1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,800 What up crossing family I want to welcome you join in all of 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,440 our different locations so to those of you here at 48th St. to 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,360 those of you in Macomb, Kirksville, 929 Pike County, 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,000 Hannibal, Lima, Mount Sterling, Keokuk, Monmouth, Jacksonville, 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,200 Weaver we are so glad to have you. 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,600 I also want to welcome those of you who are part of our Crossing 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:26,000 Online family and issue a very special shout out to those of 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,040 you who are part of the crossing inside, seeing all those 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,520 baptisms. We love you. 10 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,200 If you're a part of the crossing inside, don't ever doubt that 11 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,680 this church absolutely loves you. 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,400 You have our hearts and we can't wait to see what God is going to 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,880 do through you. You've heard me talk about it 14 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,720 for the last couple of weeks, but starting next weekend we are 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,400 going to launch a brand new sermon series that will be 16 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:54,840 perfect to invite somebody that God has put in your life and on 17 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,560 your heart. Every single one of us. 18 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,320 We have people that are close to us but are far from God, and we 19 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,640 built this series out with those people and those opportunities 20 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,040 in mind. Jesus, as you guys know, we're a 21 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,640 big fan of him. Here was the greatest teacher 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,880 that ever walked planet earth and his primary way of teaching 23 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:23,160 was through the power of story. And the Bible word for story is 24 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,720 parable. And we are going to be doing our 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,000 best to leverage the model, the teaching model of Jesus and the 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,880 power of story through our At the Movies sermon series. 27 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,000 And we're going to be taking a look at what happens when Darth 28 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,200 Vader comes to church. And to those of you who are 29 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,280 watching online, I got to be honest with you, we are not 30 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,040 going to be able to broadcast this series. 31 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,560 So the only way for you to participate will be for you to 32 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,520 show up at one of our physical locations. 33 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,480 However, we know that there's some of you who you watch from a 34 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,200 distance that is not drivable. And I want you to know we're 35 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,280 still going to have online services. 36 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,720 They'll still be preaching, they'll still be chat hosts, 37 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:07,560 they'll still be worship, they'll still be all the things 38 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:09,880 you're used to. You just won't be going on the 39 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,880 same journey that the rest of us are experiencing. 40 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,120 But before we can get into that series, we need to finish up 41 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,320 this series. And this is week 3 in our final 42 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:26,880 sermon in this series, 3 lies and a Bunch of Gospel truth. 43 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,000 And what we've been doing is we've been looking at lies that 44 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,200 Satan has told us that we have begun to believe, and then 45 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,520 looking at the gospel truth and realizing that adjustments need 46 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,640 to be made. The first lie we tackled was 47 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:47,400 this lie from Satan. I am not rich, but the truth is 48 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,120 we are. Why does this matter? 49 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,400 Because Jesus says that it is easier for a camel, big old 50 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,080 animal, to go through the eye of a needle, super small opening 51 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,280 than it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of heaven. 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,040 Why is that? Well, it's because the more 53 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,400 riches you have, the more your riches end up having you. 54 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:19,320 It is really stinking hard to hold on and put your trust in 55 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,200 Jesus when we are gripping so tightly to our things. 56 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,560 Now let me be clear, Jesus does not have a problem with you 57 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,040 having wealth. His issue is when your wealth 58 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:40,880 has you lie #2 that Satan has told us that you are not greedy, 59 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:46,960 that I am not greedy. But the truth is we are. 60 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,400 Why does this matter? Because the Bible says that 61 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,440 greedy people will not inherit the Kingdom of God in First 62 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,720 Corinthians chapter 6. That greedy people will have no 63 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,360 inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of God in 64 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:07,560 Ephesians chapter 5. Greed is living in a state of 65 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,800 have more Ness. What you have is never enough, 66 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,920 so you always need more. But it gets worse than that. 67 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,279 You see, greed keeps us from finding our satisfaction in 68 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,520 Jesus. This leads to us coveting, which 69 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,720 opens up the door to create relational distance with others 70 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,120 and with God. And this leads to isolation and 71 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,880 depression. As we've been going through this 72 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,720 series, I've been talking about the gift that God gives people 73 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,000 in tithing. Now tithing is 10%. 74 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:51,160 In fact, biblical tithing is the 1st 10% of your increase given 75 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,360 back to God. Tithing is not tipping. 76 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:59,680 Tipping is what happens after the event has taken place, after 77 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,560 the meal, after the person has given you the ride. 78 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,240 It happens after it happens with the leftovers. 79 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,680 Tithing is a first fruit, so it happens first. 80 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:18,080 Tipping shows appreciation. Tithing shows allegiance. 81 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,800 Tipping says that I own the other 9. 82 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:28,000 Tithing says God owns it all. Today we are going to deal with 83 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,240 the 3rd and final lie from Satan. 84 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,480 And here it is. Satan has told you that you are 85 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,760 not ready to trust God with your finances. 86 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:45,400 But the truth is, I believe some of you, if not many of you are 87 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,480 now right about this time in the message. 88 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,720 You guys are all thinking to yourself, why did I come today? 89 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,880 It's OK. You might be wondering why does 90 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:03,160 the church talk about money? And let me tell you, because we 91 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:08,440 preach the Bible here and the Bible talks about money a lot. 92 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,400 And you might be going really, it talks about it a lot. 93 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,120 Well, let me just give you some quick stats. 