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This is ERC Sundays, the 
messages at Emmaus Rd. 

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Church in DeWitt, Iowa. 
ERC is a Church of people 

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striving to grow in Jesus and 
make him known to others through

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our faith, words and actions. 
Find out more about our church 

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at emmausrdonline.org. 
Here's this week's message. 

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Yeah, this is the last week in 
our 4S series. 

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We've been talking about faith 
and family and fitness, and 

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today we get to talk about 
finances. 

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All of these things, Of course, 
God wants to teach us about. 

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He wants to show us what it 
means to be good stewards and in

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all these different areas, and 
that is for his glory and for 

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our good. 
When we follow the word of the 

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Lord in all these different 
areas of our life, what happens 

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is we get to we get to make the 
name of Jesus known, we get to 

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glorify him and we do that for 
his Kingdom and for again, like 

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I said, our good. 
And so this week we find ourself

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in finances. 
Lucky you, lucky you. 

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I know they're during the first 
service. 

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There were definitely some first
timers here and I was just like,

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man, they show up on the week 
where we're talking about money.

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This is this is going to go 
great. 

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I love that for them, but I 
don't know, it's happened a 

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couple different times and they 
walk in and and inevitably when 

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I use the word finances, they're
like, oh great, here we go. 

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Pastors going to tell me that I 
have to give all this money to 

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church and if I'm not, I'm a 
terrible Sinner and all these 

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things and great, can't wait. 
But that's not how this goes at 

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all. 
If you read your Bible, that's 

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not at all what God says. 
God tells us that as we are 

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receiving his resources that he 
gives us freedom to do with 

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those what we want. 
And that's an amazing thing for 

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the God who gives everything. 
It's intriguing and amazing that

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he's like, here you go, have a 
good time. 

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And we have those choices. 
We have those options to do what

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we want with our finances. 
But is there biblical wisdom 

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that we can use with that so 
that we can again, flourish in a

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way that maybe we would have 
never thought of before through 

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typical secular thoughts about 
money? 

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And So what I want to key in on 
today is I want us to think 

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about investments that actually 
last, that actually last 

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investments that because we 
invest in all sorts of things. 

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You could, you could talk about 
your house, you could talk about

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a car, you could talk about all 
this stuff. 

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None of that actually really 
lasts, right? 

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It doesn't really last in. 
And here's how. 

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Let me give you a familiar 
phrase. 

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You've heard it said that you 
will not see a her or you will 

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not see a U-Haul van behind a 
hearse. 

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You've heard that right? 
Yes. 

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If not, you just heard it. 
So you can still say yes because

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you just heard it. 
OK, so no U hauls behind 

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hearses. 
And so we often then talk about 

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the things that we're not 
allowed to take with us, we 

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can't take with us. 
But I don't want to stay in the 

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negative. 
I want to move to the positive. 

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What can we take with us? 
What can we take with us? 

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Here's the thing, we get to take
people and praises. 

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We can take people and praises 
with us. 

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How does that work, man? 
As we share the gospel, as we 

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share the good news of Jesus 
Christ, what happens is we get 

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to gather God's people and we 
get to say, come with me, come 

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with me to eternity, Come with 
me to meet Jesus face to face. 

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And when we get there, you know 
what we get to do? 

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We get to praise Him in His 
glory, in his absolute unseen 

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glory. 
We get to praise Him and man. 

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We want to make heaven crowded. 
Not that you can actually do 

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that, but we want to make it 
crowded, don't we? 

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That should be our goal. 
And so we want to take people 

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and praise this with us. 
Therefore, that should inform 

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how we invest our first and our 
best. 

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That should absolutely inform 
that. 

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So here's what we're going to 
do. 

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Let me make this very clear. 
We're going to look at a little 

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passage that Jesus speak that 
where Jesus is speaking, and 

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we're going to see what he calls
foolish investments. 

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We're going to figure out what 
he calls wise investments, and 

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then we're going to take a hard 
look at God's investment into 

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you. 
That's where we're going. 

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Foolish investments, wise 
investments and God's investment

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into you. 
So with that in mind, we are 

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going to read from Matthew 
chapter 6 verses 19 through 24. 

