1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,560 Well, listen, we are in this series all through the month of 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,400 February here that we're calling from here to there. 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:11,400 Everyone say from here to there. Come on, say it with me. 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,280 Say from here to there. Yes. 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:20,320 And we are talking about how we honor God with our finances. 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,120 Woo. Now, here's what I know. 7 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,040 I know that for some of us, we're like, uh oh, we're talking 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,200 about money. Maybe you're new, maybe again, 9 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,200 maybe you're here because someone that you love is getting 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:33,600 baptized and you're like, wait, they didn't tell me we were 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,600 talking about money. Let me just tell you, you're 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,600 safe. Everything's going to be OK. 13 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,960 The truth of the matter is, as we're discovering, God has a lot 14 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:48,240 to say about our finances that is helpful for us and God is for 15 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,280 our finances. And so the whole idea of this 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,280 series, as you can see in the graphic behind me, maybe you can 17 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,040 pull out camera team so everyone can see this. 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,880 Yes, is is this idea that we all start somewhere a here, but 19 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,160 God's got a there that he wants for us. 20 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,960 And that place of there is a place of hope. 21 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:10,840 It's a place of purpose, It's a place of perspective, It's a 22 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,640 purpose. It's a place of of greater 23 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:18,200 meaning and significance for our money that matters every single 24 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,760 day. And so today I want to continue 25 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,280 with that thought. And before we we turn to the 26 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,040 word of God, let me ask you a question. 27 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,840 Have you ever stopped and thought about when money first 28 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:36,120 made you feel something? Stop and think about the first 29 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,760 time money made you feel something. 30 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,840 Here's here's what I mean when when you and I think about 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,400 money, often times we think of dollars and cents, right? 32 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:44,640 Or we think of transactions, right? 33 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,320 Or we think of like, you know, tap technology, right? 34 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:49,160 Like that kind of there. We think of budgets, right? 35 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,160 Or, or bills we have to pay. OK, but but I want us to see 36 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:58,160 something there's that's deeper going on in us because money 37 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,680 makes us feel something. Have you ever stopped and 38 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,240 thought about the when, when money first made you feel 39 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:05,160 something? Let me give you an example, an 40 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,680 illustration of that. Maybe as a child you heard your 41 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:15,960 parents say to you, we can't afford that and it made you feel 42 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:18,840 something. Maybe on the other side of that 43 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:20,600 it was. But when you were a teenager and 44 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,800 you got your first job and you worked for two weeks and then at 45 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,160 the end of two weeks you got your first paycheck, anybody 46 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,680 remember how you felt like, how you felt like strong? 47 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,920 Maybe you felt empowered in that moment, right? 48 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:39,720 You felt like I've accomplished something, $3.26 an hour. 49 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:45,400 Feeling strong, taking over the world, baby, right? 50 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,240 Or, or maybe some of you have memories even as I'm talking 51 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,240 about this, of your parents listening to them fight or argue 52 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:52,760 about money as you were growing up. 53 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,480 See, no matter when it was, all of us didn't just experience 54 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,480 money and learn how to spend money. 55 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,000 The truth of the matter is, every one of us growing up 56 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,080 learned how to feel about money as well. 57 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,080 And see, it's those feelings that actually shape our 58 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,240 decisions, They shape our attitudes, and they shape our 59 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:16,960 approach to money, sometimes even more than facts about 60 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,400 dollars and cents. And So what I want to talk about 61 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:26,800 today is why our money matters. I want to talk about why our 62 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,560 money matters. And according to the Bible, what 63 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,440 our money is in our life. So that's what we're going to 64 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,520 talk about, why our money matters and what money is. 65 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:38,960 Before we turn to God's Word one more time. 66 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:40,360 Come on every location. Let's pray together. 67 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:42,920 Father, I thank you. Father, I thank you for today. 68 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,400 I thank you for what you're up to in our midst. 69 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,240 God, we thank you and we celebrate life change and 70 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,480 baptism that we're going to get to experience and see first hand 71 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,840 in just a few minutes. And now, Lord Jesus, we turn to 72 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,360 your word and we apply it to this all important area of our 73 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,000 personal lives called our money. I pray that our hearts would be 74 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,840 open. Lord, I pray people would not 75 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,440 hear me today, but they would hear you speaking through me. 76 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,640 Holy Spirit, have your way speak God, we your sons and daughters 77 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,480 are listening in Jesus name we pray. 78 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,760 And everyone who agreed with that prayer said a many. 79 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,440 So Amen. So here's what I want to do. 80 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,200 Maybe I want to write this down. I want to, I want to talk to us 81 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,960 today about the four things really that that the Bible says 82 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,800 that our money is that according to the Bible, our money matters. 