94 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,400 Jesus, you know, one of the big characters in the Bible, one of 95 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,520 the best theologians we have, when he preached through the 96 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,520 power of through the power of story, 16 of his 39 parables 97 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,720 were about how to handle money and possessions. 98 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,640 If you're to read the Gospels, which are about the life of 99 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,120 Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one out of every 10 verses 100 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:42,080 deal directly with the subject of money, 288 verses in all The 101 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:46,200 Bible. It is a big fan of prayer and so 102 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,120 the Bible talks about prayer 500 times. 103 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,320 The Bible is a big fan of faith, but it talks about faith less 104 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,520 than 500 times. But do you know what the Bible 105 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,480 how many times the Bible teaches on money and possessions? 106 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:08,320 Over 2000 times. Why does the Bible place such an 107 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:10,600 emphasis on money and possessions? 108 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:16,120 I'll tell you because our use of money is about the most reliable 109 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,200 external indicator of where our heart is. 110 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,600 Remember what Jesus said in Luke chapter 12, verse 34. 111 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:31,920 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 112 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,640 Your treasure determines the direction of your heart, not the 113 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,480 other way around. Now I want to give you all a 114 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,520 gift. And here is the gift. 115 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,240 I hear people say all the churches talk about is money. 116 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,280 And you guys, this is not just for how you answer those 117 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,200 questions if people say to you or you're thinking those things, 118 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:58,800 but I just want to have like a, a little, a little moment. 119 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,880 And this is for all churches everywhere, because you might 120 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,800 have somebody come up to you and they'll say something like, Hey, 121 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:06,920 you'll invite them, Hey, why don't you come to church? 122 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,120 And then they'll say, well, all the church cares about his 123 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,400 money. And sometimes I'm in a mood. 124 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,440 You guys have been here before when I'm in a mood and I say 125 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,880 something and you turn to somebody and go, I don't, I 126 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:19,120 don't know if he should have said that. 127 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,000 I, I, I, does he still have an e-mail address? 128 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,600 Because it's going to be full. So let me tell you how I handle 129 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,040 that question. If I'm in a mood, I want to put 130 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,000 some tools in your tool belt to help you navigate that. 131 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,880 When you interact with somebody, somebody comes up to you and 132 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:39,679 they say all the church cares about is money. 133 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,520 Not just the crossing, any church anywhere. 134 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,520 This is this is a gift for you. What I want you to say is no, 135 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,880 they don't practice. All the church cares about is 136 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,480 money. Yo, you guys are super smart. 137 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,080 You're halfway there. If that's not enough, this is 138 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,240 how I'd answer it. I had a guy come up to me who 139 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,720 was a basketball coach and he said to me and I was in a mood. 140 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,640 He said all the church cares about is money. 141 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:12,320 And I said no, we don't, you do. And he goes no I don't. 142 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,040 And I said yes you do. And he goes, no, I don't. 143 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:24,040 Like I said, I was in a mood. Do you charge to get in so 144 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,120 people can watch your game? We don't. 145 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,880 I can't even get in the building without having a ticket. 146 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,320 Do you negotiate your contract every year? 147 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,040 We don't. When you show up, isn't there a 148 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,640 special place for all the boosters with the nice couches 149 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,720 and the nice chairs and the nice strengths? 150 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,760 You do that, we don't. When I show up, there's a 151 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,640 program that lists all of your supporters on it. 152 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,480 Can you imagine what would happen if I did that? 153 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,000 I wasn't done. I said you have a really special 154 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,600 banquet every year where you make people give you stuff that 155 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:10,840 you can sell to rich people who already have more than they 156 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,480 need, so that way you can continue to fund your program. 157 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,120 We don't. And when I come to your game, I 158 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:22,120 have to walk past reserved parking spaces for your super 159 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,960 rich contributors. We don't do that. 160 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:28,720 How come is it that the basketball coach, and just so 161 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,600 you know, to all the basketball coaches and football coaches, I 162 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:32,840 got no problem with you doing that. 163 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,600 And I'm not talking about any of you, OK? 164 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:36,200 Someone's like, I think he's talking. 165 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,200 OK, listen, this is a you're fine. 166 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,840 You know what everybody says about the basketball coaches and 167 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:44,680 the football coaches and the track coaches? 168 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:45,520 You know what they say about them? 169 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,920 Boy, they just love the kids. But if I were to run the 170 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:56,840 basketball play at our church, then you could say all we care 171 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,480 about is money. But the church is the only 172 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:06,680 institution on planet Earth that never sends a bill. 173 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,080 We are the only place when your marriage is falling apart, that 174 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,120 we are the first responders when you're struggling with issues of 175 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,160 faith. We're there when you're in the 176 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,560 hospital and you're sick, when somebody that you love is dying, 177 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:21,920 when you get the diagnosis you don't need, when you're trying 178 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:23,720 to navigate stuff with your kids. 179 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,280 We're the only place that never sends a bill. 180 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,960 So how satanic is that? That the place that never sends 181 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,120 the bill is the place that's accused of all they ever care 182 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,160 about is money. Every single place you go 183 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,840 charges and when you get done, you go. 184 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:43,640 Those are really good chicken fingers. 