1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,280 All the way through there we go. What up crossing family. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,920 I want to welcome all of our different campuses, those of you 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,040 watching online and those of you who are part of the crossing 4 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:11,800 inside. I am so thankful to be with you 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,800 all today and I want to give you guys another heads up. 6 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,320 On the weekend of July 10th and 13th, we're going to be starting 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:24,240 a new series called At the Movies, and this series is 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,200 specifically designed to give you a great reason to invite the 9 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,920 people that are close to you but far from God. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,360 We're going to be taking a look at the greatest movie saga of 11 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,240 all time and seeing the spiritual truths and spiritual 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:46,240 implications buried a long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away. 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,520 And because of the nature of the series, we are not going to be 14 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,280 able to broadcast the sermon online. 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,280 So if you're a part of our online squad, we hope that you 16 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,320 will join us in person. And if you can't, we'll be 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,240 giving you a collection of the best sermons over the past year 18 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,440 for you to watch online. But if you want to go on the 19 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,000 journey with us, you need to be at one of our physical 20 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,040 locations. That being said, we are in a 21 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:20,000 sermon series called 3 Lies and a bunch of Gospel Truth and the 22 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,240 three lies are lies that either we tell ourselves or that Satan 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,680 tells us. And remember Jesus says that 24 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,640 Satan is a liar and is the father of all lies in John 25 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,920 chapter 8. And last week we looked at this 26 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,560 life from Satan. Satan likes to tell us that we 27 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:47,920 are not rich, but in reality, the truth is we are. 28 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,480 And the reason why this should matter to us if we're rich 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,720 people, is that Jesus says that it's easier for a camel, a big 30 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,760 old animal, to go through the eye of a needle, a really small 31 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:05,520 opening, than it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of 32 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,280 heaven. Why is that? 33 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,280 Because the more wealth you have, the more your wealth ends 34 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:17,880 up having you. And it's really hard to take 35 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:23,160 hold of Jesus when we are gripping so tightly to our 36 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,240 things. Now quick reminder, Jesus does 37 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,560 not have a problem with you having wealth. 38 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,560 His problem is when your wealth has you. 39 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,200 Because your wealth will get in the way of what Jesus has for 40 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,800 you. Today we're going to look at 41 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,680 another lie that Satan tells us, and he is so good at it that 42 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,560 almost nobody thinks they struggle with it. 43 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,560 See if you can find it. Ephesians chapter 5. 44 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,600 Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and 45 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:01,000 walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,160 up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 47 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:09,560 But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual 48 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:14,480 morality or any kind of impurity or of greed, because these are 49 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,720 improper for God's holy people. If you're a Christian, this kind 50 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,320 of behavior is improper for you. Nor should there be obscenity, 51 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,560 foolish talk, course, joking, which are out of place, but 52 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:30,520 rather Thanksgiving for of this you can be sure you can take 53 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,320 this to the bank. No immoral, impure or greedy 54 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,080 persons, because such a person is an idolater. 55 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,720 If you're an idolater, you're worshipping something other than 56 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:47,840 Jesus has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. 57 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,120 Did you catch it? We better find out what one it 58 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,760 was, because notice what it says at the end. 59 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,320 People with this issue, and he gives a whole bunch of them have 60 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:05,120 no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. 61 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:07,920 Let's look at another one, see if you guys can find it. 62 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,560 We're going to go to 1st Corinthians chapter 6, verse 9. 63 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,480 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the 64 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,680 Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the 65 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,280 sexually immoral or idolaters, nor adulterers, nor many who 66 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,400 have sex with men, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, 67 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,240 nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. 