We're going to be in in James 5 again or we're going to be in
James again in chapter 5. And I am yes, pray for me.
I am really trying to get to finish James next week.
So then we're just Christmas studies after that till
Christmas is the goal. And then we'll start a new book
in the but I only made it through 6 verses.
So I'm not confident I'm finishing next week.
The so my my funny, funny title today is comfortable
selfishness. And I think we can all kind of
reflect on that title. And I know I can.
And just loving to be having that life at ease that we have
here. So Lord, I just lift up this
time and I lift up everybody here.
Or that you would speak to us, that you'd speak to me, or that
you'd work on our hearts, Lord, that you'd guide and direct us,
that you'd fill us with your spirit, that we'd be able to go
out and just share you with people of our community and our
families, especially this time of year, Lord.
Or that you just put put those that are in need of you in our
path and Lord, that you would give us a heart to share with
them and pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
So first 3 verses Come now you rich weep and howl for the
miseries that are coming upon you.
You rich have rotted and your riches have rotted, and your
garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have
corroded and their corrosion will be evidenced against you,
and you will eat your flesh and will eat your flesh like fire.
You have laid up treasures in the last days.
So Jesus has another conversation with a lukewarm
church. We've all I'm sure heard about
it. I know Ben, last year went
through all the revelation and I'm sure you spent some time on
the lukewarm church in Laodicea. And chapter 3, verse 17 says,
for you say I am rich, I have prosperity, I need nothing, not
realizing that you are wretched, pitable, poor, blind and naked.
And and that's just we'll, we'll beat on this quite a bit, but
it's when we get comfortable and being comfortable is something
that we then want to defend and that becomes selfishness, right?
Proverbs says it like this. Whoever trusts in his riches
will fall. The righteous will flourish like
a green leaf. And the thing there is is it
doesn't doesn't say that whoever trusts in riches may fall or
possibly will fall. It says will fall.
So if we don't trust in God and we trust in riches, we're lost,
right? But Paul then goes on in another
in another book, Timothy, he tells him it that isn't the only
snare about riches. Coveting being rich is a snare.
And and in Uganda, you can see that on a on a different level.
But you'll find that whether you have money or you want money,
they, they both can be that snare.
And Timothy, we've all heard these verses, chapter 6, verse 9
and 10. But those who desire to be rich
fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and
harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is the
root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that
some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves
with many pangs. So this is not money.
A lot of times people we'll quote and say that money is the
root of all evil and it's not it's the love of money, right?
It's when we, when we get money out in front of like money is
what's going to make me happy. But when we look at money, it is
a great heart check. It's a good way for us to look
at our lives and our our spending habits and see where my
heart is. But a lot of times it's what,
what things do I worry about? You know, what is my, what is my
stress and worry isn't money. Is that what I'm worried about?
Because I will tell you that I came back from Uganda in 2019
and I had no bills to speak of and I had no money to speak of
either, right? I always, when I we paid
everything off in 2018, that was the Dave Ramsey thing.
We're debt free. We owe nothing.
Like, I mean, there are a lot of people out there, they can, they
can actually claim that, right? They're debt free.
They don't own anything. And but with that there is a,
there is a piece that comes along with that.
I, that was something I didn't, I didn't worry about money
because I didn't have any. And when we, when we recognize
that all that we have was given to us by the Lord and, and
there's a blessing there, But in money, there is a burden.
And very often we, we lose track of that burden because we are
focused on the blessing and we, it is a blessing.
But when we when we lose track of the burden of the fact that
God has given us resources, when God has used the resources of
his rich richness to bless the lost and dying, right.
But those with riches should walk carefully because rich
riches can get comfortable, then we have something to lose.
And there is a quote by a guy that I don't, I don't know the
guy. I just remembered the quote, so
I looked it up. Michael G.
Michael Hoth says hard times create strong men and strong men
create good times and good times create weak men and weak times.
Weak men create hard times. And that is so the cycle of of
America and and over the over the centuries, but it's really
the the cycle of the world, right?
If you watch every, every civilization that has ever lived
or it's ever been here went through that cycle, right?
They, they, they built themselves up and then they got
to where I mean, you look at Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar and
then his his son or grandson that with a, with an army at the
gates was having a party in his house or in the in the palace,
right? And and lost Babylon without,
without a shot being fired because they just walked in
under the wall. And that is that that cycle of
getting comfortable with our, our riches.