83 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,760 And the reason why it matters is because of these four things. 84 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,280 Our money matters because #1 the Bible says that our money is a 85 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,640 tool. Everyone say a tool. 86 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,240 The Bible says that our money is a tool. 87 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,160 OK, let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever heard 88 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,240 someone say money is the root of all evil? 89 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:53,240 Anybody show hands? Come on. 90 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:54,040 Every location. Keep up. 91 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:55,920 Yeah. Money is a root of all. 92 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,360 Yeah, we've all heard that. K Can I tell you something 93 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:05,640 that's not in the Bible? Some of you right now are like, 94 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,480 hold on, brother. I think it is when my dad was 95 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,920 spanking me, he was quoting that verse. 96 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,280 OK, well, sorry about that. He he got it wrong. 97 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,600 OK, watch this. According to the Bible, money is 98 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,200 not good or bad. Money is neutral. 99 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,040 In other words, it's it's a tool. 100 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,000 Let me show you. Let me show you First Timothy, 101 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,040 chapter 6, verse 10. This is the verse actually that 102 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:35,520 is misquoted so often when people talk about this idea of 103 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:37,360 well, money is the root of all, all evil. 104 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,280 Look what the Bible actually says. 105 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,640 The apostle Paul writing to his spiritual son Timothy, who is 106 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,160 pastoring at the church in Ephesus, he writes to him and he 107 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:51,000 says for the look what it says, love of money, not money. 108 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:58,800 The love of money is a a root of all kinds of evil. 109 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,840 And then Paul kind of double clicks on and he says some 110 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:06,160 people eager for money who have who have seen this tool called 111 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,880 money and used it for themself, eager for money. 112 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,160 They've actually wandered away from the faith and they've look 113 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,880 what it says Pierce themselves with many griefs. 114 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,640 In other words, if we use the tool wrong, we can actually do 115 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,640 harm to others and ourselves. Let me see if I can show you 116 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,680 illustrate this. OK, so this is a hammer. 117 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,760 Everyone say hammer now watch this hammer is actually really, 118 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,320 really old. This is my dad's hammer. 119 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,360 And so dad, I think you're at the Cape Coral location today. 120 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,840 I got your hammer and I'm not going to return it. 121 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,640 Sorry. It's mine now, 50 years in here 122 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,040 we go, right? This is my hammer. 123 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,320 Now watch this. This hammer is a tool that we 124 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,840 can use for either good or bad, right? 125 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,960 Like right now, if I take this hammer to my iPad, that's bad, 126 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:03,320 right? Or if I take it to this podium, 127 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,640 that's, or if I could walk over to the drywall, the sheetrock, I 128 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:07,760 can punch holes. Why? 129 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,600 Because I can use this hammer for bad. 130 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,920 But the opposite is also true. Every single day here in 131 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,520 Southwest Florida, we see amazing, strong men and women 132 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,760 who are part of our trades here in Southwest Florida who use 133 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,400 hammers and tools like this, right, to build incredible 134 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,960 things. They build houses, they build 135 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,440 roads, not as fast as we like them to, but they build roads, 136 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,520 right? They build skyscrapers, right? 137 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,880 Which, by the way, can we just thank all of the men and women 138 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,840 who every single day go out and work in a trade somewhere here 139 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,000 in Southwest Florida? We appreciate you. 140 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,320 We honor you today. We thank God for you. 141 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,120 Thank you for using tools like this that I have no idea what to 142 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,400 do with, but you do. It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a 143 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,000 tool. And everyone's saying money is a 144 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,240 tool. So watch this every day. 145 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:08,800 You and I either use money to build something great or we use 146 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,280 money to tear down our lives. Does that make sense? 147 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:15,560 Let me show you this Scripture. Lee Proverbs chapter 13, verse 148 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,560 11. It gives us an illustration of 149 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:19,560 this and we see this pattern all throughout Scripture. 