68 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,200 That is what some of you were, but you were washed, you were 69 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,760 sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus 70 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,880 Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 71 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:48,680 Many of us, we read these verses and we like to zoom in on the 72 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:54,000 sin that we don't struggle with. Like boy, I hope so. 73 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,920 And so is listening. And we miss the thing that Jesus 74 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,760 is trying to talk to us about. Now, we're going to dig into 75 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,320 this a whole lot more in the fall when we're going to do an 76 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,320 entire book study on 1st Corinthians. 77 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:07,480 So I hope you guys will be around. 78 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:10,520 But did you notice that the past tense used in those verses, 79 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,760 That's what some of you were. It's saying that when you become 80 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,840 a follower of Jesus Christ and you're obedient in the area of 81 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:22,160 baptism and you're filled with the Holy Spirit, these things no 82 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:26,160 longer define you. But did you also notice that 83 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,720 Jesus moved on our behalf when we were still defined by all of 84 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,440 those sins? Jesus came and he washed us and 85 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,080 he sanctified us and He justified us and he made us 86 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,080 right. Maybe you've noticed the lie 87 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,440 from Satan, but if you haven't, let's take one more look. 88 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,800 This is Jesus talking Luke chapter 12, verse 13. 89 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:51,040 Someone in the crowd said to him, that's Jesus teacher, tell 90 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,760 my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 91 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,240 Jesus replied, man, who appointed me a judge or an 92 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,560 arbiter between you. Then he said to them, watch out. 93 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:09,120 Be on your guard against all kinds of there you go, I 94 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:10,600 highlighted it so you didn't miss it. 95 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:19,760 Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. 96 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:22,160 Let's pause for just a little bit. 97 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:32,240 Satan's lie to us is that we are not greedy people and the truth 98 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:37,760 is we are. Now I'm putting myself in that 99 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,920 category here. In all my years of ministry, of 100 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:42,640 all the people that have called me up, said Clayton, I got to 101 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,880 talk to you. I'm struggling with something. 102 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,440 Guess how many times someone has come and sat across the table 103 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:56,240 from me? I said, man, Pastor Clayton, I'm 104 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:05,160 greedy and I need some help. Zero times I have had zero 105 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,840 people self identify as a greedy person. 106 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:14,240 But I say we are greedy people because I struggle too. 107 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,400 When the Bible talks about a greed, you're reading it in your 108 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,200 English Bible, which is super good because that's how you 109 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,920 should read it. And but the way they got the 110 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:30,120 word greed was from the Greek text and the Greek text. 111 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,680 This is how this word shows up in the Greek. 112 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,120 It is playonexia. Now This is why it's super cool. 113 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,400 Ready. This is how this word is 114 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:40,040 actually broken up into three parts. 115 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:45,840 Playonexia play on means more X means have EA means Ness. 116 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:52,880 Greed is have more Ness. We're not have less people. 117 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,440 We're have more Ness and like this effects every single one of 118 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,160 us. It's what drives our economy. 119 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,600 We are never satisfied with what we have. 120 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,240 We always want more. And again, I struggle too. 121 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:15,200 Can I give you some stories? So I am a dreamer and a planner, 122 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,480 which means when I have a dream for something, I pull out my 123 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,640 notepad and I bullet point my way to get there. 124 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:31,240 I had a dream one time of owning a Huffy 12 speed bike and I got 125 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,720 it. I paid for it and $1.00 bills I 126 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,760 had earned for my parents. I look like a male stripper at 127 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,880 Shopko. Buying, buying. 128 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:41,679 It's like, boy, it took him a long time. 129 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:43,760 I mean there's not a lot of fat strippers out there. 130 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:51,800 Then they came out with an 18 speed bike and then a 21 speed 131 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,600 bike. Then they came out with one with 132 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,600 disc brakes. I couldn't handle it and I 133 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,560 bought it and it hangs in my garage unused. 134 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:08,160 It's in mint condition. I wanted a hot tub and so I 135 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:13,360 found one, saved up, found it, it was used, it was great, put 136 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,120 it at the house. But then we moved to Quincy. 137 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:18,400 I was like, we're not bringing it down there. 