But our riches are our riches are of course, multiple fold
right? We in the western world, we, we
are very focused on the financial side of it, in the
comfortableness of that, but we have more comfort than that,
right? I have comfort in my
relationship with the Lord. But do I want to do I just do I
do I get to that comfortable point where my life is, is good
and my marriage is good and my kids are good and I just tie a
knot and say, Hey, I'm good right here.
That will go badly, right? It will, it will, it will lead
to darkness coming into my life because I, I get to a point
where I think that I have something to lose and then I
want to close my hand around it and hold it something.
Of course, you guys have heard me and Faye talk about it, but
it's, it's about everything in my life is in my hand open,
right? And that is complete trust that
Jesus has everything that's in my hand and not not spending
time worried about the stuff. I mean, but that isn't, that
isn't human nature. Can you, this is a, this is a
saying that if I said half of it, you guys would finish it.
But it's, the more I have, the more I, it doesn't say, the more
I have, the less I want, right? It's, and, and that is human
nature. The more I have, the more I
want. And that goes.
So the more, the more Jesus I have, the more I should want of
him, right? But the more riches I have, the
more rest I should have. And, and that is, you know,
something that as believers and I, and I don't think that, I
mean, I want to stone somebody. I James really just beats people
up because he's he's correcting things, right?
I don't believe that that our congregation is, is selfish and
and rich and and horrible, right?
That isn't. But that's where we're at in the
book. And and it's a time.
It's a time for us just to reflect and say, Lord, is there
any of that creeping in in my life?
Right. It's and that says I'm going
through it. I I'll tell you as the teacher,
a lot of times I want to, I want to give myself an out.
I want to, I want to give you guys a yeah butt or a qualifier,
something that says this. Well, it doesn't.
It doesn't, it isn't that bad, but but it is right.
If we get our eyes, if we get our eyes on stuff at any point,
we we line up with weeping and howling and miseries.
If we're not, if we don't have our eyes on the Lord and what
he's doing with the things he gave us.
Now, does God want to bless us? Absolutely.
Does he love his children and want to take care of them?
Absolutely. In first Corinthians 29, Paul,
Paul says but it but as it is written, what no eye has seen,
no ears heard, nor heart of a man.
Imagine what God has prepared for those who love him and he
wants to take care of his children, but he wants his
children just to trust that he'll take care of them, right?
Which is which is Lord, you've got this.
I don't, I don't have to worry about it.
He doesn't want to make us brats, right?
And I mean, as parents in this room, we understand what that
is, right? We understand when you when you
spoil your children, then you end up with brats.
Well, God wants to to lavish gifts on us, but he doesn't want
to ruin us while doing it. We get selfish desires in the
way of his ability to use his resources to not only care for
others, but also we miss out on his best plan for my life.
You miss out for the best plan in your life because you want
what you see and you want it now, right?
And you, you can't see and I, I can't see the future.
I would say God's calculator works better because he knows
what to put in it. I don't know what to put in it,
but I can see today, right? And I'm like, Oh Lord, but I'll
take that now. And he goes, but if you just
leave it there, if you just leave it there, it's going to
grow. And that's that's where we we
start trying to hold on to things and we miss out on his
best plan. Matthew 619 and 20 says do not
lay up for yourselves treasures on earth or moths and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break
in and steal. So I have a have a story of my
my little brother James, some boy, you guys will meet him
probably 10-15 years ago. He was a single dad and his, him
and his daughter came over for Christmas and they're, they live
in Walla Walla and it's hour away, hour and a half away.
And we lived at, we, we had a pretty nice house.
You know, we had, we had stuff, we had stuff and things and we
had, we made enough money that we should have had money in
savings and we really didn't. And he came over and he had a
77-F-250 four wheel drive, nice truck, bald tires, not kind of
bald like bald tires. And I didn't have the money to
put tires on his truck. He didn't ask me to put tires on
his truck, but I don't have the money to do it even if I wanted
to. And as his Big Brother, he's 10
years younger than me as his Big Brother.
It I told, I told my wife that I said, said I never want to be in
that position again, right? That, that I can't that win the
opportunity is put before me that I can't do what's on my
heart because we don't have the money to do it.