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If you have your Bibles or the 
Bible app or you know, kind of 

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however that works for you, you 
can follow along on the screen. 

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All of those are perfectly fine 
ways. 

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So Matthew 619 through 24, and 
we read this in Jesus name 

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because it's literally his 
words. 

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Do not lay up for yourselves 
treasures on earth, where moth 

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and rust destroyed, and where 
thieves break in and steal. 

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But lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven, where 

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neither wrought, where neither 
moth nor rust destroys, and 

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where thieves do not break in 
and steal. 

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For where your treasure is, 
there your heart will be also. 

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The eye is a lamp to the body, 
so if your eye is healthy, your 

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whole body will be full of 
light, but if your eye is bad, 

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your whole body will be full of 
darkness. 

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If then the light in you is 
darkness, how great is the 

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darkness? 
No one can serve 2 masters, for 

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either he will hate the one and 
love the other, or he will be 

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devoted to the one and despise 
the other. 

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You cannot serve God and money. 
Here ends the reading of God's 

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Word. 
May it be blessed. 

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There was a man who was on a 
business trip and he was booked 

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in a hotel for four nights. 
So he gets to the hotel room on 

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the first day and he's like, 
Nah, I'm not in love with it. 

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So checks in. 
But then he goes off to the 

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conference. 
When he gets back from the 

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conference, what he does is he 
looks around and says, you know 

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what? 
The lighting in here isn't 

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great. 
Let me give this place some nice

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upgrades. 
So he goes off to Menards and he

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buys a few new table lamps and 
and he buys some like of those 

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stick on LED strips and he's 
like, all right, we're lighting 

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this place up. 
Good upgrade. 

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So he goes off to the conference
on the second day and when he 

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gets back from work on the 
second day, he looks around and 

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goes, man, now that there's 
better light in here, I'm seeing

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all sorts of stuff I don't like.
So he walks in the bathroom. 

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He's like, you know, that mirror
adds like 10 lbs. 

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I'm not a fan. 
So, so he goes back to the store

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and he, he buys a new mirror for
the bathroom and he installs 

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that and he buys new artwork 
because the artwork in hotels is

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pretty cheesy. 
It's not great. 

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It's very corporate. 
Nobody likes that. 

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And if you do, let's talk after 
the service, it's not great art 

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teacher. 
Sorry. 

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Anyway, So, and then he also he 
like buys these like handles for

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all the closet doors and all 
the, and all the drawers. 

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He buys handles because it's 
like those are so outdated. 

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Let me let me upgrade this a 
little bit. 

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So he installs all that stuff on
the second day and he goes to 

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bed that night and he thinks to 
himself, man, that was totally 

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worth it. 
Goes to work on the third day, 

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comes back and as he walks back 
in, as in most hotels, he walks 

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in and he looks and he's looking
right into the bathroom and he's

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like, that is not a throne 
appropriate for a king. 

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In fact, that toilet, it is so 
uncomfortable that I cannot 

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comfortably sit there and play 
my game on my phone for upwards 

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of 25 minutes, killing time on 
the toilet. 

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And so he's like, you know what?
I need to upgrade that, too. 

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So he goes back to Menards and 
he's picking out a toilet. 

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And he's like, yeah, that's a 
that's a throne fit for a king. 

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So he picks out the toilet. 
And while he's there, he's like,

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you know what, let's redo the 
paint, too. 

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It's a little drab in there. 
So he gets off the materials and

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he goes back to the hotel room 
and he's installing the toilet. 

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And he's like, yeah. 
And he's put, you know, he's 

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painting the walls. 
And there's a knock on the door 

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and the manager, he opens the 
door and the manager's there. 

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And the manager takes like one 
look in the room and went, huh, 

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what are you doing? 
And the guy like very plainly, 

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just very calm. 
He's like, what? 

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Making some investments? 
I'm upgrading this room. 

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It's the problem. 
And the manager's like, you 

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check out tomorrow. 
Why would you, why would you 

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change this? 
Why would you sink all this 

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money into this thing? 
He's like, I don't know, I just 

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thought it was a good 
investment. 