138 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,240 You want to know why? Because after like the first 139 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,120 four weeks of owning it, I spent all my time putting chemicals in 140 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:30,680 it than actually using it. I wanted a four Wheeler since I 141 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:35,840 was in 6th grade and eventually I had enough money to get it. 142 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,520 And as soon as I got one, other people got 1. 143 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:46,480 You know, the problem was they got bigger ones and faster ones. 144 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,680 All of a sudden I look like I was riding a big wheel. 145 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,520 Well all my friends were riding really because I mean I can make 146 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,360 a big four Wheeler look small. And I went from absolutely 147 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:02,840 loving my four Wheeler to be like man I wish I had a 148 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:11,240 different one. Oh 12 years later my dad. 149 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,000 This is weird because he bought it for me. 150 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,520 Like this past Thanksgiving bought me the baddest 4 Wheeler 151 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:23,360 that is made. They don't make them badder than 152 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:29,920 the four Wheeler that I have. It is a can am 1000 turbo R. 153 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,360 It is like been my dream four Wheeler my whole life. 154 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,000 He gave it to me on Thanksgiving. 155 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,080 Guess how many times I have driven this thing since 156 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:50,160 Thanksgiving? 0 times I would have spent money 157 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,720 to buy it at some point only for it to sit in my garage. 158 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,680 There was a time when I wanted a flip phone. 159 00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:58,240 I know that doesn't make sense to you guys. 160 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:07,600 Moto Razor. Then I just got it and they came 161 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,880 out with the BlackBerry. And I thought to myself, if I 162 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:16,840 just had the BlackBerry and I got it, and as soon as I'd saved 163 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,560 up and got it, that came out with the iPhone. 164 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:25,200 And I thought to myself, once I get the iPhone, I'll never need 165 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:32,400 another phone. Right now I'm rocking a 12. 166 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:37,200 And as I was writing this sermon, I was thinking to 167 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:43,360 myself, how much longer can I hold off because I'm greedy? 168 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:47,360 I had a 2001 Toyota Avalon. I wanted a vehicle that had 169 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,160 leather interior and I bought it when it was 7 years old, drove 170 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,400 it for 12. It was missing the gas cap on 171 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,360 the side, like the little flappy thing. 172 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,440 I don't know what that's called because the caps the IT had the 173 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,600 twisty thing. It didn't have the Chevy thing 174 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,320 and while I was driving it around I was like I cannot wait 175 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,920 until I have a suburban. My parents I was like I just 176 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,240 can't wait till I own a suburban and I found one. 177 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,400 It was about 8 years old when I bought it and I was so happy for 178 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:19,200 it until the 1st long drive and I realized I didn't fit and my 179 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,800 kids wouldn't sit behind me. They sat in the way, way, way 180 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,240 back and I was like, well, we got to get something different 181 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,720 that's comfortable. And I was like, you know, I just 182 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,760 want to be comfortable. I just want one vehicle that my 183 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,800 big old body can get in and be super comfortable. 184 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,520 And I found a used pickup truck and it has the best interior 185 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:41,640 ever and it has the most legroom and I love it except for the 186 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:46,080 fact that Dodge has a Ram is like addicted to a cheap Chrome 187 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,160 and I cannot stand the way it looks. 188 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:52,840 And so sometimes I'm a greedy person. 189 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,800 I'm just being transparent. I, I look online to find, do 190 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,120 they make a blacked out version? Do you know the dumbest part 191 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,960 about this? When I'm driving my vehicle, do 192 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,880 you know how much of my Chrome I can see? 193 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:13,920 0%, but just knowing it's there makes me think if I if I just 194 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:17,520 had something different then I'd be happy. 195 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,120 Now, based off of everything I've told you, what do you think 196 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,920 would happen if I had a blacked out Ram pickup truck? 197 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,240 I would want something else. I have a disease. 198 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:36,480 It's called Have Moreness. One time JD Rockefeller, the 199 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,160 richest man in the United States at the time, was asked what was 200 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:47,160 the best million he ever made. Some of you are like any. 201 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,120 Any million would be my would be the one. 202 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,520 Same here. You would think he would say his 203 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,200 first million. He didn't. 204 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,120 You would say his last million, he didn't. 205 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,920 You would think it was his 10th million or his 100th million. 206 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:09,360 His answer surprised everybody, he said The next one. 207 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,520 We keep thinking that the next thing will fill us up, that the 208 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,000 next thing will truly satisfy, but it doesn't. 209 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:28,560 However, that does not keep us from pursuing the next thing. 