And it wasn't because it wasn't because God had not given us the
money. It was just the priorities we
had, right? And it wasn't that we were out
wasting everything. It was just that we didn't have
that priority to have that that kind of money set aside for the,
for the ability to bless others. And when, when God puts it on my
heart to do that right. And so that would, that was like
a a moment in my life that that changed the way I looked at
money. It wasn't it wasn't that I, I
concern myself on. I don't worry about money.
I do worry about whether I'm doing what I'm supposed to be
doing with it, if that makes sense.
It's, it's M because like I said, God loves to, loves to
take care of his kids, right? I mean, do you, does everybody
here like taking their kids to Disneyland, if that's a thing
for you, or like spoiling their kids and doing fun things,
right. So it's not that God does not
want us doing fun things, but to be about his business and and
having that making sure that you're, you're spending his
resources because the this isn't in my notes.
So the whole tithing thing, when we look at tithing, tithing is,
is an Old Testament principle that's given 10% and the
Pharisees were over the top about it, right?
They tithe their, they tithe their spices, right?
They tithe everything tithing is, is just an opportunity.
And, and it doesn't have to be 10%.
It can be whatever the gut, whatever the Lord puts on your
heart. But it's the point of it is when
I give, when I give to the Lord, I'm giving, I'm giving 10%.
If that's what I'm giving, I'm given 10%, recognizing that he
owns 100%. You know, when I first started
tithing, and I would imagine many in this room are there,
when I got saved at 30 years old, there was no month left at
the end of the money, right? Or there was no money left at
the end of the month. And then I got to, I was reading
and it wasn't even something the pastor was teaching on.
I'm reading and I'm like, oh Lord, that ain't going to
happen. There is no way I can.
Well, I will tell you that he has always done more with 90%
that that is left than I could do with 100% to begin with.
And it was, but it was 100% recognizing that may I'm trying
to to explain it in a way that that.
So when I give 10%, it's like fasting.
When I give 10% or whatever that number is, when I give that,
what it does is it makes me go, OK, so all of it's his and I
need him to show up and spend it, right?
I don't want to be in charge of it.
I mean, I, I still have bills to pay and stuff, but I need to
make sure it's, it's a way to recognize every day that hey,
Lord, this is yours and you need to use it the way you want to
use it. And maybe he wants to use it and
buy me a new car. You don't, I mean, I'm not not
all that is, is stuff that God does because he does take care
of his children, but it's it's putting that before him as as
part of the plan. But the rest of that tithing
plan is you have time in your life, right?
And and time and effort and all that is stuff that you need to
be putting in front of the Lord, right?
Like Lord, how am I using my time?
Am I using it? Am I giving to you first?
Right. It's and like when, when we look
at riches, and especially here in in America, we look at
riches. We are, as I get into a little
deeper farther in, but we are the most blessed country that
has ever existed on the planet. The I mean no other country has
ever had people ruling it the under.
I mean that the way we were founded by the people is
something that the rest of the world had never heard of.
It wasn't like, it wasn't like America went, well, we're going
to do it like them. It was something completely
different. And with that, we have a middle
class that didn't used to exist, right?
It's not. I mean, there was there was the
ultra rich and the ultra poor. There wasn't a group of people
that had leisure time like we have leisure time.
And so with that, there was a level of blessing that we get
to, we get to give others that isn't, isn't from our financial
right. We're rich in time, which is
something that that like you go to Uganda, they're not they,
it's kind of hard to they're, they're rich in time in a
different way. They don't have clocks.
So it changes everything they do now, but it's but we are we are
rich in our ability to spend time on people and and Satan and
the enemy has been very good at finding ways for us to fill that
time with busyness and and being busy with it.
So just that was completely off my notes.
But that is time is as important as money, right?
It's we have lots of time here in America to spend on people
and and God has that has that for us and in Acts 20 verse 35,
it says in all things. I have shown you that by working
hard in this way, you must help the weak and remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, who he himself said it is.
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
So I always tell people that and let me try to fix everything
that I say a lot because I hear it.
And then I'm like. Sound like a broken record, but
it's when I when I went to Uganda and when we were doing
short term mission trips and then we lived there.