185 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,360 You never go. All McDonald's cares about is 186 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,000 the money or Keynes cares about the money, or the restaurant or 187 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,680 the gas station. You go there, you get billed 188 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:57,200 non-stop. But the only place on planet 189 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,040 Earth that says we love you right where you are, but we love 190 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,920 you enough not to leave you there, the place that decides to 191 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,520 teach you biblical truths that lead to blessings is the place 192 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,360 that gets acute. I was in a mood that day. 193 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,160 And so when this is, listen to me, this is not just for our 194 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,640 church. I'm saying this on behalf of 195 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,120 every pastor everywhere, every church, everywhere. 196 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,680 You need to stand in the gap when that lie gets spoken 197 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:26,800 because you're either going to feed it, allow it, or rebuke it 198 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,400 because Satan has a stronghold on our stranglehold on way too 199 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:36,480 many people. We talk about it because you are 200 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,600 going to stand before God and answer for how you stewarded His 201 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,240 blessings. We talk about it because I'm 202 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,280 going to stand before God and give an account to whether or 203 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,120 not I feared your approval or gods. 204 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,840 We talk about it because I'm going to stand before God and be 205 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,600 held accountable for whether I preach to you the whole counsel 206 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,760 of God's Word. When I preach on money, the 207 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,160 people who love to give love the series. 208 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,560 The people who don't give, don't, which might give you an 209 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:15,400 indication of how you feel about this series because you might be 210 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,600 going, oh, that makes sense. Let me give you some background. 211 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,440 When we preach on marriage here at our church, you know what I 212 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:23,680 get? I get people going, man. 213 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,880 Clayton, thanks so much. Marriage is in a tailspin. 214 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:28,200 You want to know why? Because marriage is hard. 215 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,560 Sometimes marriage just sucks and you're like, how do we going 216 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,440 to pull this thing off? Not Jennifer and Ice, because 217 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,440 Jennifer's perfect. Let me she's here this service 218 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:36,440 if you want to hear the truth. Second service and Thursday 219 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,160 nights. But she's here and our marriage 220 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,200 is our marriage is. I love you. 221 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,000 I just want to take this moment. God bless you. 222 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,560 And I'm sorry. I'm already I'm and it's my 223 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:49,240 fault. OK, so all right, Hey, OK. 224 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,560 The reason why we talk about it is people lean in is because 80 225 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,400 or 50% of marriages don't make it past the eight-year mark. 226 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:04,920 When we preach on porn, 60% of the of you by statistically 60% 227 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,440 of you have consumed it in the last year. 228 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:08,960 And I'll have ladies come up to me like thank you so much for 229 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:10,800 taking a strong stance. I'm worried about my husband, 230 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,680 I'm worried about my son and all that stuff. 231 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:14,800 And you know when we say, hey, you, you know, you shouldn't 232 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,680 watch other people have sex. You should, you know, have sex 233 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:19,920 with the other people that God designed you to have sex with. 234 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,600 People are like man, that's thank you. 235 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,200 Thank you so much for that. Watch this 50% of marriages when 236 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,720 I preach on IT, people are like super thankful porn 60% of 237 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,560 people. But when I preach on tithing. 238 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:38,880 Van Coe's statistics show that 95% of churchgoers don't tithe. 239 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:46,360 So in other words, our church has a bigger giving problem than 240 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:53,160 a porn problem. This is impacting your ability 241 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,320 to honor God. And this is a major issue in our 242 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,240 faith journey and our commitment to Jesus and His Kingdom. 243 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,560 So let me tell you where I am firmly planted, not just as a 244 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,320 pastor, but as a believer, as a part of this body. 245 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:12,080 When I say that God's way is the best way, I actually mean it. 246 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,160 I believe that God's way is the best way in every area of our 247 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,640 lives. I believe that God's way is the 248 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,400 best way when it comes to salvation, relationships, 249 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:26,200 forgiveness, pain, worry, anxiety, sex, rest, and yes, 250 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,040 even money. Let me walk you through why I 251 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,720 get there. One, I believe that the Bible 252 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,320 teaches it. Tithing is demonstrated before 253 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,720 the institution of the Old Covenant, established in the law 254 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,600 of the Old Covenant, reaffirmed in the teachings of Jesus. 255 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,440 I believe that the early church radically modeled generosity in 256 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:52,960 the book of Acts and it is the expected behavior of believers 257 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:57,320 in the remaining books of the New Testament #2 I believe that 258 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,400 my heart needs it. I need to break the curse of 259 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:06,320 greed, selfishness, and finding my identity in things instead of 260 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,520 Jesus. My heart needs to be directed 261 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,520 and committed to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. 262 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:21,920 As Jesus said, where my treasure is, my heart will be also #3 I 263 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,200 believe that my faith is strengthened by it. 264 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:31,240 I believe that nothing will grow your faith faster then trusting 265 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:37,720 God with your finances #4 I believe that God blesses it. 266 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,960 Proverbs chapter 3 verses 9 through 10 has this to say. 267 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,840 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all 268 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:45,440 your crops. Then your barns will be filled 269 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:50,920 to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine #5 270 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:55,960 I believe that love requires it. John chapter 3 verse 16 says For 271 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,560 God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that 272 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,280 whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal 273 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:02,880 life. For God so loved the world that 274 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:07,040 he gave. In light of a blood stained 275 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,520 cross. How can I do anything less? 276 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,160 God loved and so God gave. How can I say that I love God, 277 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,800 love the church, and not give? How can I say that I want to 278 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,319 make this region the hardest place on planet earth to get the 279 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:26,319 hell from and not be on the frontline financially? 