210 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,200 Why is greed so dangerous? One, it's tied to coveting, 211 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,480 which if you're a person who grew up in church, you know that 212 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,840 coveting is the one of the commands that shows up in the 10 213 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,440 commandments. Remember Exodus chapter 20, 214 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,520 verse 17. You shall not covet your 215 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,320 neighbor's house. You shall not covet your 216 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:53,080 neighbor's wife or his male or female servant, his ox or his 217 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:55,680 donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. 218 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,400 And there are some of your like, finally a verse I can get 219 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,720 behind. I have never once coveted my 220 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,440 neighbor's donkey. Not once have I ever seen my 221 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,480 neighbor's donkey and said to myself, man, I wish that was 222 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,520 mine. But you guys forget. 223 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:17,200 We have campuses in Iowa and they go to a thing called old 224 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,200 threshers and they show up at old threshers and they're like, 225 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,040 but Clayton, they had a plateau donkey. 226 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:27,960 Turn to your neighbor and say plot two. 227 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:35,920 Oh, yeah, I looked it up. This is a plot 2 donkey and it's 228 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:37,720 one of the largest donkey breeds. 229 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,800 And look at how cute it is. You didn't think you had 230 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,040 coveting problems of your neighbor's donkey, but what if 231 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,320 your neighbor showed up with the plot 2 donkey? 232 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:52,520 It is the golden doodle of the donkey world and you were fine 233 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,760 there with your regular old donkey till your neighbor shows 234 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,760 up with a trailer full of plateau donkeys and there you 235 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,040 are. Greedy, have mourness. 236 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,800 God, if only I had the plateau donkey, I'd finally be happy. 237 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:16,400 You see, when you covet, when you're greedy, it ruins your 238 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:21,800 relationships. Because when you are greedy, 239 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,720 when you covet, you are no longer able to rejoice in the 240 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:30,360 success or the blessings of other people because you wish 241 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,840 you had it. When you covet, when you're 242 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,680 greedy, you can no longer be satisfied with your own 243 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,520 successes and your own blessings because you're measuring them 244 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,680 against others. And both of those things lead to 245 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:53,000 depression and isolation because you don't want to be around to 246 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,480 other people anymore because you're just reminded of what God 247 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:01,080 has done for them and you're frustrated with what he hasn't 248 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,640 done for you. I know three people personally 249 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:11,319 that their depression started because they were mad at God 250 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,280 that they did not have the life that other people had. 251 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,960 Third reason why greed is so dangerous, it keeps us from 252 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,119 godliness. So how do we fight against this? 253 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,080 How do you and I go, OK, greedy people don't make it into 254 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,720 heaven. Greedy people have a hard time 255 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,000 building their trust in God. How do we combat this so that we 256 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,000 become ungreedy people? Well, one of the gifts that God 257 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:45,680 gives us is the tithe because tithing wages war against greed. 258 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,160 How? Because tithing recognizes that 259 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,880 everything we have belongs to God. 260 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:58,640 It forces us out of the primary position into the third 261 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,480 position. If the first position is God, 262 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,760 the second position is others. The third position becomes 263 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,960 ourselves. Some of you may have grown up 264 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,600 and heard people talk about how do you have joy in your life? 265 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:15,360 You have joy in your life when you put Jesus first, others 2nd, 266 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,600 and yourself 3rd. Tithing does that. 267 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,280 It puts the needs of God and others above yourself. 268 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:30,280 Lots of us when it comes to giving, we kind of operate in a 269 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,080 in a weird world because the Bible talks about tithing. 270 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:40,440 Now tithing is 10 and it's not just any of the 10s, it's the 271 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,360 first ten. It's the first fruit, so this is 272 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:49,840 $10100 bills. The tithe would be the first. 273 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,360 Don't want to RIP these because we want to take them back to the 274 00:18:53,360 --> 00:19:01,680 bank, OK? This is the first ten, the first 275 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:07,960 10. This is what makes it the tithe. 276 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:15,320 It is the first fruit and when you tithe you are honoring God 277 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,960 with your first. But if you don't honor God with 278 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:23,080 your first, what you end up doing is you end up tipping. 