150 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,320 Proverbs 1311 says this dishonest money, in other words, 151 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,720 money that is used in the wrong way. 152 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,040 Look what it says dwindles away. In other words, it doesn't build 153 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,280 anything great. But the Bible says whoever 154 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,880 gathers money, in other words, uses the tool of money, 155 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,480 approaches the tool of money in a good way. 156 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,760 Whoever gathers money look little by little, even just a 157 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,720 little bit at a time, even just little baby steps at a time, 158 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,600 makes it grow. In other words, build something 159 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:49,600 great. So the first question I want to 160 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,440 ask us today, church family, is this, how am I? 161 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,160 How are you? How are we using the tool of 162 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,120 money in our life? Are we using it as a force of 163 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:05,440 destruction to punch holes in our life, break stuff, or are we 164 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,920 using the tool of money as a force of construction in our 165 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:10,880 life? So here's my challenge. 166 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,440 Ready. Let me let's get super 167 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,880 practical. I challenge you to take the next 168 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:20,200 two weeks and keep track of every single thing you spend 169 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,000 your money on. And then at the end of two 170 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,600 weeks, I look at all of those accounts, look at all those 171 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,600 receipts, so to speak, all the ways you spent your money, big 172 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,120 and small, and ask yourself the question, Did how I use the tool 173 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,120 of money over the last two weeks build something even little by 174 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,680 little greater in my life? Or did how I spend my money 175 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:47,800 actually deconstruct or or or tear down what I'm hoping for in 176 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:49,760 my future in my life? Do you see it? 177 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,280 Money is not good or bad. Money is a tool. 178 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:54,880 Come on, look at the person sitting next to you and tell 179 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,600 them money's a tool. OK, watch this. 180 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:58,840 Our money. We're talking about why our 181 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,240 money matters. First of all, because it's a 182 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:04,920 tool #2 our money matters because money is a vehicle. 183 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:09,000 Everyone say vehicle. In other words, the reality is 184 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,640 when it comes to our money, money will take us somewhere. 185 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,840 Money is taking us somewhere. We hit hit on this a little bit 186 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,800 last week, but it it bears repeating because according to 187 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,640 Scripture, money is leading us somewhere. 188 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,440 And to illustrate this, the first was my the hammer that my 189 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,520 dad gave me. See what I did there? 190 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,200 He gave me long time ago. The second illustration I have 191 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,560 is this little Matchbox car, which happens to be a Porsche by 192 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,280 the way. Soon as I opened this up, I'm 193 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:43,200 like, Oh my goodness, like the doors open. 194 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,200 This is, this could be the nicest car I ever owned. 195 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,120 So I'm going with it. Come on, somebody see, money is 196 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:52,760 a vehicle. So we actually went to the 197 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,240 Christ Fellowship Conference over in West Palm Beach this 198 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,320 week. A team of us went over and so 199 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,760 Sarah and I actually took off Monday night. 200 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,680 We're, we're leading a freedom group here at the church this 201 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,600 semester and there's hundreds of us going through freedom as we 202 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,880 celebrated a few minutes ago. And so we took off about 9:00. 203 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,280 As soon as our freedom group got done, we were here at our Fort 204 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,280 Myers location. And so both of us had driven 205 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,520 separately to work that day. And so I jumped in her car and 206 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,320 we left my car here. And so then we took Sarah's car 207 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:22,640 over to West Palm. And so we were driving her car. 208 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,360 Then we came home Thursday afternoon and as we drove home 209 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:28,640 Thursday afternoon, we didn't come back to the church to get 210 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:30,400 my car. We just stopped at the house. 211 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,640 Then I woke up Friday morning and wanted to go somewhere, 212 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:40,000 somewhere really important, the Minnesota Twins spring training 213 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,520 practice, because I have to watch the players and get 214 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,200 baseballs because that's my thing. 215 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:53,360 And only in that moment Friday morning did I realize, Oh, no, I 216 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,480 don't have a car and I don't fit in this one. 217 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:03,800 See, money is a vehicle. And so thankfully my 218 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,000 mother-in-law was going to get her car washed. 219 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:07,840 And so she dropped me off at my car. 220 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,720 And then I went to the Minnesota Twins stadium and watched them 221 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:12,480 practice. So it's all good. 222 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,200 I know you're a word. You're like, wait, how does the 223 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,120 story end? Did he make it? 224 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,280 I did not walk from my house. It was like 7 miles. 225 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,480 And I'm I'm not going to do that. 226 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,320 OK, here's here's the point. Our money is like a vehicle. 227 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,760 Let me show you Jesus talked about this Matthew chapter 6. 228 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,560 He's this is the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus is, is engaging 229 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:34,400 literally thousands of people, teaching them about all kinds of 230 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,840 things, areas of their life, including their finances. 