I will guarantee you that I was more blessed by being able to be
there and pour into people than I was ever able to bless anybody
while there, right? So when Jesus says it is better
to give than to receive, he knew what he was talking about.
One beyond, beyond, beyond measure.
And I and I, I asked the dads in the rooms and probably the moms,
but I'm a dad. So I'm going to ask the dads in
the room, what is funner? Is it funner to get the gift
that you want? Or is it a Christmas?
Or is it funner to see your your wife and children light up
because they got that you got them the gift they want, right,
way better to get. I mean, I would much rather find
the perfect gift to give someone than to get the perfect gift
right? And and that's that's Jesus's
heart, right? He I mean, obviously he gave
more than anybody, but his heart for us used to be out giving and
having having that be our our default, right.
The pastor Steven in the tri-cities says that his default
answer is yes. Now there might be a reason that
he has to say no, but his default answer is yes.
So it isn't no and then talk me into yes.
It's when you ask him his, his desire is to say yes.
Now there might be reasons. You know, somebody comes up to
me and says I need $1000. It might be no, I ain't got
$1000, right? In Uganda, there's a point where
I was teaching in the Sermon of the Mount and there is a .1 of
those times. I'm trying to find wiggle room.
There's a point where I'm teaching Sermon of the Mount and
Jesus says if someone asks you for a loan, give it to him.
And there's all kinds of qualifiers I could put with
that. The, and I'm the, when I'm
teaching in Uganda, I'm the guy with white skin.
I may not be the richest guy in the room, but I look like the
richest guy in the room. So if I'm going to stand up
front and say, if someone asks you for a loan, give it to him.
I very well could have a line of people that come up afterwards.
And I really like to find a qualifier that says, but you
know, you got to look at stewardship and that except when
you look at that section and Sermon on the Mount, it's right
after he gets done talking about blessing your enemies.
So it has nothing to do with the qualification of the first
asking for the loan, right? It has to do with if you have,
if you have and they need meet that need.
And so it is a one of those that very often I try to find, I try
to find wiggle room. I try to I try to figure out a
way that I don't have to listen because I'm human and Lord,
please don't make me. But he is.
He's very clear on on his desire to use each and every one of his
children to bless the world around us.
Because if you think about when, when we when we look at this set
of verses, we talk about, we think about money.
But what is more valuable, my bank account or my relationship
with Jesus, right. And now I may meet somebody's
needs with stuff and things, but it but if all I'm doing is
meeting their needs with stuff and things, then I am not
meeting their needs. You know, when I'm in Uganda,
that is one of my biggest if, if I and you guys will get to come,
I'm I'm sure I will take in the next, in the next decade, many
of you will be in and out of Uganda.
When you get there, you're going to see all the things that
Ugandans do that are not like we do it.
And there there are some things that are not like we do it and
they actually are better. And there's some things that are
not like we do it that are just painful to watch.
And we because we're doers, right?
I mean, genetically, I think the, the, the pilgrims and all
them that came, came over, they were into doing things.
So genetically, I think we have doer as powers going to do
things we want. We want to improve the way you
live. Well, that is not what I'm there
to share in Uganda. It doesn't mean that that I
can't, I can't offer, offer help and and guidance, but that isn't
why I'm there. And I can, I can show you when
you drive up and down the road from Kitkun Delira and I can
show you dozens of ministries that came to show them how to
live better. And when those people did, we're
done with their work and passed on or, or went back to their
home countries. Those missions failed.
And the reason they failed was because they, they were not,
they, they weren't focused on the thing that was important.
They were focused on doing it like we do it in Germany or
doing it like we do it in America.
And it was the only when we, when we did, we have a school
there and the church and we have like a few churches, but I'm not
in charge of any of it. And none of it was, none of it
was new heritage from America coming over and telling them how
to do stuff. It was new heritage from America
going over and partnering, partnering with Ugandans to help
them tell people about Jesus. And because of that, when, when
we failed and, and came home, the mission didn't fail, right?
I, I, it, it continued on and it's, it's stronger today.
The the school is, is thriving, but it's thriving because it's a
village school that's, that's ran by it's it's, it's like a
it's like here, right? Is that you can, you can't
organize, you can't organize what you guys have had for the
last five years, but you have or 5 to 16 years.
