080 And I have a lifetime giving goal of I want to give 375 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,240 $1,000,000 in my lifetime to the advancement of the Kingdom of 376 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,880 God. Now you need to know that you do 377 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,480 not have me on a trajectory to make $10 million in my lifetime 378 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,720 as the pastor of this church. OK, you guys, OK, you're not, 379 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:27,080 you're not hitting that target. And so I'm thinking like, how do 380 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,400 I still make this happen? And I also want to have what 381 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,840 kind of long term impact do I want to have in my life? 382 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:35,640 Like what kind of legacy do I want to leave? 383 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,200 Because there's really only two legacies you can leave. 384 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,160 It's what you leave in people and what you leave to people. 385 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,960 And I can only leave in you while I'm alive. 386 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,120 I can only invest in your relationship with God and your 387 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,800 development and as becoming a Christian while I'm talking to 388 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,040 you, while I'm preaching to you, while I'm sitting across the 389 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,520 table from you. And that investment stops the 390 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:01,080 moment I take my last breath. But is there a way for me to be 391 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,560 able to continue to leave to you even long after I am gone? 392 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,160 And so I really want to was like, I wonder if we could have 393 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,280 an endowment here at the crossing that I could leave 394 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,480 money to so that would support the ministry and the advancement 395 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,480 of the Kingdom of God long after I'm gone. 396 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,960 And so we got a group of people together and they just went out 397 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,920 and made this happen. And they call it the Legacy 398 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,040 Project. And here's what the Legacy 399 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,280 Project is. It is an endowment fund that is 400 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,360 comprised of seven smaller funds. 401 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,600 And what happens is, is when money goes into the legacy 402 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,880 project, it gets equally distributed into all these other 403 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,560 little funds. So like one of them is the 404 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,280 capital fund. You know, there's going to be 405 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,480 capital projects that are going to happen across all of our 406 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,520 locations at different times, and this alleviates the burden 407 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,920 of that on the general budget. Then there's the influence fund. 408 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,680 You might not know this, but there are churches all across 409 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,760 the country that lean on the crossing for help. 410 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,600 They want us to help them pull off their Minsk conferences. 411 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,800 We were asked to help put together a conference in Phoenix 412 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,800 this year and support that. We're pastors from all across 413 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,720 the country gather to learn and grow, and we get to be a part of 414 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,040 that. There's the vision fund. 415 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,440 This is an opportunity for us to prime the vision that God has 416 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,920 every single year at the crossing to do something new 417 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,280 that's never been done. And often times there's not a 418 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:14,800 line item in the budget to make that happen. 419 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:17,800 So now there would be with the Vision Fund and then there's the 420 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,760 expansion fund. We would love to make sure that 421 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,560 people in different parts of our region who don't have a 422 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,280 relationship with Jesus, who don't have a church, have an 423 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,320 opportunity to experience what we have experienced. 424 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,840 And this would be the first money spent every year on 425 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,640 expansion. This is how long term you'd be 426 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,960 able to have another Jacksonville or another Monmouth 427 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,920 or a Connect partnership. Then there's the scholarship 428 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:44,800 fund, cuz man, we love your kids and we want to make sure that 429 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,600 there is no financial hurdle that they have to go through for 430 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,400 them to be able to connect and grow in their relationship with 431 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,360 Jesus Christ. Because we don't want them to 432 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,160 make the same mistakes that we made. 433 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,000 We want them to find Jesus early and have one of the most boring 434 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,600 testimonies on planet earth. I found Jesus when I was young. 435 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,920 I trusted in the whole way through and I took as few stupid 436 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,200 pills as humanly possible. That is the testimony we want 437 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,640 for your kids. We want a way better testimony 438 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,600 for our kids than we have for ourselves. 439 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,400 Then we have the Impact Fund, which is the one that I'm the 440 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,880 most excited about. This would be to help the least 441 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:24,040 of these among us. It's designed to help people who 442 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:29,480 got nothing. It's money set aside to help 443 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,280 people who need benevolence or need stuff from the thrift store 444 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,360 and who need counseling and medical help. 445 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:38,120 And then there's the mission Fund that we want to give added 446 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:39,800 money to our different missionaries when they have a 447 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,960 particular project that sprouts up and we want to be able to be 448 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,040 pre positioned to be able to meet that need. 449 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:47,960 This would be the legacy project. 450 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,960 And there might be some of you who are hard wired like Jennifer 451 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,560 and I, and you want to have an Ave. for your treasure here on 452 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:01,440 earth to impact the Kingdom of God until the return of Christ. 