231 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:42,000 And in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says this in verse 21, he says 232 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:49,720 for where your treasure is there your heart will be also Another 233 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,880 translation actually says for where your treasure is there, 234 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:55,920 your heart will follow. So watch this. 235 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,840 The Bible makes it clear Jesus is teaching now and he's telling 236 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,200 us that where where our money goes. 237 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:08,280 So our heart travels or follows with it. 238 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,840 See, money is a tool, but money is a vehicle. 239 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,760 So let me ask you a question. What direction is your money 240 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,160 moving you? Because whatever direction your 241 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:24,840 money is going, your heart is following it. 242 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,800 So if your money is leading you in a direction that's away from 243 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:33,680 the things of the Lord, then guess what? 244 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:35,960 That's where your heart is going to go too. 245 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,240 But if we make AU turn, see what I did there? 246 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:44,560 Hey, that's not easy. I spun the car while making EU 247 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,800 turn. I don't get nearly enough credit 248 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,120 for this. But if our heart, our money is 249 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,680 leading us toward the things of the Lord, then guess what? 250 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:56,920 Our heart is going to follow that. 251 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,720 Do you see it? So watch, Money according to 252 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:05,560 scripture is a tool, but money is also a vehicle. 253 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,160 And some of us, how we're handling our money has been 254 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,000 moving us in the wrong direction for far too long. 255 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,240 And God wants this to be the year. 256 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,960 Come on somebody, we're already 7 Sundays into 2026. 257 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:22,920 That's crazy. We're already a month and 1/2 258 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:23,800 in. But guess what? 259 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,480 Good news, there's still 10 1/2 months to go. 260 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:28,760 Let's go. Some of you, you need to make 261 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,800 the decision that this is going to be the year that you decide 262 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,400 to leverage the vehicle of your money for Kingdom things, for 263 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,080 God things, for family things, for your better future things 264 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,760 and let your heart follow that. Others of us, we've only been 265 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:48,040 using our money as a vehicle for ourselves and we think the 266 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,920 reason why we have everything we have is just for us. 267 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,760 But the truth is God has so much more for you. 268 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,120 Money is a tool #2 Money is a vehicle. 269 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,440 Where is your money driving you? Here's #3 #3 according to the 270 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,080 Bible, money is a tool. It's a vehicle. 271 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:12,360 But #3 money is an invitation. Everyone say invitation money is 272 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:17,200 an invitation for God's blessing and protection on our lives. 273 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,120 So I mentioned that Sarah and I and the team we went to to 274 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,120 Christ Fellowship conference over in West Palm and pastors 275 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:27,880 Todd and Julie Mullins, who are the the lead pastors of Christ 276 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,600 Fellowship, one of the greatest churches in America. 277 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,640 They're just incredible pastors, incredible leaders, and they 278 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,720 become incredible friends to us. We would say the pastors, Todd 279 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,840 and Julie are our pastors. And so we love them. 280 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,280 We're so thankful for them. So about a week ago before we 281 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:47,280 took off for the conference, we got an e-mail and the e-mail was 282 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,200 an invitation and the invitation said, hey, Matt and Sarah, we 283 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,800 would love Pastor Todd and Julie, would love for you to 284 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,520 join them both before both of the evening services at the 285 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,320 conference next week. Would love for you to join them 286 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:08,200 at a special invitation. Only dinner, Ina. 287 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:14,680 So guess what we said yes. You know why? 288 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:20,160 Because that's awesome. And so instead of our dinner 289 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,800 being ordinary, no offense to the rest of the team who went 290 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,000 and had wonderful dinner. I'm sure it was wonderful. 291 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,120 Wherever you were. Applebee's. 292 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:29,560 Whatever it was, I'm sure it was great. 293 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:37,040 OK, we, we got to go at 5:45 both of the nights to a small 294 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,080 invitation only dinner. And can I tell you the 295 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,320 conversations we had were incredible. 296 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,240 We got to to be with Pastor Julius who pastors Watoto Church 297 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,160 in Uganda, who literally is rescuing thousands and thousands 298 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,400 of orphans. They have over 3000 orphans in 299 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:57,320 on property now, right now that they are investing in and 300 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:58,640 helping raise. It's incredible. 301 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,040 We got, I got to have a whole conversation with him. 302 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,800 I got to talk to Pastor Rich Wilkerson, junior for about 20 303 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,440 minutes and talk before dinner and just have conversations 304 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,240 about the impact he's making. I talked to another pastor who's 305 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,480 starting a group for pastors in his city out West and got to 306 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:16,920 have a whole conversation with him and tell him what we were 307 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:18,839 doing with our relational network and how what we're 308 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:20,240 learning about pastoring pastors. 