But it's you guys love each other and you take care of each
other and you watch over each other.
And that's something that isn't isn't because you have a big a
big church with all this organization.
You you just care for one another.
And that is what the Lord has. That's what our hearts supposed
to be all the time. And I think I'm off that soapbox
to remember God is never impressed when I'm in my flesh,
when I'm in my when I in my when I'm comfortable and selfish.
It in it ends badly for me, right?
Just just like, just like with our children when they are being
selfish and when they're being selfish and self-centered, we
can see the damage that they're had that they have in their life
from that. And that's, that is the Lord
that isn't that God doesn't want to let us be comfortable in
richness. He doesn't want us to be
comfortable in money thinking that is what's going to make us
happy because it will always, always fail.
And when we focus on riches, I miss the blessing that we get.
And then this is my America thing that I was talking about
is America is it had a time of prosperity that was unimaginable
even 100 years ago. And the amazing things that have
been done in the Kingdom in that time, right?
I mean the the amount of missions that went out of
America in the great awakening in that time with with Moody and
even with what's our what's our big evangelist that I just went
blank. He just passed away.
Billy Graham. There we go.
Billy Graham. But so the amount of work that
has been done by people that didn't get comfortable right.
I mean, you look at she Faye reads about Elizabeth Elliott
and her husband and the other men on that beach, right?
They were on purpose, not comfortable.
They were they were going out for for Jesus.
But America big a big capital a America became focused on
keeping the blessing, not what caused the blessing, because
what caused the blessing was people being others focused.
And I, I say that so you think about the founding fathers and I
would let you today hand pick 50 men, hand pick them.
You can, you can go research and hand pick 50 men from all over
the country. And you put them in a room and
you tell them to write a document.
That is what is is as unselfish and well written as the
Constitution. And it's undoable because they
actually, those men walked in that room rich and powerful and
they walked out of that room with less money and less stuff
because they, they were doing what was best for the country,
not was best for them. And they they had that attitude.
And then what what we get in America a lot of times is we get
I want what America can give me without recognizing what it took
to make America what it is. The the make of America great
slogan is when you when you actually understand it and
understand the heart behind it, It is a it is, it is a well,
well stated, right. But that isn't what everybody
gets. And I don't mean, I don't mean
that isn't what the left understands about make America
great. I think, I think there's a lot
of a lot of the right that doesn't, doesn't understand that
make America great is not make America more comfortable, right?
It's make America great means that we're doing a better job
taking care of vets and the homeless and the widows and the
orphans and those in need. As a, as a country, as a whole,
we are, we are out caring for people.
When we, when we look at the rest of the world, we are out
standing against evil. That's make America great.
It isn't, it isn't put up taller.
I mean, and I'm not against the wall in America or in, in
Mexico, but it's not put up bigger walls and keep everybody
away from us because that's like, that's like us as a, as a
church body going out in the woods and, and making a commune,
right? Those get weird.
That's what happens, right? You get, you get self focused
and self-centered and just try to make yourself comfortable.
And and that making America great is going to be when when
we get focused on on those things, right?
When making Sandpoint great again.
Mark talked about it. I don't know the last time you
taught that how we're going to make Sandpoint great again is by
taking care of people right from this little building, this
little group, people going out and be in our community
community and taking care of people, meeting their needs
where they're at. And guys, that is not a
comfortable thing to do. It's being being out putting
yourself out to do that you takes you have an emotional cost
that's there. You have a a financial cost, but
it's not comfortable right when you when I ask people to stand
out front and share Jesus with people walking by, that isn't
comfortable right when you're when you're telling people that
they're that outside of Christ, they're going to spend eternity
separated from him and in hell. That isn't that is not a
comfortable conversation, but it is a necessary conversation,
right? If you love people.
And being willing to spend my, my riches, my, my, my gifts, my,
my dealing with the spirit to spend that on others is why
we're still here. And then James goes on some more
just because he hasn't beat us up enough in verse 4 and talks
about stinginess. And it says, behold, the wages
of the laborers who mow your fields, which you kept back by
fraud are crying out against you in the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
So Nehemiah is probably my when I when I read this, I'm like,
that's that's what Nehemiah ran into in chapter 5 of his book or
his his story Chapter 5 of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah has a whole group of Jews that have been that have
been brought out of Babylon. They are, they are, they have
been saved out of Babylon and they're now in Jerusalem a lot
like James. James is talking about the
talking to the 12 tribes of the dispersion.