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I really wanted to do it. 
Here's the thing. 

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That's kind of a silly story, 
but we constantly invest in 

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things that don't last. 
Here's what Jesus says. 

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The eye is the lamp of the body,
so if your eye is healthy, your 

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whole body will be full of 
light, but if your eye is bad, 

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the whole body will be full of 
darkness. 

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What's he getting at? 
What are we? 

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What is he really talking about?
Here's the thing that I know is 

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true. 
Absolutely for the people in 

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Jesus's day, and even more so 
for the people of our day. 

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We are absolutely bombarded with
things all the time that make us

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want, want, want, want, want, 
want, want. 

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We have marketing geniuses who 
rightfully so, make hundreds of 

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thousands of dollars a year 
because they're really good at 

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separating you from your money. 
It's not always even that 

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subtle. 
So let let's let's take a couple

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case studies here. 
Let's say you're in your house 

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and it's perfectly fine. 
Everything functions well and 

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and you've got a pretty good 
little life going. 

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You're fine. 
But then you get wrapped up in 

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watching like house flipper 
shows or remodeling shows and 

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all of a sudden you know what 
you're doing. 

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You're like, man, I think I 
think we should put new tile in 

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the bathroom. 
I think we could upgrade the 

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floor. 
I think we could change the sink

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out and all of a sudden, like 
you are consumed because of what

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your eye has taken in. 
You are so consumed by what 

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you've been focusing on, right? 
Or maybe maybe it's your phone. 

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And so like on your phone, you 
talk about it and your phone's 

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always listening. 
We all know that. 

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So now you're going to get ads, 
by the way. 

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So your phone is listening. 
And so you start getting ads for

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clothing all the time because 
you're like, oh, I need some new

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stuff. 
And you're talking to your 

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friends. 
All of a sudden all these ads 

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start popping up for new 
clothing. 

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And before you know it, you're 
like, man, it's kind of shabby. 

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I I'd better buy some new stuff.
Even though you've got a closet 

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full of stuff that you don't 
even wear. 

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That's perfectly fine, or I'll 
make this very personal. 

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I don't. 
Yeah, that's my mother-in-law. 

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Nailed it. 
This is why I don't even go in 

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shoe stores. 
I don't. 

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I don't because I know what's 
going to happen. 

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I will have less money when I 
walk out of that place. 

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Here's the thing. 
Gosh, guys, our eyes, they get 

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so filled up by these marketing 
geniuses, ads and everything 

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that they're doing. 
And we just want more and more 

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and more and we're never 
content. 

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We're never content. 
And So what they've done to us, 

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victims, maybe what they've done
to us is they've said you're not

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enough, you're not whole unless 
you do this, unless you have 

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that, unless you upgrade that, 
you will not be whole, you will 

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not be happy. 
And we've bought into the lies 

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we have absolutely as a society,
we have bought into those lies. 

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And maybe the greatest lie that 
they sell us or, and it's 

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subtle, it's so subtle. 
They get us with comparison. 

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They get us with comparison 
every single time. 

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And it's not even the marketers 
who do that. 

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That's just us. 
We look across the street, oh, 

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so and so got a new car. 
Then you get in yours and you're

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like, this thing sucks. 
No, it doesn't. 

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It runs, it moves, it does what 
it's supposed to do. 

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It's fine. 
But that's not how we think. 

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We tend to think in comparisons.
And Teddy Roosevelt quite 

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famously said comparison is the 
thief of joy. 

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You don't have joy in your life,
man. 

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I bet I can tell you why, or at 
least one of the reasons why. 

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It's because we're always 
comparing. 

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And so here's the thing. 
Here's what I want to get to 

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real quick. 
I think I've made the case that 

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some of these things, they're 
just toxic that we take in with 

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our eyes, the things that we 
focus on. 

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But then again, if we always 
blame what's out there, we're 

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never going to figure this thing
out because God tells us that we

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have to start with what's in 
here. 

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I have to start with the 
position of my heart. 

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And then we can start to work 
some things out because 

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everything is flowing out of the
position of my heart, right? 