309 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,920 Why? All because I responded to an 310 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,400 invitation. We'll see. 311 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,880 Money is a tool. Money is a vehicle, but #3 money 312 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:29,760 is an invitation. You want to see how? 313 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,640 Let me show you. Malachi Chapter 3 verse 10 says 314 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,520 this, this is the last book of the Old Testament before God 315 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,000 goes quiet for 400 years and then Jesus arrives on the scene. 316 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,800 Malachi chapter 3, the Bible says this, bring the whole tithe 317 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:49,120 into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. 318 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:54,440 And then the Lord says this, test me in this and see, look, 319 00:17:54,920 --> 00:18:00,000 if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour 320 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:04,600 out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to 321 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,200 contain it or to store it. OK, time out. 322 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:09,560 What's going on? Here's what's going on. 323 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,920 God is offering every one of us as His sons and daughters an 324 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,240 invitation. And here's the invitation. 325 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:20,360 He says if you sons and daughters will look at your 326 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:25,480 finances and take the 1st 10%, the first one out of 10 of all 327 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:30,080 of your increase, if you'll put me first in your finances, then 328 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:34,080 God says I've got blessing for you. 329 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,320 As a matter of fact, it says He has so much blessing for us. 330 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:39,440 He's going to open the windows of heaven, the flood gets to 331 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:40,920 heaven. He's going to pour out so much 332 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,440 that we won't even be able to contain it. 333 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,480 Come on somebody, what an awesome invitation. 334 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:53,320 But wait, there's more. Verse 11, most of us when we 335 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,640 preach this, most preachers, we usually stop at verse 10. 336 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:56,840 We just kind of stop right there and go. 337 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,080 But there's blessing, there's blessing. 338 00:18:58,080 --> 00:18:59,320 That's the invitation. There's blessing. 339 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,920 Look at verse 11. He continues on and he says, I 340 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:09,600 will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the 341 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,240 vines in your field will not drop their fruit before it is 342 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,560 ripe, says the Lord Almighty. OK, what's happening? 343 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,520 OK, this was an agricultural community. 344 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,920 And so so they would have understood exactly what this 345 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,400 prophetic word meant. Essentially, here's what it 346 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,480 meant. If you and I respond to the 347 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,480 invitation to put God first in our finances, guess what? 348 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,360 He not only blesses us, but he protects us. 349 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:37,400 Oh, I got another prop. Let's go. 350 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,520 I don't just got Matchbox cars, I got umbrellas. 351 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,400 And in the morning I'm making waffles. 352 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:49,240 Such a great place to put a Shrek quote right there. 353 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:51,920 Actually, it was donkey in the movie Shrek. 354 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,480 Church family, watch this. God offers us an invitation in 355 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,720 his word and he says, sons, daughters, if you'll trust me 356 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:03,160 and put me first in your finances, I will not only pour 357 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,240 out so much blessing on you that you can't contain it, but I will 358 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,040 put a hedge of protection around you. 359 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,000 I will put a covering of protection over you. 360 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:14,560 Church family, watch this. The love of God for us is 361 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,560 absolutely unconditional. But the blessings of God, 362 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,040 according to the Bible, are absolutely conditional. 363 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:28,200 They're based on how we live, how we respond to the invitation 364 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000 God's given us. So let me ask you, have you 365 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,960 accepted God's invitation to blessing and protection? 366 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:43,360 Are we living under God's protection or are we living 367 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:49,560 exposed, hoping it doesn't rain? But anybody who's lived long 368 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,600 enough in their finances knows like Southwest Florida in the 369 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:57,000 summer, it's going to rain. Amen. 370 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,840 Do you see it? Do you see it? 371 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,520 God says, listen, money is is is a tool. 372 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,480 Money is a vehicle. Money in your life is an 373 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,160 invitation to God's blessing and protection. 374 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,520 And here's the last thing I want to share with you. 375 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,560 Money is a method. Everyone say method. 376 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,920 Money is a method. And here's what it's a method of 377 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,880 for sending treasure ahead to heaven. 378 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,560 According to the Bible, money is one of the main methods God uses 379 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:32,120 for us to actually send blessing ahead for all eternity. 380 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,480 That same place Matthew chapter 6 Jesus the Sermon on the Mount 381 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:40,520 is teaching this hillside full of thousands of people and 382 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,040 before he says what the verse we quoted verse 21 where your 383 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,960 treasures there your heart will be also if you back it up two 384 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,200 verses. He actually speaks to this look, 385 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,680 I want us to see it. Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 says 386 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,080 Jesus talking and he says do not store up for yourselves 387 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,400 treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy where thieves 388 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,000 break in and steal. Instead, look what Jesus says, 389 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,040 but store up for yourselves treasures in say where it is. 390 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,640 Say the word heaven, where moth and vermin do not destroy, where 391 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,560 thieves do not break in and steal. 392 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,880 Now here's the verse again. Look at verse 21 for where your 393 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,520 treasure is there your heart will be also. 394 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,840 So in other words, he's saying to us, if you'll use and 395 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,440 leverage the vehicle of money and, and for my kingdom's sake, 396 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:31,680 and you can, you can actually send it blessing ahead for all 397 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,440 of eternity. Jesus is saying eternity is real 398 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,000 everybody. And one of the greatest ways to 399 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,920 keep eternity in mind here on earth is to aim and prioritize 400 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,760 our finances there, not just here. 401 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,920 Our salvation is in Jesus alone. Yes, but how we are rewarded 402 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,480 when we get to heaven is directly connected by how we 403 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,800 stewarded what God put in our hands here on earth. 404 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,600 Later on in Matthew 25, Jesus, it tells a parable, which a 405 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,800 parable is basically a story with the Kingdom principle 406 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,160 attached. And in Matthew chapter 25, he 407 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,520 tells this story. He sets it up and he says there 408 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,360 was a master who who was very wealthy and he gathered his 409 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,520 servants together and he said, I'm leaving on a long trip and 410 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:23,920 I'm not going to be back for a long time, but I'm leaving you 411 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,600 with some resources. And I want you to take those 412 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,520 resources and I want you to leverage them and use them and 413 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,960 invest them. Because when I come back one 414 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,280 day, I'm going to ask you what you did with what I gave you. 415 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,680 And so the master leaves and to 1 he gave 5 bags of gold. 416 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,280 Jesus tells us. Then to another he gave 2 bags 417 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:44,680 of gold to another one bag of gold. 418 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,760 Then the master left and each of them went to work and the one 419 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,880 with five went to work. The one with two went to work, 420 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,920 but the one with one got scared and and he just, he just buried 421 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:56,200 it in the ground in the backyard. 422 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,680 And then the Bible tells us that after a long time the master 423 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:00,320 came back. Look. 424 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,520 Verse 19, After a long time, the master of those servants 425 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,200 returned and settled accounts with them. 426 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,760 The man would receive 5 bags of gold, brought the other five. 427 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,920 So he had doubled it. Master, he said, you entrusted 428 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,200 me with 5 bags of gold. See, I've gained 5 more. 429 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,240 Verse 21, The master replied, well done. 430 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,800 How do you like your steak? Well done? 431 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:28,760 That's not what he's talking about here. 432 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,000 The master replied. Well done, good and faithful 433 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,760 servant. You've been faithful with a few 434 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,480 things. How many think 5 bags of gold is 435 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,280 a little more than a few things? You've been faithful with a few 436 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,320 things. I'll put you in charge of many 437 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,640 things. Come and share your master's 438 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,480 happiness. The story continues that the man 439 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:53,240 with two had invested his wisely and got a return of two more. 440 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,800 And so he brought back four to the Master and then the one with 441 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,960 one, he buried his. And so he only brought back what 442 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:03,280 the master had given him. He hadn't gotten any return on 443 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,960 the investment. And the masters took his and 444 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:12,120 gave it to the one with 10. What's the point of the story 445 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:14,280 that Jesus is teaching us? He's teaching us that, listen, 446 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,080 money's a tool, money's a vehicle, money's an invitation, 447 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:23,560 but money is a, is a method. It's a trust that you and I have 448 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:29,240 been given by the Master, and He wants to know what are we doing 449 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,080 with what He's given us. When I think about this idea of 450 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:37,960 being entrusted and getting a return on our investment, my 451 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,600 mind goes in three directions. The 1st is with our time. 452 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:45,560 How are we using our time to make a difference in the lives 453 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:47,120 of others? Second is with our talents. 454 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,080 In other words, each one of us have been given gifts and 455 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,520 talents, abilities to to leverage, to use to make a 456 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,520 Kingdom impact. And then lastly is what we've 457 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,960 been talking about, which is our our treasure, the money that 458 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:04,320 God's put in our hands. So according to the Bible, our 459 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:08,280 money matters because it's a tool that we can use. 460 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:13,680 It's a vehicle, it's an invitation to, to blessing and 461 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,080 protection and it's a, it's a method. 