279 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:28,080 You end up giving God what is left. 280 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,200 That's what we do when we tip people. 281 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,080 When the bellhop takes the clothes or the takes all the 282 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,080 bags to the room, we give him money for services rendered. 283 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:45,320 Thanks for moving the bags. When the meal is done, that is 284 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,960 when we give them the tip and the size of the tip is 285 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:56,320 determined by two things. How good was the service and how 286 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,520 much do we have left. Back when we kind of lived more 287 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:05,120 in a cash economy, when you got finished with the meal, you 288 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:11,480 might have a meal that ran up. A 75 or $76 meal and if you had 289 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:16,360 100 in your wallet, you would say keep the change. 290 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:27,120 You would give what was left. Tipping shows appreciation, 291 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:37,410 thanks. Tithing shows allegiance. 292 00:20:38,850 --> 00:20:44,760 Tipping says it all belongs to me and you can have whatever's 293 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:50,920 leftover after I'm done. Tithing says everything I have 294 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,880 belongs to you. So when it comes to your 295 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,360 relationship with God, are you a tither or a tipper? 296 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,680 And if you're going to say you're a tipper, you're saying 297 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:10,560 thanks for services rendered and how good has his service to you 298 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,880 been? It's weird. 299 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:20,280 We get hit up to tip everywhere. I was in an airport when they 300 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,960 had just first put in the kiosks that don't have anybody working, 301 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,040 and they hadn't got all the software bugs worked out. 302 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,560 So I went, got my own Coke, got my own. 303 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,200 I don't even know how to say this, so please forgive me. 304 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,240 I can't put too many French words in one sermon. 305 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,880 Guard Gar ghettos, gardettos, whatever those are. 306 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,600 I got those and then I got the gummy clusters. 307 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:50,360 Have you had gummy clusters? You will get addicted. 308 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,080 OK. And I went up to the thing. 309 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:54,520 There was nobody in there working. 310 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,400 And I rang it all up and it get told me how much it was and said 311 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:03,400 would you like to what? Tip myself What, who, who, who 312 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,840 we giving this to? But in a weird like there's a 313 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,240 part of us that when we see that moment, we don't want to be the 314 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,000 person who's stingy. But when it comes to our 315 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,400 relationship with God, most of us don't ever get around to even 316 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:20,880 tipping. Tithing says I pledge allegiance 317 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:26,800 to you. It's saying God, you own all of 318 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:31,000 it. It all belongs to you. 319 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,720 Greed says the next thing will be enough. 320 00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:42,400 Giving says God, is enough. Tithing loosens the grip that we 321 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,600 have on our things so we can fully take hold of the things 322 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:52,200 that God offers us, the good things that God offers us. 323 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,880 Why does this matter? It's because you and I will 324 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,440 either be held by our possessions or we can grab hold 325 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,280 of God. And I know that right now there 326 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:03,720 are some of you who are going tithing. 327 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,160 Seems absolutely crazy. Just hang with me here for a 328 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:13,320 second. Did you know that 28% of tithers 329 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:18,320 are completely debt free? Something like that sounds 330 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:29,120 fantastic. 80% of tithers have zero credit card debt. 74% of 331 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:36,040 tithers own their car outright. Why do you think that is? 332 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,200 And don't you kind of want that for yourself? 333 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,400 Don't you want to be the person who's like completely debt free, 334 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,320 no credit card balance, no car payment? 335 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:53,360 It's because tithing breaks the curse of have moreness. 336 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,480 It helps you start to realize that your fulfillment and 337 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,520 satisfaction is never going to be in the things. 338 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,440 Tithing breaks the greed cycle. It teaches you how to break the 339 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,080 curse of greed and the relentless pursuit of have 340 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,960 moreness. Now I read to you out of Luke 341 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,760 chapter 12 about the story of Jesus, but I never finished it, 342 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:17,280 so I should probably finish this story for you. 343 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,880 Watch what happens. And then Jesus told them this 344 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,280 parable. That's a story. 345 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,720 The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 346 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:29,600 He thought to himself, what shall I do? 347 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,480 I have no place to store my crops. 