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Whether that's unnecessary want 
or desire, or whether that's 

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gratitude and contentment and 
thankfulness, all that starting 

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in here. 
So let me let me get to 

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something a little maybe 
potentially challenging, but I 

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don't. 
I don't always have the best 

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words. 
I'm not always the goodest at 

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talking. 
Yeah, I see what I did there. 

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Good, good. 
I'm glad. 

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Well, let me read something from
Tim Keller that I think really 

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gets to the point here. 
Here's what he says on this 

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topic. 
If there is a God who created 

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you, and therefore, since that 
God gave you everything, you owe

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that God an eternal debt, an 
absolute debt, The only possible

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due that you can give to a 
person who has given you 

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everything is everything. 
So do you work for his agenda? 

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Do you work for his goals? 
Do you work for his business? 

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In a sense, he's given you the 
businesses charge card and 

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00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,720
you're going off to the Bahamas 
with it. 

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00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,400
In other words, are you 
basically living for your own 

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00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,320
interests, your own goals? 
My friends, that is treason. 

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00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,400
You're saying I want to be the 
governor of my own life. 

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00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,880
What's wrong with that? 
That's treason. 

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00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:45,120
It's cosmic treason. 
It's ingratitude of the highest 

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order. 
So the point that Tim Keller and

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the point that Jesus is making 
in this text is very simple. 

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It's very simple. 
It's about the position of our 

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hearts. 
It's not about a dollar amount. 

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It's about the position of our 
hearts. 

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Because even in this text, Jesus
tells us he, he points out where

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your treasure is. 
That's also where your heart is.

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And he wants your heart. 
He wants it in in a relationship

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with him positioned correctly so
that you can live your life in 

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real joy and contentment and 
peace, not constantly chasing 

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the next big thing that they put
out. 

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Jesus calls us to make wise 
investments in the gospel. 

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00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,360
He calls us to make wise 
investments with the resources 

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that he's given us. 
Kristen says it every week, and 

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00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:39,400
it's true. 
Every single week. 

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Everything we have belongs to 
the Lord. 

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00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,040
It's all his. 
But what do we do with that 

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00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,320
business charge card, huh? 
What are we doing with it? 

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00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,840
So here's the thing. 
I could probably kind of nag on 

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the whole thing all day, but I 
don't really want to do that. 

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00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,480
I would like to shift us into 
the positive. 

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00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,880
I would like to shift us into 
what are wise investments. 

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And I'm going to do that by 
telling you a little story. 

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Story time again. 
You're welcome. 

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00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,960
About 40 years ago, there were a
group of young upstart people, 

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00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,520
and they got real tired of doing
religion the way that everybody 

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00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,320
around them said that they 
should be doing it. 

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00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,400
And so they formed a dream. 
They formed a dream. 

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00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,440
And that dream looked like not 
their glory, not their comfort, 

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00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,400
but the glory of God and 
accessibility to Jesus Christ in

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00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,800
a way that that community did 
not currently have. 

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00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,880
And they dreamed, and they 
dreamed and they sacrificed and 

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00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:49,080
they fought and they lost their 
they lost friends because of it.

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00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,640
They lost real dollars because 
of it. 

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00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:57,960
They gave it all away. 
Let me tell you how that 

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00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:07,119
investment is shaking out today.
Every single Wednesday night and

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00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,599
every single Sunday morning, I 
am in this building and I'm 

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00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:15,640
seeing that investment pay 
dividends over and over and over

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00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,680
again. 
I have seen those investments 

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00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,520
multiply across I don't know how
many generations. 

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00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,920
I look at young people inside 
this church, maybe your kids, 

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00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,440
maybe your grandkids, and I am 
looking at that investment which

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00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,240
has exploded. 
It is investment that is paying 

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00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,640
dividend on top of dividend on 
top of dividend. 

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00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:41,720
Every single day that we open 
these doors, I am here talking 

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00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,680
to you because they chose, they 
went out of their way, they 

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00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,840
broke free from what was and 
they said no. 

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00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,360
We are going to invest in what 
we believe matters most and that

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00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,440
is people meeting Jesus Christ. 
And I stand before you on this 

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00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,920
stage today because of their 
investment. 