453 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,960 So and Jennifer and I are in the process of doing our will and I 454 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,720 know some of you are going to e-mail me and say you should 455 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,600 have done it way earlier. OK, you're right, but I'm doing 456 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,960 it now. And what we're doing is, is 457 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,640 we're putting 10% of our net worth upon our death to the 458 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,200 advancement of the crossing through the legacy project. 459 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,560 That's right. We're tithing even in our death. 460 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:33,400 Why? Because we want as many people 461 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,560 to find Jesus humanly possible. So how am I getting to my 462 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,280 $1,000,000 number? Because let's just say for a 463 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,600 second that I, you know, I'm going to die. 464 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,200 My family heart attacks and colon cancer. 465 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,280 So I'm going to get bit one of these days. 466 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,360 It's just going to happen. And when it happens, it'll have 467 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:51,720 very little to do with McDonald's and everything to do 468 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,920 that. When my dad met my mom, they 469 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,640 were not ideal for building people to live forever. 470 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,720 And I'm going to get bit. And so when I put that 10% away, 471 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,960 let's just say for a second that Jesus doesn't come back till the 472 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,320 year 4000. Every 20 years, whatever I put 473 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:12,800 in there will have doubled in its impact in perpetuity. 474 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,280 That there'll be funding available for people to find a 475 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,040 relationship with Jesus Christ until the return of Jesus 476 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,000 Christ. And for us, that means the world 477 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:24,040 now, right now, we're going to do something. 478 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:25,840 And I know for some of you who are brand new to the crossing, 479 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:28,120 this is going to seem weird. Just come back next week. 480 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:29,520 You're going to love the next sermon series. 481 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,160 But as we've been going through this sermon series, there have 482 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,440 been some of you who are going. Yeah, I'm ready to go on this 483 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,160 journey with you. If you guys wanted all of our 484 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,000 locations, you guys can begin coming forward. 485 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:40,440 And there's some of you who are going. 486 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,640 Yeah, I'm, I'm one of the 100. I'm one of these people who I'm 487 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,400 ready to start trusting God in the area of my finances. 488 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,120 And what I want to do is I want an opportunity to be able to 489 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:50,440 cheer you on. And So what they're doing is 490 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,360 they're passing out a commitment card. 491 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:54,400 Now, let me explain to you what this commitment card is. 492 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,000 There's a pen somewhere around your chair or someone's handing 493 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,920 them out. And here's what this card has on 494 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,360 it. I just want you to this is not a 495 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:03,600 pledge to the crossing. You're not going to get a phone 496 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,440 call from me saying, hey, you said you were, but you didn't. 497 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,240 It's none of be, none of that stuff. 498 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:11,040 There are some of you, though, that you want to go on this 499 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:12,960 journey. And if you were to get baptized 500 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,880 this weekend, our church would clap for you. 501 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,360 If you were to start signing up for a ministry, our church would 502 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,520 cheer you on. If you were to get plugged into 503 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,360 a small group, you'd have people going, man, I can't wait to see 504 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,440 what God does in your life next. But sometimes when we get ready 505 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,160 to do stuff financially, we do so in isolation. 506 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,120 We do stuff with nobody cheering us on, with nobody praying over 507 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:34,200 you. And so here's what we're doing. 508 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,840 We're asking you to fill out this card and then our staff are 509 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,880 going to pray over you. And I'm going to send you 510 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,800 encouragement as you go on this journey. 511 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,400 And so I'm just asking you to look over this, write your name, 512 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,760 fill out the information and check a box. 513 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,360 Some of you are going, you know what, I'm going to start 514 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,040 tithing. Awesome. 515 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,680 We're going to cheer you on. Some of you are going. 516 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,400 We've already tithing. We're already trusting God. 517 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,880 We're some of the 400. We're going to keep tithing. 518 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,000 Awesome. There might be some of you are 519 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,760 going to check the box. You know what, I'm going to 520 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,720 start giving above the tithe. I'm going to start my generosity 521 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:06,920 journey. Awesome. 522 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,320 Check that box. There's some of you are going to 523 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:10,240 go. I'm just going to keep doing 524 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,520 what I've always been doing. I'm going to keep tithing and 525 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:13,760 I'm going to keep being generous. 526 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,000 Praise God for that. And there might be some of you 527 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,160 are going. You know what, I'd like more 528 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,320 information about the endowment. Awesome. 529 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,280 We would love a chance to get together with you sometime in 530 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,400 the fall and get you some more information. 