462 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,080 So, So what do we do with this and worship team? 463 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:23,480 You can come back and join me. What do we do with all of this? 464 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:28,120 Well, I, I would say three thoughts for us, some of us, you 465 00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:30,280 need to decide to do money differently from now on. 466 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,200 You need to decide to do money differently from now on. 467 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,720 Money is a tool. Is our money building something 468 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,520 great or is our money tearing us down? 469 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:42,120 Decide to do something different. 470 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,880 Do do life, do do your money differently. 471 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,280 Some of you, you, as we talked about last week, you weren't 472 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,000 raised. You don't you have the full 473 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:54,480 understanding money's a vehicle is, is our money moving us where 474 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:58,840 we want to go? And listen, I get it. 475 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,720 Some of us you're, you're, you're living under piles of 476 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,120 credit card debt and other things. 477 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,960 Can I just tell you it's going to, it took a while for you to 478 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,200 get into this position. It's going to take a little 479 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,680 while for you to get out of this position, but today is the first 480 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,920 day where you get to move and get started moving in the 481 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,520 direction of God's blessing and favor on your life. 482 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,040 Let me mention it again. Last week we had an amazing 483 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:23,960 response to our My God, My Money class 484 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,520 nextlevelchurch.com/finances. Listen, if, if you're, if you're 485 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,440 struggling with finances, if all of this is like new to you and 486 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,200 you're going, man, I don't understand. 487 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,200 Or maybe you're just kind of looking at your financial 488 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,080 personal world, financial world and you're going, I don't even 489 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,440 know where to start. You can register at your 490 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,440 location. Spring, we're going to have my 491 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,720 God, my money classes. We had over 150 people 492 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,840 registered just last weekend alone. 493 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,160 There's there's a list. Get on that list. 494 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:50,920 I don't know how much space we have left, but get on there. 495 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,920 Go there right now. You can scan that QR code. 496 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:54,480 Go there right now. Why? 497 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,080 Because we want to help you. Money is a tool. 498 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,160 Money is a vehicle. I get where God wants you to go. 499 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,200 Some of us need to make the decision today that from this 500 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,680 point on, I'm going to do finances differently than my 501 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,920 parents I saw, than my grandparents I saw. 502 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,440 No, no, no, I'm my friends. I'm going to do my finances the 503 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,920 way God wants me to do it. I'm going to do it differently. 504 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,440 That's a decision some of us need to make. 505 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,360 Secondly, some of us need to get under God's protection. 506 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,560 We need to get under God's protection. 507 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,760 You've been living unprotected in your finances. 508 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,760 How do we do that? The way we do that is by putting 509 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:39,560 God first in our finances. Malachi says the tithe, which is 510 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,680 the first one out of 10. And of course, some of us hear 511 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:46,600 that and we're like, hold on, Pastor Matt, 10% of my all my 512 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,760 increase. Like, how can I do that? 513 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,200 Like that's crazy. Then here's what I would say, 514 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,040 start somewhere. Start somewhere like like like 515 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,640 going to the gym. You don't start at £200, you 516 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,400 don't start at £50. You start at 10, then you start 517 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,800 at 20, then you go to 25, then you go to 30. 518 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,520 But start somewhere. Teenagers, listen, Sarah and I 519 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,520 started tithing when we were teenagers. 520 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,520 Teenagers, some of you, you need to make a decision today. 521 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,640 Your next step is I'm going to decide today to start putting 522 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,600 God for. I'm going to give $10 every two 523 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,840 weeks to the Lord. I'm going to return the tithe to 524 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:23,920 the storehouse, the church where I'm being fed. 525 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,000 If you've never given there, there are there are hundreds of 526 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,640 people who are part of next level church and you love what 527 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,600 God's doing here, but financially you've never taken 528 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,120 that step. Can I tell you this is one of 529 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,560 the greatest steps of faith you can ever take? 530 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:42,200 Grab an offering envelope in the back of your chair. 531 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,800 Take a step, give something today. 532 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,320 Some of us, we've never automated our giving. 533 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:52,520 See, in our world today, I, I get it. 534 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,520 It's all digital, right? And we as your church, we have 535 00:29:55,520 --> 00:30:00,000 made it easy for you to be able to automate your giving. 