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00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,920
I don't exist here without them 
being faithful to the call of 

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00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,360
God in their life to make a wise
investment that wasn't about 

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00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,080
their comfort, that wasn't about
keeping up with the Joneses, but

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00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,840
an investment that was all about
making Jesus known. 

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00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,800
That happened here and it still 
happens here. 

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00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,120
If you are sitting here 
listening to me right now, that 

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00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,560
investment is paying off for 
you. 

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00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,640
Their investment is still 
working. 

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00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,360
It's still making money over and
over again. 

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00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,120
But that's not real money. 
That is, that is money that is 

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00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,720
gold towards eternity. 
That's what that is and it's 

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00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,440
working. 
It is working. 

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00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,240
There's multiplying. 
It's amazing. 

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00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:47,320
So here's the thing, I want to 
show you something. 

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00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:53,080
I want to show you what Jesus 
says are wise investments, says 

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00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:57,560
layout for yourselves, treasure 
in heaven where neither moth nor

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00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,760
rust destroys, from where 
thieves do not break in and 

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00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,000
steal. 
I said at the beginning, we take

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00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,960
our people and our praises with 
us and that's it. 

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00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,640
That's it. 
So how is God calling us then to

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00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,160
invest in the thing that will 
last forever, People in our 

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00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:15,920
praises? 
How does that working out? 

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00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,160
Man, I got to tell you, and I'm 
just being honest. 

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00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,560
I'm not a salesman. 
I am not a financial guru, but 

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00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,320
when I walk in this building and
when I see your faces, when I 

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00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,880
see you guys interacting, when I
see little kids running around 

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00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,560
spilling coffee or with the 
Donuts, whatever, it's all worth

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00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,520
it. 
It's so worth it. 

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00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:46,360
Now let me pause for a second. 
Let me do a check here because 

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00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,000
every once in a while I leave 
the notes and I start talking 

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00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000
and I don't even know what I 
say. 

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00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:55,360
Sometimes I just listen to it 
back. 

342
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,200
I'm like, that's crazy, but not 
bad. 

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00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:10,680
Thanks. 
Let's do a check anywhere today.

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00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,880
Have I told you that you have to
give a certain percentage to 

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00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:16,080
this church? 
Yes or no? 

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00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,280
Good. 
Glad I didn't do that. 

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00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,920
At any point today, have I told 
you you have to give a certain 

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00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,000
dollar amount to this church? 
Good. 

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00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,800
Glad that didn't happen. 
At any point did I say that you 

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00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,720
have to give money otherwise you
shouldn't show up here? 

351
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:39,720
Have I said that? 
Good, because if anybody ever 

352
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,840
said any of those things from 
this stage, they would be fired.

353
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,960
Rightfully so, and I would love 
to give them a kick out the 

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00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:52,280
door. 
That is not what God calls us 

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00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:57,360
to, and here's how we know that.
Second Corinthians 9-7 and 

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00:20:57,360 --> 00:20:59,480
eight. 
Each one must give as He is 

357
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,960
decided in His own heart. 
Do you see how it comes back to 

358
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,600
the heart issue I was talking 
about? 

359
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,600
It's a heart issue. 
Not reluctantly, not under 

360
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:15,240
compulsion, for God loves a 
cheerful giver. 

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00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:22,000
Man, did you see it? 
And here's the thing, I can tell

362
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,880
you honestly, again, not a 
salesman, just a guy whose life 

363
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:29,960
was changed by Jesus. 
I can tell you every single time

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00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,480
we get to invest in something 
that is bigger and grander than 

365
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:38,680
us, man, it rocks my heart. 
It really does. 

366
00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:40,960
I'm not just saying that because
I'm a pastor. 

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00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,840
It does. 
It changes my heart. 

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00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:47,680
It moves me towards knowing that
there is a greater goal then 

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00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,960
even just this building. 
There is a goal to make heaven 

370
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,520
full, and I want to work on that
goal with you. 