280 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,440 I know that Satan might be telling you that you are not 281 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,960 ready to trust God with your finances, but the truth is, I 282 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,680 believe that some of you, if not many of you, are. 283 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,080 That's why every single week at our church, we have a moment in 284 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,600 our service where we give people an opportunity to start trusting 285 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,680 God financially and partnering in the advancement of the 286 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,560 Kingdom. The more people partner, the 287 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,640 more we can accomplish. The elders determine the vision 288 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,560 of our church, but you determine the speed at which that vision 289 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,640 is accomplished. They are the steering wheel, but 290 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,360 we get the opportunity to be the gas pedal. 291 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,960 That's why as a church we do in your corner moments like camp 292 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,680 scholarships for education, weekend year and given because 293 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,560 we want to give people a chance to take their first steps of 294 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,360 generosity. Did you know that one of the 295 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:19,840 gifts that God has placed in certain people in Romans chapter 296 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,520 12 after you read through the 1st 2 verses, which is where 297 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:23,960 everybody wants to get their tattoo. 298 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,240 If you kept reading, you can go home and check this out. 299 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,040 It says that God gave some people the gift of generosity. 300 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,960 So they want to go beyond the obedience of the tithe, and they 301 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,840 want to do other things, sacrificial things, for the 302 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:38,280 advancement of the Kingdom of God. 303 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,880 And as a church, we want to come alongside those people and give 304 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,240 them a chance to express that gift. 305 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,880 I remember one time getting an e-mail about a pastor in India 306 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,440 whose church had been burned down by Hindu extremists. 307 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:52,800 And so he was going to have to kind of pivot the way he 308 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,080 operated. And he was going to start 309 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,000 walking up into the jungle multiple days, One Direction, to 310 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,320 teach people about Jesus. And then he'd walk back multiple 311 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,560 days through the jungle to go back to his family. 312 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,000 And I just sent an e-mail back that said, can he get there by 313 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,640 motorcycle? The answer came back Yeah, well 314 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,480 how much is a motorcycle? And the number came back and 315 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,600 Jennifer and I, we made a commitment a long time ago that 316 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,200 in addition to our tithe that we were going to put a percentage 317 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,880 of our income into an account that was our generosity account. 318 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,520 So that way we could be planned to want to do stuff. 319 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,560 Have you ever been in that spot where you want to do something 320 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:27,480 and then you're like where we don't have it? 321 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,040 We want to be in a spot where we already had money. 322 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,160 We were pre deciding to put money away. 323 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,000 So that way when a need comes up, we could instantaneously 324 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,600 respond. Well, the the price of the bike 325 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,280 came back for more than what I had in my the account. 326 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,240 So I called another guy in our church who I know has the gift 327 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,840 of generosity and I said, look, man, here's the story. 328 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,560 Do you want the front wheel or the back wheel? 329 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,680 We got to get this thing done. Here's what I love about it. 330 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:55,360 So while I am he lives in India. So while I'm sleeping, he is 331 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,880 preaching the gospel all over India. 332 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,560 And when he's sleeping, and some of you might be with him right 333 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:03,960 now, you're sleeping through this sermon. 334 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,080 And God bless you. We see you. 335 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,800 OK, when he's sleeping, I'm preaching. 336 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,840 And I'm never going to meet this guy, and I'm not going to hear 337 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,320 any of the wind stories. Don't need to, because where my 338 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:17,960 treasure is, there my heart will be also. 339 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,280 And when I get to heaven, the treasure that will be laid up 340 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,360 for me and the guy who partnered with me is we will get to hear 341 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,760 all the stories and the ripple effect of that act of generosity 342 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,560 in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. 343 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:35,120 I know that some of you believe Satan when he lies to you and he 344 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,200 says you are not ready to trust God with your finances. 345 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,000 But the truth is I believe that some of you, if not many of you 346 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,480 are. That's one of the reasons we 347 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,640 started an endowment here at our church, because I personally 348 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,600 wanted to leave money to support this work and this mission long 349 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,400 after I'm gone. I I know that there's others of 350 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,560 you who you may want to do the very same thing. 351 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,040 I have a generosity goal that I want to give away a certain 352 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,440 amount of money in my lifetime, and I realized that I'm not on 353 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,160 pace to hit that. But I have a life insurance 354 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,640 policy and I eat a lot of fast food. 355 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,280 So if I play my cards right and Jennifer doesn't spend it all, 356 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,760 I'm going to be able to hit my generosity goal when I go to be 357 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,320 with Jesus for cardiac arrest. You heard it here first. 358 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,680 Looks OK. We have an A-fib on standby. 359 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,320 Just get him through the next service, all right? 