536 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,080 You can set it up recurring. Some of you, you, you give every 537 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,520 once in a while and the Lord is speaking to your heart today 538 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,040 saying son, daughter, I want you to get consistent one time a 539 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,480 month or twice a month. Matter of fact, I, I want to, I 540 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:17,200 want to, it's so easy. Let me show you this. 541 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,200 OK, ready. So, so we got some screenshots. 542 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,120 Check this out. So if if you when you go home, 543 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,040 you go to nextlevelchurch.com/give or just 544 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,080 go nextlevelchurch.com, click on the button give. 545 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,640 It's going to take you to this page that says we live to give 546 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:30,840 and then it's going to give you an option. 547 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,800 So whatever your location is, then you just click on that. 548 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:36,440 So E let's just kind of click on that. 549 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,160 OK, we click on that. Hey, oh, so close webs. 550 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,360 Awesome. OK, so then it's going to lead 551 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,000 you to this page. You simply enter the amount up 552 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,560 at the top and then there's a drop down menu that says you can 553 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,760 give by credit card, ACH, Apple Pay. 554 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,080 Come on, somebody that's easy, right? 555 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:55,880 Cryptocurrency for all you cool techie people Awesome. 556 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,120 OK, you can give crypto that's all stocks. 557 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,720 You can do that. In case you click on that then 558 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,000 it says give one time or set up recurring. 559 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,280 Then you simply click on this one, which is give recurring. 560 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,920 Then it's going to say what frequency do you want to do 561 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:11,240 that? Every week, every two weeks? 562 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,240 And you just click on one of those, OK. 563 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,480 And then when do you want to start? 564 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:16,640 And then down here it says what funds? 565 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,120 So there's the tithe fund, there's Kingdom builders. 566 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,320 You just choose one of those. So tie this first. 567 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,720 And then Kingdom builders is above and beyond that, right? 568 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,040 So you click on whatever fund you want, then you click on the 569 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,120 button next ready. Here we go and it's going to 570 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,560 take you to this where it says enter your mobile number. 571 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,040 As soon as it you put in your mobile number, guess what 572 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,080 happens? It takes care of the rest. 573 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,240 It texts you. It's super easy. 574 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,480 It will literally take you less than two minutes. 575 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,480 And if it takes you longer than that, just find a teenager and 576 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,160 they'll help you. Why? 577 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:50,840 Why am I going? Why am I like, why am I 578 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,160 belaboring this? Here's why. 579 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,240 Because God wants us to live under his protection. 580 00:31:58,160 --> 00:31:59,760 I just wanted to pop that open one more time. 581 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:05,000 God wants us to. He has so much for us 582 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,400 financially and we as your church family, we want to help 583 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,680 you take that next step. Last thought, what do we need to 584 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:12,880 do? We need to see great, the 585 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,560 greater meaning in our money. God wants us to see the greater 586 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:20,480 meaning in our money. Let me pray for us. 587 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,320 Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you for your word today. 588 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,880 God, thank you that Lord, we don't just learn about money, 589 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,120 God, we, we know that money moves us, that there's feeling 590 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:35,120 attached to it. And so, Father, right now many 591 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,960 of us are feeling a whole bunch of different ways about this 592 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,040 message. And Lord, I pray that you would 593 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,520 speak to us, God, I pray that you would, you would, would stir 594 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,440 us, God, because each one of us have a next step that you want 595 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,760 us to take. Lord, for some of us, you are 596 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:54,680 absolutely rearranging right now the, our mental thoughts, the 597 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,880 way we think about our money, the way we think about our 598 00:32:57,880 --> 00:32:59,600 finances. And God, I thank you for that. 599 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,960 Father, I pray that you, God would speak to us. 600 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,480 Some of us, we need to, we need to, to get online today before 601 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,000 the sunsets and we need to set up recurring. 602 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,920 Why? Because you are the priority and 603 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:14,360 we want to live under your protection. 604 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,240 God, thank you for how you're speaking to us, how you're 605 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,640 leading us. God you, you have an invitation 606 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:25,280 for us to get in on and Lord, we thank you. 607 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,480 So God, I pray blessing over each of these, your sons and 608 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:31,840 daughters today. May we honor you as we're moving 609 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:37,120 from here to there, that place of hope and purpose and meaning 610 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:39,800 in our finances like we've never experienced before. 611 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,000 We pray this in Jesus name and everyone at every location who 612 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:43,800 agreed said.