1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:05,080 We are one church. We love God, love people, love 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:06,960 His mission, and love His church. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,520 Welcome to the One Church podcast. 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,720 It's amazing when we talk about historical figures. 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,480 Martin Luther King, I've had to teach about him many times. 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,240 Mahatma Gandhi, we have to teach about him many times. 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:32,479 But when it comes to Jesus, he's not just a historical figure. 8 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,560 When you talk about what Jesus said, he's here to make sure 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,640 he's overseeing what that is. He's a still alive. 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,640 He's alive to see his work and his words come alive in you as 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,240 well. So this morning as I speak and 12 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,960 talk about Jesus's words, what he said, he is alive to help us 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,720 with that. It's a wonderful today we focus 14 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,680 on some of the words of Jesus spoken and the famous Sermon on 15 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:07,160 the Mount, words spoken many years ago but still cut cleanly 16 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,120 through the fog of our modern materialistic life. 17 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:15,480 It's still for us. Our text is going to be Matthew 18 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:22,480 6 verse 24 and 25. And to put the text in context a 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,600 few verses before this, Matthew 6 verse 21, This is what Jesus 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,720 said, where your treasure is, your heart will be. 21 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:38,800 And so this is the context of Matthew 20, Matthew 624 onwards. 22 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:45,560 No one can serve 2 masters. Either you will hate 1 and love 23 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,920 the other, or you will be devoted to 1 and despise the 24 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,880 other. You cannot serve both God and 25 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,480 money. Therefore, I tell you, do not 26 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,920 worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your 27 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:10,680 body, what you will wear. Is life not more important than 28 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,240 food and the body more important than clothes? 29 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:22,800 Jesus speaks about mastery and money, about loyalty and 30 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,960 anxieties, about worship and worries. 31 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:34,800 He tells us something simple yet deep in trying to understand the 32 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,400 Kingdom of God. He says this. 33 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:44,880 You cannot serve 2 masters. Then he tells us something 34 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,520 freeing but yet can be difficult. 35 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,400 Do not worry about your life. These two teachings are not 36 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,040 separate, they are deeply connected. 37 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:03,160 Jesus moves from a divided loyalty to daily anxiety. 38 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:08,440 Because the Master we choose is choose determines the peace we 39 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:14,200 experience today. We'll explore some of the truths 40 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:19,280 in this passage, the realities of the rival masters, and the 41 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:24,480 root of our worry. No one can serve 2 masters. 42 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,840 You cannot serve God and money. Jesus doesn't say it's difficult 43 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:33,200 to serve 2 masters. He says it's impossible. 44 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,440 In our compromising world, our nature can be to go down the 45 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,600 middle. It often feels more comfortable 46 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,120 for us. I know for me, but the Kingdom 47 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,960 principles desires a whole heart. 48 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:57,800 Revelations 3 verse 15 says be either hot or cold, but not 49 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,400 lukewarm. There's something that the 50 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,840 Kingdom does not like about being lukewarm. 51 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,200 Go this way or that way, but don't go down the middle. 52 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:15,000 It's tough and challenging statement and it needs constant 53 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,640 attention in our lives, otherwise we go down the middle. 54 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:27,680 Jesus is trying to explain To divide loyalty is to invite 55 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:32,560 conflict. So going down the middle has its 56 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,480 consequences as well. It's not as safe as you might 57 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:41,680 think. Jesus names the rival master 58 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,240 money. Some translations use the word 59 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:50,440 mammon, meaning wealth and possession, material securities, 60 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:54,080 which I believe is more helpful for us in understanding this 61 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,960 passage. Mammon isn't just money, it's 62 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:03,880 the deceitfulness of wealth. I want to suggest it's a type of 63 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:11,640 deceptive spirit, the world. It seeks worldly comfort above 64 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:16,960 spiritual blessings. It's tempting, tempting you to 65 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,160 believe it will give you great gain, but instead it will 66 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:27,160 control you. That's why Jesus is very firm 67 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,960 with his words. You cannot serve it because you 68 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:40,000 cannot trust it. Serve only what you can, trust 69 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:47,920 only what you can trust. We can become dependent on it. 70 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,960 It pushes you away from trusting God and honouring Him with all 71 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,760 He has given you. You start believing that it is 72 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:02,240 your wealth and begin to forget that everything belongs to God. 73 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:09,520 Psalm 24 verse one says the earth is the Lord's and 74 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:14,320 everything in it. We are not to forget that the 75 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,240 earth is the Lord's and everything in it. 76 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,360 So we can begin to set our minds on worldly things and not as 77 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:31,280 Paul says in Colossians 3, set your minds on things above, not 78 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:35,080 on earthly things. Though we live on earth, our 79 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:40,320 focus is always to be in heaven. Don't go down the middle. 