So, so he's talking to the Jews that that are probably believe,
they're probably all believers. They've they've, they've left
Jerusalem, they've fleed the persecution.
And in Nehemiah, Nehemiah has, has, has won a lot of victories.
He has, he has been sent out by the king.
So that was a a prayer victory. He had, he went and surveyed the
walls. He, he started the building of
the walls. Then he then he was stood in
attack, finished building the walls through unity of his, of
his people. And then chapter 5 hit him
between the eyes and I mean, and, and the level of disgust
that I can imagine he had of just, are you kidding me?
And this is something that we want to be careful of,
obviously. And that's all the way through
this. That's what I'd really, that's
what I'd really challenge all of us is that I don't think that we
are all stingy, miserable, horrible people.
I just think this is a time for us to be careful that we aren't
comfortable in our in our comforts, right?
But Chapter 5, and I put this in the new Living translation just
because it's easier to read through this whole thing.
But Chapter 5. But about this time, some of the
men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow
Jews. They were saying, we have such
large families, we need more food to survive.
Others said we have mortgaged our fields and vineyards and
homes to get food during the famine.
And others said we have had to borrow money on our fields and
vineyards to pay our taxes. We belong to the same family as
those who are wealthy and our children are just like theirs.
Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough
money to live. We have already sold some of our
daughters and we are helpless to do anything about about it, for
our fields and vineyards are already mortgage to others,
Nehemiah says. And when I heard it, heard these
complaints, I was very angry. And Nehemiah has come and given
everything he has and then and then he hears that they are that
that his nobles are persecute are actually doing what they
were building a wall around Jerusalem to stop others from
doing. And he goes on to say in verse
7, after thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles
and officials and told them you are hurting your own relatives
by charging interest when they borrow money.
Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.
At the meeting I said, we are doing all we can to redeem our
Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to Pagan
foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again.
How often must we redeem them? And they had nothing to say in
their defense. Then I pressed further.
What you are doing is not right. Should you not walk in the fear
of God in order to avoid being mocked by the enemy nations?
And this is just one of those that as as believers to to be
caring for each other, but to not use to not use the world and
its its cultural norms to justify the way we act, right?
That's because that's really, although all the guys in
Nehemiah and Nehemiah, as they were doing, was just running
life like it's supposed to be run, right?
Well, they borrowed money and I get interest for the money they
borrow. And if they can't pay the money
back, I get their children for slaves.
That's what we do. And we don't get to act like the
world that isn't our we get to act different.
We don't get to be out for ourselves.
We don't get to be unloving, uncaring and say it's just
business. We get to be different.
And but in doing that, that changes lives.
You know, as you've all heard my stories about Bruno, my safety
guy in in the Tri-cities and Bruno isn't comfortable in he
because a safety guy at Energy Northwest, there's 1300 people
and he could sit in his office and write rewrite procedures and
go to meetings and he'd be fine and they'd they'd be happy with
him. But that's Bruno wouldn't be
comfortable with what God gave him, which is keeping people
safe. And he does that be by being out
with guys and and questioning them on their not.
And you'd have to know Bruno to know how how good he is at his
job of making people care about their own safety.
And as believers, we are supposed to be out making people
care about their eternity. And that isn't comfortable,
right. That isn't something that, but
it is necessary. And if we're not doing that,
then we're just here taking up space.
And that, that's a harsh thing to say, but that is if we're not
if, if what I do and during outage, it is literally what I
do, if what I do is get up, go to work, come home, go to bed,
why am I here? And in 10 years and 15 years and
20 years, if that's all I'm doing, then I am.
I'm no better than then the this group of guys that is just God
gave me something and I'm supposed to be Hornet out into
people's lives. And what I'm doing is just I'm
saved, I'm good. And that what we're supposed to
be giving the world is his life and God is always watching,
loving others and caring for their needs is his plan for his
body. It isn't, it isn't that his plan
for his body is that we raise a bunch of money and we go out and
give it away. I mean, that happens.
And that can be that can be a use.