360 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,800 Anyhow, did I ever tell you about the time I tried to lose 361 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,160 weight and I ate nothing but Bratwurst because I thought that 362 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:31,560 would. Now I'll tell you that story 363 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,040 another time. You'll put the weight on quick, 364 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:37,960 OK. Anyhow, so there was a group of 365 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:38,880 us that we're like, you know what? 366 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,640 Let's start an endowment. And let me tell you why. 367 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,560 Because when I say I want to make this place the hardest 368 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,120 place on planet earth to get the hell from, I actually stinking 369 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,280 mean it. And I want to make sure that 370 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,520 long after I'm gone, there are funds available to reach your 371 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,240 kids and your grandkids and your grandkids kids. 372 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:54,840 And I want to make sure that there's money deployed all the 373 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,880 way until the return of Jesus Christ. 374 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,080 There are others of you who may want to find other ways to, in 375 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,120 addition to tithing to expand the Kingdom of God. 376 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:05,480 And that's why I'm so thankful for our partnership with the 377 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,080 Solomon Foundation. The Solomon Foundation comes 378 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,840 alongside churches and helps them get the funding that they 379 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:15,040 need to take their next steps while leaving a great return to 380 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,440 their investors. In fact, Jennifer and I, we have 381 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,600 our retirement account with the Solomon Foundation and 382 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,040 presently, people in our church, people who look just like me and 383 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,520 you have over $17 million on deposit with the Solomon 384 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,440 Foundation, which means we earn a great interest by having our 385 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,880 money on deposit there. And then they're able to turn 386 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,080 around and loan it out to help churches take their next step as 387 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,760 their churches continue to grow. In fact, this weekend, I'm 388 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,560 pleased to welcome Josh Means, who is the CEO of the Solomon 389 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:45,880 Foundation. Would you guys please welcome 390 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:52,880 him? Come on up, my man, Talk to us 391 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,400 about the Solomon Foundation. First of all, did you know that 392 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,040 I coach a high school basketball team? 393 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:58,480 Well, all you care about is money. 394 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:00,000 That's all I know. No, I. 395 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,680 Don't I feel like I need to go cancel my booster dinner? 396 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,600 That's right. So we didn't plan that, by the 397 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,520 way, I just came up with that while I was sitting there. 398 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,760 So anyways, hey, before I get started talking about the 399 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,720 Solomon Foundation, do you guys know that you were part of 400 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,400 something special? There's something cool going on 401 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,440 here that I'm not sure that you recognize. 402 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,120 I get to travel all across the country and speak in churches, 403 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,160 and you guys are insanely unique. 404 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,960 And I just want to speak in you just a little bit. 405 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:31,880 Let me just give you a little bit of wisdom. 406 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,680 You guys have huge momentum. And there's this guy named John 407 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,240 Maxwell. Has anyone ever heard of John 408 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,880 before? I heard John one time tell me he 409 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,000 said, Josh, you've got momentum. You can sleep when you're dead, 410 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:45,520 man. Just keep going, keep finding 411 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,240 people for Jesus, right? That's what it's all about. 412 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,800 The other thing that you have is you have this guy right here, 413 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,120 and he is insanely special too. So don't take him for granted 414 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,880 because there's nobody else like him. 415 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,320 I don't mean that in a funny way, but man, he is awesome. 416 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:02,920 Who? Needs no last name, There's only 417 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,320 one I know. So, hey, so let me tell you a 418 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,320 little bit about the Solomon Foundation and then I'm going to 419 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,280 be back behind our booth with Ryan Stiles, our regional VP for 420 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,320 this part of the country. Come find me afterwards. 421 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,840 I'd love to talk with you and just hear more about your 422 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,480 journey and maybe how we can partner together to keep this 423 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,120 thing going. But what we are is we are a 424 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,560 church extension fund and we operate a lot like a bank or 425 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,600 credit union. So you can put, you have a 426 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,120 savings account, ACDA generosity fund, you can keep those funds 427 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:33,880 with us. And a lot of times we're going 428 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,000 to pay you about a percent or two higher than the bank. 429 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,000 And then every dime you keep on deposit with us, we lend out to 430 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,760 a church. And so you can know that your 431 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,520 money is doing good. You can know that your money is 432 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,040 going to help fund the church somewhere in North America. 433 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,720 And because you fund your account, there are going to be 434 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,960 people all across the country that get to come to know Jesus. 435 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:57,960 And so I'm going to tell you a quick story. 436 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,560 We have a really good product called the Anytime Access 437 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:02,280 Account. It's just like a savings 438 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:03,680 account. You can see the graphic. 439 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:08,120 We think it's the highest paying savings account in the country. 440 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,520 So when you put your money there, it helps fund churches, 441 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,440 right? I want to tell one quick story. 442 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,640 So there's a, there's a church in South Carolina and we got a 443 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:17,920 call and they said, hey, will you come meet with us? 444 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,680 We didn't know him. We've never heard about him. 445 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,760 We flew down there. He drove us out to this property 446 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,960 on his truck, put his bed down and rolled out these plans and 447 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,400 said I have these plans to build a 30,000 square foot church, but 448 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,600 either I can't get approved or they're only build me 18,000 449 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:36,800 square feet. This was a Church of about 400 450 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,600 people and we said no, we will not build you a Church of 18,000 451 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,440 square feet or 20,000 square feet or 25,000 square feet. 452 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,320 We'll build you a Church of 45,000 square feet because 453 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,120 that's what your king did. That's what your that's what 454 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:52,480 your community needs. That's what we need for you to 455 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,400 find Jesus. Today, three years later, that 456 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,840 Church of 400 is now running 3000 and has baptized over 1000 457 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:00,800 people. Come on. 458 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:06,440 So if you're saying that's what I want my savings account to be 459 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,480 a part of, that's where I want my treasure to be, that's where 460 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:11,720 I want to be a part of. We would love to partner with 461 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:13,480 you. We'll be out there after service 462 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,320 and would love to talk. So thanks so much, man. 463 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,760 Appreciate you brother. So let me give some context to 464 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:20,920 this. There is a move that is 465 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:22,320 happening all across the country. 