80 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:48,000 The root of mammon is the Prince of the air, the evil. 1 81 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:56,120 Ephesians 22 When you followed the ways of this world and of 82 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,320 the ruler of the Kingdom of the air, the Spirit who is now at 83 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,600 work in those who are disobedient. 84 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,560 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the 85 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:13,080 cravings of our flesh, following His desires and thoughts. 86 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,200 Here are some other significant verses to help us grasp what 87 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,480 Jesus are saying. For the love of money is the 88 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,720 root of all kinds of evil. That's in Timothy. 89 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:32,320 Money isn't evil, but the love of money, the spirit behind it, 90 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,680 is evil. Keep your lives free from the 91 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,000 love of money and be content with what you have. 92 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,160 That's Hebrews 13. This is why Jesus is saying we 93 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:52,280 cannot serve 2 masters. God uses wealth as a tool to 94 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,520 bless us. The devil uses our wealth to 95 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,840 enslave us and to divert us from God. 96 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:07,880 We can have money and serve God, but we cannot serve money and 97 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,440 serve God. There is a difference between 98 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,600 possessing wealth and being possessed by wealth. 99 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,840 Jesus is exposing a divided heart. 100 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:26,640 He's saying be aware there is a war for your obedience in the 101 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:33,919 spiritual realms. In Matthew 19 verse 16, there's 102 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:39,000 a very challenging story of a rich young ruler who asked Jesus 103 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:42,440 how could he enter the Kingdom of God? 104 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,520 And Jesus said to him, if you want the Kingdom of God, sell 105 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,200 everything. You sell everything and you will 106 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,760 have treasures in heaven. Stop looking down on earth, 107 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,560 focus in heaven. You will have treasures in 108 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:07,040 heaven, and then follow me. The Bible says he went away 109 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,600 sorrowful because he had great wealth. 110 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:16,760 He could not serve Jesus because he already had a master, the 111 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,920 spirit of Mammon. He couldn't let it go. 112 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,120 Jesus was offering him something much better than he actually 113 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,960 had. Our digital world can thrust us 114 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,000 in much of worldly values all the time. 115 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,520 Honours our phones. Pick up the things we're saying 116 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:44,080 and turn them into adverts the next time we look at our phone, 117 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:50,360 constantly convincing us we need more, we need better, we need 118 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,720 upgrades. It can be tough to resist all 119 00:09:54,720 --> 00:10:00,240 that, especially young ones, especially you young ones. 120 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:05,520 It's difficult. We know of course there's times 121 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,720 when we need things and the Lord is there for us. 122 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,840 And so I'm not good at Facebook. I've always avoided social 123 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,520 media. I finally got onto Facebook and 124 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,120 then got bombarded with all these adverts, like, whoa, 125 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,440 what's that? And then one particular advert 126 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:27,160 came on was about a shower head. Loved it. 127 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,920 It promised everything. High pressure, easy 128 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:37,040 installation, embedded minerals that kept you healthier and 129 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:42,560 stronger. And I'm sure that it said your 130 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:49,320 hair would grow back. So I bought 1. 131 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:57,440 Stop laughing, Annette, it didn't work. 132 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,520 I'm so pleased that I wasn't tempted to buy more because it 133 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,520 offered discounts if I bought more, two or more. 134 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,120 Take care. It can be a deceitful spirit 135 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:18,600 trying to master over you. It creeps in. 136 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,960 Be discerning when something is trying to master over you. 137 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,320 Be discerning of that you have gifts of discernment that can 138 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,720 be. When Hannah and I was buying our 139 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:37,320 first home together, we felt to move to Evington. 140 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,640 We felt the Lord speak to us to plant something in Evington, 141 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,520 like our sort of sites with the church we were with then. 142 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:49,080 So I went to a bank, I went to a bank when there used to be banks 143 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,200 that you could go in, and I spoke to the bank manager for a 144 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,080 mortgage. I remember the bank manager 145 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:02,400 said, Mr Padam, you can afford a bigger house, why don't you get 146 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,360 a bigger house? So I went home to think about 147 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:12,200 that and pray about it. Who doesn't want a bigger house? 148 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:18,640 It was tempting, but I felt God speak to me in his wisdom and 149 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,440 he's and said you don't need a bigger house. 