531 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,000 I want you to put your information on it. 532 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,960 I want you to check one of those boxes or two boxes if you want 533 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,440 information about the endowment and then I want you to sign it. 534 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:33,000 You might be going, Clayton, Why should I sign it? 535 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,600 Well, you sign all the documents that are important to you. 536 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:36,920 You sign your marriage certificate. 537 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,160 You sign your offer, your house, you sign for your car. 538 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,240 Why not sign your commitment to God? 539 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,880 There's no amounts here. This is between you and Him. 540 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,280 We just want to celebrate the journey that you're getting 541 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,960 ready to go on. Now there might be some of you 542 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,080 are going. I cannot believe you just did 543 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,160 this. I am not doing any of it. 544 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,040 Great. Guess what? 545 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,360 You keep coming here and nothing changes for you. 546 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,680 But what I don't want to do is I don't want to rob some people 547 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,640 who are ready to trust God because it makes some people who 548 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,520 aren't ready to trust God uncomfortable. 549 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:08,840 There are some people in our church who are going. 550 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,320 I've been waiting to be challenged, waiting to go on 551 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:13,440 this journey. I've been reading my Bible and I 552 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:16,320 see it talk about giving all over the Bible and I've been 553 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,800 looking for an opportunity and I just need some encouragement 554 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:20,880 along the way. Now I'm going to let you guys 555 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,480 come and collect all those. Hopefully you've already filled 556 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:25,120 that thing out. I'm going to have people start 557 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,600 collecting them and I'm going to tell you why Jennifer and I do 558 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,240 it and the 400 here at the crossing do it. 559 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:35,160 Second Corinthians Chapter 9. Remember this, Whoever sows 560 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:40,320 sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows 561 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:43,600 generously will also reap generously. 562 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:48,280 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to 563 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:53,800 give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a 564 00:30:53,800 --> 00:31:00,080 cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you abundantly, so that 565 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:08,080 in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you 566 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:15,000 will abound in every good work. As it is written, they have 567 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:19,720 freely scattered their gifts to the poor. 568 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,080 Their righteousness endures forever. 569 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:31,200 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will 570 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:38,280 also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge 571 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,040 the harvest of your righteousness. 572 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:47,960 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous 573 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:55,320 on every occasion and through us your generosity will result in 574 00:31:55,320 --> 00:32:01,720 Thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is 575 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:07,360 not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people, but it is 576 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:13,240 also overflowing and many expressions of thanks to God 577 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,960 because of the service by which you have proved yourself. 578 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:23,680 Others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your 579 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:29,640 confession of the gospel of Christ and for your generosity 580 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,280 in sharing with them and with everyone else. 581 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,880 This is going to not sound spiritual for a second, but 582 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:44,040 sometimes I think of all the things I could have bought if I 583 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:49,320 didn't tithe, I could have a motorcycle. 584 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,480 Do you know how good I would look on a motorcycle? 585 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,200 Fat guys look the best on motorcycles. 586 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:07,120 Oh, Jennifer riding around on the back, cut off leather. 587 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:13,640 Come on, I'd love it. I could have a hot tub. 588 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:17,440 Do you know how good a hot tub would feel? 589 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:20,960 Especially as bad as I am at golf? 590 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:26,320 Hot tub could be healing. There's a lot of things I could 591 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:36,120 have, but if I had a choice between a motorcycle or a hot 592 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:42,160 tub and being obedient to God and going on the faith journey 593 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:50,920 that He's taking me on. If I had a choice between having 594 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:57,760 a motorcycle and a hot tub or watching you walk into the water 595 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:02,640 with your kid that you've been praying for all day, every 596 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:07,080 single day, I'm choosing you. I'm choosing Him. 597 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,639 You know, the favorite part of my service, Just so you know, 598 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,360 it's not my preaching. The favorite part of my service, 599 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,480 It isn't the worship. I love it when I see people pray 600 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,360 at the steps. That's not my favorite part. 601 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:27,800 My favorite part is when we play the baptism video because I want 602 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,159 to be a part of every single one of them. 603 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:36,679 And because of our generosity and other people's generosity, 604 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:42,280 people are overflowing in thanks to God and those who refresh 605 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,760 others are indeed refreshed. We're moving to a time, a 606 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:57,040 decision. So if you don't know Jesus, if 607 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,280 he could get anything from you today, it would not be 608 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,000 pocketbook. It would be you. 609 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:07,680 But look at how generous your God is. 610 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,800 Look at how he operates inside of that passage that I just 611 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:15,520 read. God decided in his heart to give 612 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,640 you Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus, 613 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:23,960 joyfully or cheerfully, before the joy set before him, endured 614 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,040 the cross and scorning its shame and endured it on your behalf, 615 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,920 He poured himself out so that you could be cleansed. 