466 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,120 Our church is not just growing. There are churches that are 467 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,200 going by leaps and bounds everywhere. 468 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:32,000 God is stirring something in America and right now there are 469 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:37,960 over $300 million worth of loan requests for churches to be able 470 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,520 to take their next step. And you get an opportunity to 471 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,960 join with Jennifer and I and people just like you all across 472 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:45,760 this country to go. It's still your money. 473 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,880 You're just putting it somewhere where the where the proceeds are 474 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,040 being used to help churches take their next step. 475 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:53,280 Now, what we're going to do right now in this service is 476 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,080 we're going to do something that might make some of you a little 477 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:56,760 uncomfortable. But listen, that is not the 478 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:58,080 intent. Well, I'm going to have the 479 00:26:58,080 --> 00:26:59,320 volunteers go ahead and come forward. 480 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:00,960 And as we've been going through this series, there have been 481 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,400 some of you who are going, you know what, I'm ready to go on 482 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,920 this journey of being obedient to God with your tithe and with 483 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,800 your finances. You're ready to take the next 484 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,440 step. And I simply want an opportunity 485 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,480 to cheer you on as you begin your journey. 486 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,720 And what these are, is these are commitment cards. 487 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,760 But let me be clear, this is not a commitment to us. 488 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,240 This is a commitment between you and God. 489 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,360 This isn't a financial pledge to the crossing. 490 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,560 There's no amount tied to this. But what I want you to do is I 491 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,520 want you to look at that card. I want you to write your name 492 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,640 clearly. I want you to put the right 493 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:36,200 information on it so we can read it. 494 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,160 And here's why. Because we want to celebrate you 495 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,680 and we want to pray for you and we want to honor you. 496 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,520 And so there's four things at the very top. 497 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:46,920 Hey, you know what? I'm going to start tithing. 498 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,840 Awesome. Check that box. 499 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,720 I'm going to keep tithing. I'm going to keep doing what 500 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,840 I've been doing. I'm going to start giving above 501 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:56,880 the tithe. I'm going to start my generosity 502 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,760 journey. I'm going to keep giving above 503 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,280 the tithe and I'm going to keep going on that journey. 504 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,400 And then the other one is you might hear, I've heard about the 505 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,840 endowment and go, you know what, I would like some more 506 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,800 information about it. That's the only box that if you 507 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,800 check, somebody on our team is going to reach out to you. 508 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,400 But those first of all, nobody is reaching out to you. 509 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,320 We're not going to call you and go, hey, you haven't. 510 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,040 We're not doing any of that. Here's what we are going to do. 511 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,800 We are going to pray over those stacks of cards and in 90 days, 512 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,920 I'm going to send you a word of encouragement. 513 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,320 I'm going to have each of our campuses and their staff, when 514 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,400 they gather together every week, pray over you and the commitment 515 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,600 that you're making to God. And I want you to sign it. 516 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:43,240 The reason why I want you to sign it is we sign all the 517 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,000 things that are important to us. We sign our marriage 518 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,880 certificate, We sign for our house, we sign for our vehicles. 519 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,560 I want you to sign your commitment to God. 520 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,400 Like I said, some of you might be going. 521 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,680 You know what, this isn't me right now. 522 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,480 I get it, there's lots of you at our church who are in that spot, 523 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,520 and I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable. 524 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,040 I just don't want my feelings towards you to interfere with 525 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,040 giving people an opportunity to go on this generosity journey 526 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,320 and be able to celebrate their decision. 527 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,960 You want to be asking yourself, why do we do this? 528 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,680 Let me tell you the answer. For Jennifer and I, there's this 529 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,520 powerful passage of scripture in Second Corinthians Chapter 9, 530 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,800 verses 6 through 13. And while you're filling out 531 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,360 your commitment card, I just want to read this. 532 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,320 Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap 533 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:34,360 sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap 534 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:37,680 generously. Each of you should give what you 535 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,040 have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly. 536 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:46,720 You're under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver, and God 537 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:51,320 is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all 538 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,920 times, having all that you need will abound. 539 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,400 In every good work as it is written, you have freely 540 00:29:58,400 --> 00:29:59,840 scattered their gifts to the poor. 541 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,880 Their righteousness endures forever. 542 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,000 And now he who supplies seed to the sower and bred for food will 543 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,800 also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge 544 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,880 the harvest of your righteousness. 