150 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,640 I will bless you in the one you're looking at right now, the 151 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:29,880 one you're going to buy. So to the shock of my bank 152 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,840 manager, I turned her offer down. 153 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:39,880 She couldn't understand it. There was a financial crash and 154 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,680 if I'd gone with the bigger house, it would have enslaved us 155 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:48,880 to the house, never affording anything else. 156 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:51,880 Our children were about to be born. 157 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,520 We would have not been able to visit our families abroad. 158 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,320 Hannah would probably have had to work instead of looking after 159 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,440 the children as we agreed and wanted. 160 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:11,560 Looking back, that one decision, that one decision could have, 161 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,640 could have changed the life we're leading right now. 162 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:19,560 It would have changed it. You cannot serve 2 masters. 163 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:26,920 Serve God, obey God. Hannah, what a beautiful house 164 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:31,400 and blessing that was. Do you remember all our children 165 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,320 was born there. We were involved in the church 166 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,960 plant in Evington. It was the beginning of our 167 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,800 ministry and the blessings went on and on and on. 168 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:46,520 We did not need a bigger house, we just needed the one God 169 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,960 wanted for us. There came a time when God did 170 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:55,600 want us to have a bigger house, but He so wonderfully 171 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,520 orchestrated it Himself to bless us. 172 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,520 And when we moved in, I made a little altar to him. 173 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,920 I'm a bit strange like that. I do that type of thing. 174 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:10,640 I made a little altar to him with these words. 175 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,560 I've even brought my little altar with me. 176 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:16,160 Look at that. Hey, this is my little altar. 177 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,800 If you've ever come to my house, you will see this. 178 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:23,720 It's on my dining table. And it says simply, He blesses. 179 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,360 He blesses. Do it His way and He blesses. 180 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,800 I have it there so we can see it every day we can remember every 181 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,800 day He blesses. Let's say it together. 182 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,920 Are you ready? 123 He blesses. 183 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,800 Of course, this is not about the size of a house. 184 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:51,400 It's about trusting and obeying the Master as He wants to bless 185 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,440 our lives. It was been constant scripture 186 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,560 after scripture. Today we've not coordinated 187 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,400 these scriptures. They keep talking about how God 188 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:08,560 wants to bless our lives. If I told you all the stories of 189 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:12,200 how God blessed us financially, I just wouldn't have time to 190 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,040 tell you anything else this morning. 191 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,880 He is such a blessing, amazing blessing, and we are so grateful 192 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,840 for Him. Immediately after speaking about 193 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,920 masters, Jesus says, therefore I tell you, do not worry about 194 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:31,760 your life, what you eat or drink, or about your body, what 195 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,440 you will wear. Notice the word. 196 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,480 Therefore, it connects worry to who we worship. 197 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:46,560 Worry is based on fear, fear that we will not be cared for. 198 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,520 If money is your master, you will constantly worry about not 199 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:57,760 having enough and the truth is you will never have enough. 200 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:03,840 When I watch millionaires they want to be billionaires and when 201 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,960 I hear billionaires they want even more money. 202 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:13,480 When will it stop? The probably the richest man 203 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:19,520 ever that lived was Solomon. And in Ecclesiastes 5 he writes 204 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:24,120 whoever loves money never has enough. 205 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,880 That's from one of the richest men, probably the richest man 206 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:35,160 ever lived, and he's saying whoever loves money never has 207 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,560 enough. Money says I will give you 208 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,720 control, but the control is an illusion. 209 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:47,560 Wealth fluctuates, economies shift, jobs disappear, health 210 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,520 changes. Don't we know that in our world 211 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:55,120 today how things change overnight so quickly? 212 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:02,360 Worry can reveal who we trust. If if Jesus says do not worry 213 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:07,920 about your life, then it is possible to not worry or be 214 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:13,760 anxious. It is possible, however, this is 215 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,880 only possible if you have faith and learn to trust in the Lord 216 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:22,079 your God, your Creator. He knows everything. 217 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:31,200 Faith is how you overcome fear. Always learning to surrender 218 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,080 your fears, worries and anxieties to God and trusting He 219 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:40,520 will care for you, for you is vital for every one of us. 220 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:47,800 We have to learn that believing always that He has the provision 221 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:56,360 you need, always following your Lord as your Master is your 222 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,200 protection. It's our protection. 223 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,960 You can learn to overcome worries for tomorrow, even in 224 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,600 the difficult times. We can learn that. 225 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,600 Why carry that load? You are not meant to. 226 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,520 Jesus carried it on the cross. He took that. 227 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:25,720 I've learned personally it's better to praise and pray to God 228 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,240 than worry. It's actually just a useless bit 229 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:32,760 of time. Whatever you do, it's useless. 