616 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,240 And because of this great an extravagant gift that He has 617 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:40,560 given to us, you and I are able to pour out our praise back to 618 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,000 Him. And we have seen God do the most 619 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,240 incredible stuff and raise an incredible harvest out of the 620 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,920 messiest of soils. We have seen Him raise a mighty 621 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,920 harvest out of the most unlikely of places. 622 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:59,840 And you got to know this. I can't wait to see what He is 623 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:05,440 going to do and you do. I can't wait to see what He is 624 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:11,880 going to do in your life. But you'll never find that out 625 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:16,360 until you start to trust Him. And as soon as you start 626 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,600 trusting Jesus, He's going to move you out of your comfort 627 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,760 zone. So will you have to trust Him 628 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,040 more. And the more you trust Him, 629 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:27,000 check this out, the more you will trust Him. 630 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:34,240 And over time you will build a life of faith where you will get 631 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:37,360 to the point where you believe to the core of your being that 632 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:41,680 God will always do what God says he will do. 633 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:46,480 But you will never experience that get to that place if you 634 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:51,320 stay inside your comfort zone. It's only when you move out and 635 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,320 there are some of you who you have been living under your own 636 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:58,480 rule for far too long and you've never said, you know what, I'm 637 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:03,760 going to place my life in His hands and I'm going to begin an 638 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,200 intimate personal relationship with Him. 639 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:10,640 And if you're here today and you've never started that, don't 640 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,880 put it off. And in just a few moments, when 641 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,440 the people around you stand and sing and some of them come to 642 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,840 the steps and pray, I'm going to encourage you to take a walk of 643 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,360 faith all the way up underneath that screen next to the 644 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,400 baptistry and start a conversation about how to begin 645 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,320 an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 646 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,280 If you're watching online, if it hasn't happened yet, it's going 647 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:35,920 to happen soon. They're going to open up a 648 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,840 window in the chat for you to be able to click on it, ask them 649 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,920 for prayer, and they'll take you off to their own separate spot 650 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:44,800 where you can have a conversation in isolation 651 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:46,720 without everybody else seeing what you're going through. 652 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,920 And you can begin that exact same conversation to the rest of 653 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,880 you in this room, To those of you who are Jesus followers. 654 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,400 I think deep down inside, we want to be a church that is a 655 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,400 blessing to our region. We want to be a church that 656 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:04,120 honors God and loves God. We want to do something about 657 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:07,720 reaching the lost around us. And I'm praying that God would 658 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:12,120 raise a mighty army of generous people out of this church who 659 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:16,480 care more about the mission of God and the life change in our 660 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:19,680 friends and our family than we do our personal treasure. 661 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:23,680 I know there's some of you who you know exactly what's going on 662 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,560 in people's lives because you remember being there. 663 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:28,960 You're part of the 400 and you know the challenges that are 664 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,000 going through their mind. You know the obstacles, but you 665 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,480 also know the rewards. And won't you be praying for 666 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,680 them? And when we get ready to open up 667 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,920 the steps and people come up and pray, listen, you can pray about 668 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,120 anything you're going through. You can come up here and pray 669 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:44,240 about what's happening in your home. 670 00:38:44,240 --> 00:38:47,240 You can pray about your health. You can pray for the political 671 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:49,000 season. But if there's some of you in 672 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,080 here that just want to pray that God would help you as you start 673 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,760 this financial journey, man, the steps are open for you too. 674 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:59,320 Would you guys stand with me? God, I'm just trusting that 675 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:02,880 you're going to do a mighty work in us, not just at the 676 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:04,880 individual level, but at the corporate level. 677 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:10,600 God, there's so many people hurting, people that are hurting 678 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:16,160 in our lives, in our homes. Gather so much fear and worry 679 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:21,200 and doubt all around us. And God, we want to shine. 680 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,440 We want to shine like a star in the heavens pointing people to 681 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,720 you. God, I know there are people who 682 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:32,520 are getting ready to go on a journey that they never thought 683 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:36,280 they'd go on, getting ready to start doing something they never 684 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,640 thought that they would do. And I know that every step of 685 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:43,880 the way, Satan's trying to pluck that seed from the path, prevent 686 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:47,240 it from producing a harvest. But God, I'm praying that you'd 687 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:51,520 win, that they'd overcome the obstacles, and they'd be who 688 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,040 you've called them to be. You name my praying. 689 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:54,840 Amen.