545 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:22,240 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous 546 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,680 on every occasion and through US. 547 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,280 Your generosity will result in Thanksgiving to God. 548 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,160 This service that you perform is not only the supplying the needs 549 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,920 of the Lord's people, but is also overflowing in many 550 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:44,160 expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which 551 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,080 you have proved yourself, others will praise God for the 552 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,320 obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of 553 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:55,520 Christ and for your generosity and sharing with them and with 554 00:30:55,600 --> 00:31:00,840 everyone else. Jennifer and I give because we 555 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,680 believe that God uses it to change people and to rewrite 556 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:07,720 stories. I know that Satan might be 557 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,000 telling you that you are not ready to trust God with your 558 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,680 finances, but the truth is, I believe some of you, if not many 559 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,320 of you are at this time. I'm going to have the people 560 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,200 come forward and start collecting those cards. 561 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:21,320 You can fold it up. We're not going to look at the 562 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,280 names and if you're not going on this journey, totally get it. 563 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,080 So glad you're here. Can't wait for you to come back 564 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:28,680 next week. But for those of you who are 565 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,840 getting ready to go on it, we're going to be encouraging you, 566 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,920 praying for you, and supporting you on that journey. 567 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,160 I want to tell you 2 stories. There's a guy in our church who 568 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,360 looks a lot like Santa Claus and I love when he comes up to me to 569 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,480 talk about giving. He calls it fertilizer. 570 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,320 He says if you leave it all piled up in one place, it 571 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,560 doesn't do a bit of good, but if you spread it around, it raises 572 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,920 a mighty harvest. But one of my favorite 573 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,400 generosity stories is an unlikely one. 574 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:57,000 It actually shows up in all four of the gospels. 575 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,400 This occurs at the beginning of the final week of Jesus life, 576 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,640 which those of you who've been in church for a while is called 577 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,800 Holy Week. And I actually want to read to 578 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,000 you from Luke's account, Luke chapter 19. 579 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,680 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead going up to 580 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,520 Jerusalem. As he approached Bethpage and 581 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:19,840 Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of 582 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:25,920 his disciples saying to them, go to the village ahead of you, and 583 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,840 as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there. 584 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,000 It's actually a donkey. I figured I could work donkeys 585 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,200 into two sermons which no one has ever ridden. 586 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:42,680 Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you why are you 587 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,760 untying it, say the Lord needs it. 588 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,640 Those who were sent, who went ahead and found it just as he 589 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:55,320 had told them, as they were untying the cult, its owner 590 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,320 asked them why are you untying the cult? 591 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:05,320 They replied the Lord needs it. They brought it to Jesus, threw 592 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,720 their cloaks on the cult, and put Jesus on it. 593 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,000 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 594 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,800 Those of you who've been in church a while, you know the 595 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,680 rest of the story. Jesus hops on this donkey, and 596 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,120 as he starts to ride down the hill into Jerusalem, the people 597 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:29,240 of the city come out in droves. They're waving palm branches and 598 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,080 putting them on the ground, taking their clothes off and 599 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,800 putting them on the ground. And the donkey is walking not on 600 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:39,080 the dirt, but on their clothes. And they start shouting Hosanna. 601 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,120 Hosanna. Blessed is the King, who comes 602 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:47,320 in the name of the Lord. The Gospel of Matthew points out 603 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,920 that what is happening in this moment is a fulfillment of what 604 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,840 was written by the prophet Zechariah 500 years earlier. 605 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:00,040 Can I unpack the story for a second? 606 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,720 Did Jesus need that guy's donkeys? 607 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:10,040 No, the Bible tells us that everything that has been made 608 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:13,280 was made through Jesus. Jesus could have just said 609 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:18,440 donkey. I mean he's that bad to the bum. 610 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:20,920 He could have been like 2 donkeys. 611 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:25,159 I want the pre Anheuser Busch donkeys. 612 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,159 I think he just had a team of them stood on top of them. 613 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,440 He didn't need it, but he invited somebody into what he 614 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,040 was doing. Can you imagine being the 615 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,760 donkeys? You're just tied up. 616 00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:48,000 Somebody you don't know comes up and unties you. 617 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,159 Where are we going? I don't know. 618 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,600 Then they get close. The Bible says that all creation 619 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,680 glorifies God. So there's Mama donkey and baby 620 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:06,520 donkey. Oh, my goodness. 621 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:09,760 Baby donkey. Yes, Mama. 622 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:15,640 Donkey. Do you have any idea who that 623 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:17,480 is? Oh, yeah, Mom, I know who that 624 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,800 is. That's the Creator. 625 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:22,640 That's God's Son. All things have been made, have 626 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,480 been made through him and by him, and are sustained by him. 627 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:28,000 Oh, yeah. Oh, no. 628 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,600 Oh, no, Baby Donkey. He's about to get on you now. 629 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,680 Baby donkey, listen up. You have never been ridden 630 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:38,760 before. And don't you dare screw this 631 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:46,880 up, baby donkey. Oh my goodness, Mama donkey. 632 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,920 I'm getting to carry the son of God. 633 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:01,680 What about the owner? Let's just say that he's married 634 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:16,840 to an assertive woman. Honey, Yeah. 635 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,160 Remember how you were talking about all those donkeys? 636 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,800 We should need to get two more donkeys and you saved up and I 637 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,360 said we didn't need them, but you got them anyway. 638 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,320 Yeah. Where are they? 639 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,680 They're not here. Where are they? 640 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,320 Not completely sure. What do you mean? 641 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:42,280 Some guys took them? Took our donkeys? 