230 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:37,480 Instead just pray and praise. Even in the middle of the night, 231 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,720 stop and pray and praise rather than worry. 232 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,600 Turn it into pray and praise. Sometimes I felt the devil at 233 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:51,360 night come to me to try and bring worry to me and I've 234 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:56,720 noticed every time I instead turn it into prayer and praise. 235 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:03,040 He wants me asleep very quickly and I fall asleep very quickly. 236 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,800 It works, try it. I love Psalm 23. 237 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,920 I need to read it to you. This is our God. 238 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:18,200 This is our God. The Lord is my shepherd. 239 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:24,640 I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green 240 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:30,320 pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters 241 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:36,280 and refreshes my soul. That's the master we trust. 242 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,840 When God is secondary, worry becomes primary. 243 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,440 When God is primary, worry loses its grip. 244 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:52,080 So if we're not to serve money, what does serving God look like? 245 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:58,840 It means seeking obedience over profit, choosing integrity over 246 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:05,280 advantage, practising generosity instead of hoarding, trusting 247 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,440 provision instead of obsessing over accumulation. 248 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,760 Serving God reorders our priorities. 249 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,160 It does not mean we can be irresponsible. 250 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,760 I'll just buy this and God will. Don't worry, God will look after 251 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,400 me. It means surrender. 252 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:25,920 It does not mean we stop working. 253 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,600 I don't need to work. It says God will don't need to 254 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,600 worry. We need to stop worshipping what 255 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,560 we earn. It's his. 256 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,680 It's a it's a difficult concept sometimes for the world to 257 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,240 understand that. But what we earn is his. 258 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,960 It's not wrong to have money. God blesses us with it. 259 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,200 I am so grateful for Him for that. 260 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:59,760 However, our money is to be used to serve God in our obedience to 261 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,680 Him. It means always be prepared to 262 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:07,600 surrender to Him in how He guides you to use it. 263 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:14,040 Do it in line with scripture. I remember blessings wonderful 264 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,440 word a few months ago. It says give to God. 265 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,240 What is God's? That's embedded in me. 266 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:26,000 Give to God, what is God's. Give him your tithes, your 267 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,800 offerings. Offer your offerings. 268 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:29,560 That's what the word offering means. 269 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:34,000 Offer it to him. As well as blessing others, look 270 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,400 to bless others. There'll be provision always 271 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,280 asking God for wisdom in being responsible with finance. 272 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:46,200 That should be a daily prayer. It's in the Lord's Prayer. 273 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,360 A heart anchored in God can handle abundance of money 274 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:56,240 without pride and boasting. You can be given loads, but then 275 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,320 you don't need to have pride and boasting. 276 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:03,120 It can also handle a lack of money without despair. 277 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,680 Hard times hit us sometimes, but we don't need to despair. 278 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,840 When we refuse to serve money, we declare that our treasure is 279 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:19,040 held elsewhere. At its core, this passage is not 280 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:25,840 about money at all. It's about Lordship who sits on 281 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:31,040 the throne of your heart. Jesus does not negotiate a 282 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,280 shared rule. It's not part of his language at 283 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,120 all. He does not share his lordship. 284 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,640 He invites us to surrendered trust. 285 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:49,520 When he says do not worry, he is saying you are held, you are 286 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:55,640 known, you are valued. Anxiety shrinks in the presence 287 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:01,680 of divine love. So let me conclude the choice 288 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:08,680 remains. 2 Masters stand before US1 promises control but 289 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:13,000 produces anxiety. The other invites surrender and 290 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,720 gives peace. One says earn your security. 291 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,480 The other one says trust your Father. 292 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,480 Jesus does not shame us for worrying it's it's not easy. 293 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:30,280 It happens to us all. However, he does call us to a 294 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,360 higher level. He's taking us higher. 295 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,400 He calls us to a life where God is first. 296 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:44,800 Money is a servant and trust replaces fear. 297 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,400 May we grasp that the that today. 298 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:59,240 So Father, Lord, I just pray, Father, that amongst us all we 299 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:05,480 may leave today with undivided hearts of who our Master is, 300 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:11,920 that we will be determined that You are our Lord, that we serve 301 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:17,640 only one Master, and we serve only You in the name of Jesus, 302 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:23,120 Amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. 303 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,960 The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 304 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,840 The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.