348 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:35,480 Then he said, this is what I'll do. 349 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:40,480 I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I 350 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,480 will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, I have 351 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,560 plenty of grain laid up for many years. 352 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:53,240 Take life easy, Eat, drink and be merry. 353 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,600 But God said to him, You fool, this very night your life will 354 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:04,200 be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have 355 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,280 prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with 356 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:15,200 whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich 357 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:20,000 toward God. This rich man had plenty of 358 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,800 money and Jesus goes, but you can't take it with you. 359 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,680 It will eventually all go to someone else. 360 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,720 However, those who are rich towards God, Jesus followers, 361 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,200 Jesus followers go. It all belongs to you and so 362 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,920 they are rich towards God. And you might be going all 363 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,840 right, Clayton, but what will happen to me if I actually start 364 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:50,080 being rich towards God? Look what Jesus says in the very 365 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:53,400 next verse. That's as if God knows exactly 366 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:54,800 what's running through our minds. 367 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,760 Then Jesus said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, 368 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,400 do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your 369 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:11,680 body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and 370 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:16,280 the body more than clothes. Consider the Ravens. 371 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,920 They do not sow or reap. They have no storeroom or barn. 372 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:24,360 Yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable are 373 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,120 they than the are you, than the birds? 374 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:34,080 Who of you by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? 375 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,800 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry 376 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:43,160 about the rest? Consider how the wildflowers 377 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,600 grow. They do not labor or spend. 378 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,440 Yet I tell you, not even Solomon and all of his splendor was 379 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,920 dressed like one of these. If that is how God closed the 380 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,960 grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow's thrown into 381 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:01,440 the fire, how much more will He clothe you, you of little faith? 382 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,640 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink. 383 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:17,360 Do not worry about it, for the Pagan world runs after such 384 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:23,680 things, and your Father, this is God knows that you need them, 385 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:32,360 but seek His Kingdom, and these things will be given to you as 386 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,880 well. Do not be afraid, little flock, 387 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,960 for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom. 388 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,760 Sell your possessions, give to the poor, provide purses for 389 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,080 yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that 390 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:56,240 will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 391 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:03,360 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 392 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,840 Jesus looks at people and says Trust me. 393 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,400 And when you put your trust in me, you don't have to worry 394 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:17,280 about what you'll wear. You don't have to worry about 395 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:22,360 what you will eat. You don't have to worry because 396 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:28,360 all we have belongs to Him and life is more than stuff. 397 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:35,360 And when we seek Him first, He promises to take care of us. 398 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:43,040 When we are honest with God and open handed with God, we are 399 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:48,400 putting ourselves under His care and under His provision. 400 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,200 But the scariest part of what Jesus says is the last line. 401 00:28:54,920 --> 00:29:03,280 Because where your treasure is, is where your heart is. 402 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:09,960 Our treasure determines the direction of our heart. 403 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,360 It reveals what really matters to us. 404 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:19,840 It exposes us. Greed says there is never 405 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:21,920 enough. Jesus says I'm enough. 406 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:24,800 Greed says worry about what's next. 407 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,200 Jesus says life is more than the things. 408 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,640 Greed says do the Kingdom things, just do them later. 409 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,440 Jesus says do Kingdom things first and I'll take care of the 410 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:40,040 rest. Satan says your treasure is all 411 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,680 that matters. Jesus says where you put your 412 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:49,160 treasure is what matters because you can't put your treasure in 413 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,880 one place and your heart in another. 