642 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:49,800 Yeah, why? I'm not sure. 643 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:53,720 What do you mean? They just said the Lord needs 644 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:56,560 them. The Lord is riding your donkeys. 645 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:04,400 They haven't even been ridden. Well babe, you better go find 646 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:22,160 your donkeys. Baby, I found him. 647 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,520 Yeah. Baby, you're a good Jewish girl. 648 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:36,880 Do you know what it says in the prophet Zechariah? 649 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,640 The prophecy that would one day be fulfilled? 650 00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:47,360 Yeah, I know about the prophecy that he will come riding on a 651 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,720 donkey. Yeah, the prophecy we've been 652 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:55,120 clinging to as a nation for 500 years. 653 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,680 Yeah, I know about it. What does it have to do with our 654 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:02,400 donkeys? It was our donkey, the one that 655 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,560 you didn't tell me to get, but I got anyway. 656 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,480 Which means God's on my side, not on your side. 657 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,800 And on behalf of God, you were wrong. 658 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:24,560 Can you imagine being written into the story of God's 659 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:31,080 prophecies, being invited in to join God and what He was doing? 660 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:37,760 Seeing things that God had ordained long before come to 661 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:42,240 pass through your obedience to your step of faith? 662 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:47,040 Generosity is where we get written into the story of what 663 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:51,120 God is doing. I know that some of you have 664 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:53,720 been convinced by Satan that you are not ready to trust God with 665 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:58,400 your finances, but the truth is, I believe some of you, if not 666 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,080 many of you are. We're moving to a time, a 667 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:08,120 decision. If you're here today and you've 668 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:10,680 never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 669 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:16,360 Christ, the most important thing you can do today is give Jesus 670 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:20,320 you. And hear me, you don't need to 671 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,080 wait. You don't need to get things 672 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:23,960 figured out. You don't need to address 673 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,840 things, work on things. Because if you could work on 674 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,320 things, fix things, adjust things, and make things better, 675 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,320 God wouldn't have sent Jesus to die on your behalf. 676 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,520 If you could fix you, Jesus would not have to had to go to 677 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,320 the cross. But we can't fix us, but Jesus 678 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:46,960 can change us. God decided in His heart to give 679 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:51,280 you Jesus while you were still draped and wrapped in your sin. 680 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:56,240 And Jesus went to the cross with the joy set before him. 681 00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:01,240 It was His joy to redeem you and repurpose you and bring you back 682 00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:04,840 to God. Jesus poured Himself out so that 683 00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:09,680 you and I could be cleansed and made holy and right in the eyes 684 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:14,800 of God and because of God's extravagant gift on our behalf. 685 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:18,200 Those of us who are Christians, we can't get over him. 686 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:21,680 That's why we sing, that's why we show up, that's why we talk 687 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:25,040 about it, because we can't get over what God has done on our 688 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,360 behalf through Jesus. And you might be going, but 689 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,680 Clayton, there's no way that God could use me. 690 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,360 Listen, that is the story of this church and every church 691 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:39,560 ever since the creation of the church by Jesus himself, that 692 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:44,280 God has taken messed up soil and raised a mighty harvest. 693 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,880 Don't ever doubt what God can do when He fully gets a hold of 694 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,680 you. But God doesn't take you, He 695 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,800 receives you because you have to give yourself to Him. 696 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,600 And today you can do that in just a few moments. 697 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,080 There's going to be people around you who are going to 698 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:05,160 stand and sing, and some of them are going to come to the steps 699 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:07,160 and pray, but there's going to be some of you who are going, 700 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:08,520 you know what? Today's the day where I need to 701 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,680 start talking and asking the questions about how to have an 702 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:13,880 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 703 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:16,120 And I'm going to encourage you, while everybody else is doing 704 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:18,560 those things for you to walk right over there underneath that 705 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:22,440 screen next to the baptistry and talk to somebody about how to 706 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,240 begin the relationship. That will change absolutely 707 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,120 everything. To the rest of you in the room, 708 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:32,520 to those of you who are Christians, may we become a 709 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:36,400 blessing to our God, to our church, to our community, to the 710 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,680 lost, and to the mission of this church. 711 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:43,400 May God raise out of us a mighty army of generous people who are 712 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,280 willing to forego our things for the sake of the Kingdom and the 713 00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:51,640 life change of our friends, that we would leverage our personal 714 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:55,480 treasure to lay up treasure in heaven so that other people can 715 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,720 be found in Him. There's some of you. 716 00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:01,640 You're a part of the financial warriors here at this church. 717 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,400 I'm encourage you. Would you spend some time at the 718 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,400 steps praying for people who are getting ready to start this 719 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,400 journey because you know what that journey could mean for 720 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:10,680 them? I also want to encourage all of 721 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:13,040 you to take some time and just spend some time on your knees, 722 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:15,800 maybe at the steps praying over the people that you're going to 723 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,360 invite to church next week and believing that God will use this 724 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:22,120 sermon series to change the destinies of thousands. 725 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:26,240 Would you guys stand with me? Heavenly Father, use this moment 726 00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:29,760 right here to help many of us make a decision that's long 727 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,720 overdue. God, there's a step of faith in 728 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:36,360 front of every single one of us. And God, you know what that step 729 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:39,280 is for every person. I can hear my voice. 730 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,880 So God, make it clear to us and then give us the courage and the 731 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,880 strength to live it out. And am I praying? 732 00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:47,920 Amen.