371
00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,520
I want you to join in that God. 
God wants you to join in His 

372
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:05,840
work of making His Kingdom full.
Now I want to show you one more 

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00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:07,600
thing and then we're going to 
get out of here. 

374
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,360
The last point that I wanted to 
bring you to is God's investment

375
00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:15,320
in you. 
OK, we've talked about foolish 

376
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,440
investments. 
I think we get that talked about

377
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,080
wise ones. 
We can see that. 

378
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,520
So let's talk about God's 
investment into you. 

379
00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:28,440
There's a little, little couple 
of verses where Jesus is telling

380
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,000
a parable, and this is how it 
goes. 

381
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,480
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is 
like a treasure hidden in a 

382
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,440
field which a man found and hid,
and for the joy over it he goes,

383
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,840
and he sells all that he has, 
and then he buys that field. 

384
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,000
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is 
like a merchant seeking 

385
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,240
beautiful pearls, who when he 
had found one Pearl of great 

386
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,720
price, he went and sold all that
he had, and he bought it. 

387
00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:55,520
Here's what I'm going to tell 
you, little Bible lesson 

388
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,640
friends. 
This text has two meanings. 

389
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,520
Let me give you the first one. 
The first meaning is what we've 

390
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,720
kind of been talking about 
today, the fact that man, when 

391
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,840
we feel the gospel, when it is 
penetrated our hearts, when it 

392
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,560
has moved us, you know what we 
ought to do. 

393
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,120
We ought to invest every 
stinking thing that we can give 

394
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:20,160
away into that because we know 
it has eternal value and it 

395
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,480
multiplies to the NTH degree. 
That's one way to understand 

396
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,960
this, but there's another way 
and there's a greater way to 

397
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:36,800
understand this text. 
You are the treasure. 

398
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:43,840
You are the Pearl. 
Now, granted that you've been 

399
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:48,120
buried in sin, so you're a 
little dirty, but man, God sees 

400
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:49,880
you and he's like, I can get 
that dirt off. 

401
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,360
I can get that sin off. 
I can wipe all that stuff away. 

402
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,240
And I know underneath when I 
wipe all that junk off, it is 

403
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,080
going to be so valuable. 
They are going to be so valuable

404
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:00,560
for me that what am I going to 
do? 

405
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,960
I'm going to give it all away 
and that's exactly what Jesus 

406
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,280
Christ has done. 
He has given it all away for 

407
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,920
you. 
He's invested 100% of himself in

408
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,680
you. 
That's exactly how it works. 

409
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,680
We see in the Old Testament that
God calls for a tie the 10th. 

410
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,000
We don't see that in the New 
Testament because Jesus is 

411
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,480
giving 100%. 
He did not tithe his blood and 

412
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,320
say, well, that was probably 
good. 

413
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:31,560
No, he gave 100% of it so that 
you can be saved, so that you 

414
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,720
can be in a relationship with 
Him, so that you can spend 

415
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,680
eternity in glory with him and 
your brothers and sisters in 

416
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:45,840
Christ who know the same thing. 
Friends, Jesus didn't hold back.

417
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:52,080
And the application is he's 
asking us to trust him enough to

418
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:58,840
not hold back to, to give as our
heart moves, as our heart is 

419
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,600
moved by the truth of the 
gospel, as as Jesus Christ comes

420
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,720
into us through his Spirit and 
he changes our wants and our 

421
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,880
desires and our needs and he 
aligns them with himself and the

422
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:14,240
cross man, all of a sudden it 
gets real easy and real fun to 

423
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:19,720
give that stuff away. 
I'm not joking, it's true, and 

424
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,800
if you haven't tried it, then 
you probably don't know why I'm 

425
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,360
crazy up here, but try it and 
then you can be this crazy too. 

426
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:33,200
It's a really good life. 
It's a really good life because 

427
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,840
I'm not hanging on to things 
that don't matter. 

428
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,360
I want to invest in what matters
forever. 

429
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,280
I hope you want that too. 
And you can have that through 

430
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:48,240
the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Thanks for listening to the ERC 

431
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,360
Sundays To support the work God 
is doing and Amazed Rd. 

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00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:55,320
Church, visit 
amazedrdonline.org/giving.