414 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,600 I want you to think about that while we're moving to a time of 415 00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:01,760 decision. To those of you who are here and 416 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,760 you've never really started a relationship with Jesus Christ, 417 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,120 God is not here to take from you, nor are we. 418 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,800 God wants to invite you into a relationship with Him, and that 419 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:19,040 relationship requires faith. This is what it says in 420 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,640 Ephesians. Pay attention to this Ephesians 421 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,200 chapter 1 verses 3:00 and 8:00. If you want to go home and 422 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,000 highlight this, this is a keeper verse. 423 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,080 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 424 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,200 has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual 425 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:39,440 blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before 426 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:44,720 the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. 427 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,720 In love. He predestined us for adoption 428 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:56,080 to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure 429 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:01,520 and will to the praise of His glorious grace which He has 430 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:05,920 freely given us in the one He loves, Jesus. 431 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:11,440 In Him, Jesus, we have redemption through His blood, 432 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:18,120 forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of 433 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:22,520 God's grace that He has lavished on us. 434 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,720 God has not been greedy or stingy with us. 435 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:35,760 He has lavished us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 436 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,680 And hear me, it was his pleasure to do so. 437 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:46,960 I don't know if you guys ever made a mess of your clothes and 438 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,040 you asked your mom like, hey, mom, I need you to get these 439 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:53,680 stains out. And your mom's like it was not 440 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:57,800 her pleasure to do so. And so sometimes that's what 441 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,480 people think because of how they've messed up, because of 442 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,080 all the things that they've done bad, they get this thought in 443 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,360 their head that God doesn't love them. 444 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:18,120 But Ephesians says this It was his pleasure to give you every 445 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:25,920 spiritual blessing in Christ. Did he give these blessings in 446 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,120 Christ to people who deserved it? 447 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,240 No. Who earned it? 448 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:37,480 No. He dumped out a truckload of 449 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:43,080 spiritual blessings in in Christ because it was his pleasure to 450 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:48,760 do so on undeserving people. And to those of you who are here 451 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,680 today, and those of you who are watching online who have never 452 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,680 started an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 453 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,320 hear me. You can experience all of those 454 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:03,680 blessings in Christ today. You can be made holy and 455 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:08,840 blameless before God, adopted as his children, receive the riches 456 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,520 of His grace, be redeemed through the blood of Jesus 457 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,480 Christ, forgiven of your sins, receive wisdom and insight, and 458 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:17,840 become the residents of the Holy Spirit. 459 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:20,760 Why on earth would you put that off? 460 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,440 So just a few moments, the people around you are going to 461 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,960 stand and sing, and there's going to be people who are going 462 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:27,240 to come up to the steps and pray. 463 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,400 And I want to encourage you to walk right over there underneath 464 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,040 that screen next to that baptistry, and talk to somebody 465 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:34,760 about how to start a relationship with Jesus. 466 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:38,120 That changes everything. To the rest of you, to those of 467 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,160 you who do have a relationship with Jesus Christ, what is 468 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,560 standing in the way of you trusting God with all of you? 469 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:51,920 Name it. What is standing in the way of 470 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,680 you experiencing the true and abundant life that God is 471 00:33:55,680 --> 00:34:00,280 inviting you into? Because trusting God with your 472 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:05,560 finances is one of the single greatest faith builders you will 473 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,239 ever have. I hate for you to miss out on 474 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:09,280 it. Would you guys stand with me? 475 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,239 Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to do a work and God I. 476 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:17,280 I don't say that as if you haven't already been working. 477 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,360 God, you've been doing way more than we could have asked or 478 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:26,400 imagined as a church. But God, I know there's a lot of 479 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,760 people here going through a lot of different things. 480 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,560 And so God, I'm asking the right now, you would just help each 481 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:38,000 and every single one of us to take a step to move in your 482 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,000 direction, to trust you more than we've trusted you in the 483 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,719 past, to be transformed by you in ways that we didn't ever 484 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:46,960 think possible. In your name I pray. 485 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:47,920 Amen.