But his plan is that as a as a big, big body, we're affecting
our community, but as individuals that we're out in
the community pouring into those we know and and not getting
comfortable. And like I said, that isn't guys
the easiest thing to do. And I think we're Americans over
the years where we lost our school system, where we've lost
so many things is the easiest thing to do is where do I send
the check? Right.
It's it is missions. There's, I tried to find the
story, but there is a story of Hudson Taylor and it is, it's in
his, it's in a book called The Spiritual Secret.
But he came to America and he came to America and he was
coming to spread the word about China, Inland Mission and
raising up missionaries. And after, I don't remember how
long he'd been here, but he raised more money than he had
ever raised. And that's all.
Americans are very generous. They gave lots of money, but no
one was no, he wasn't getting any missionaries.
He wasn't getting anybody that wanted to go right.
He's getting lots of money and no and no workers.
And he went to the went to his fundraising board and said give
it back. I know, I know how to go to
China with no money and workers and God take care of the money.
I don't know how to go to China with money and no workers.
So I don't need the money if you're not going to send the
workers. And that is just a amplification
of really God's heart, right? Money is not, I mean, we, we are
a money focused country and society, but money's cheap guys
and it's not He could care less. He's got it all and if he wants
to move it around wherever he wants to move it, it's his to do
right. But time I can't make any more
of that emotions or my comfort. This is all stuff that really
costs costs, right? And so when we're looking at
this be be thinking that way. When I say comfortable
selfishness, right, it's is me being comfortable what I'm
holding on to and this is this is what we're supposed to be
doing. The day I gave my life to Jesus,
he came in and has changed my desire right?
Because outside of him I can find find short term comfort and
selfishness that he paid for. So when I'm outside of Christ
being selfish, that sin he paid for on the cross and any and in
Isaiah, Isaiah tells us that we're going to act like that
right? It says 53, six and seven.
All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, He was
afflicted, He was open and he yet he opened not his mouth like
a lamb that has led to the slaughter and like sheep that
before it shears is silent. So he opened not his mouth.
So when I when I lean back on my comfort and my I want to I want
what I want. I'm, I'm encouraging the
infliction that was on my Lord at the cross and I'll explain
exactly how it all works when we get to heaven and we'll all
actually know at that point. But as every sin that I commit,
every sin that I have committed, He paid for.
Every sin that I am going to commit, He paid for.
And so when I'm comfortable sinning, I'm comfortable with
the abuse that he took for it. And being comfortable is not a
sin until you rely on that comfortable, unless that
comfortable is before Christ, right?
But I want to be comfortable more than I want to serve you,
Lord. And it's the selfishness side of
it. First, Peter 223 through 24 says
when he was reviled, he did not revile in return.
When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued and
truck continued entrusting himself to him who judges,
judges justly. He himself bore our sins, and in
his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wound we have been healed
and that's that's the gift He's given us.
Right Is that he died for my sin.
He didn't keep them, but then he gave me power over my
selfishness. He gave me power that when he
asks me to go be uncomfortable and get outside myself, he gave
me the power to go do that if I'm willing, if I'm willing to
back in James in five and six, it says you have lived on earth
in luxury and self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in
the in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered
a righteous person. He does not resist you.
We don't want to be I don't want to be known as that.
I don't want to be known that I'm the comfortable guy and I'm
I'm just, I have luxury and I am self indulgent and I'm OK with
the Lord paying for that because he paid for that.
You know, it's there's AI can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me. And so he he forgives my sin.
So I'm going to go out and sin some more.
The darkness in that statement is being is is accepting that
I'm willing to add more to his pain and he doesn't get that
pain today. But however it works.
He got it all then. But when I, when I agreed to add
to it, that's that's me here agreeing.
Do we love our Lord more than that?
We love our Lord enough not to be comfortable.
Am I am I willing to be uncomfortable for him?
And you can think back on martyrs or or missionaries over
the over this, but I mean the things in our lives that make us
comfortable. Are we willing to not focus on
them first? Peter 317 and 18 for it is
better to suffer for good for doing good.
If that should Oh sorry for it is better to suffer for doing
good. If that you should be God's
will, then for doing evil, that should be God's will then for
doing evil. For Christ also suffered once
for sin and righteous for no sorry for Christ also suffered
once for sin, the righteous, for the unrighteous, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh of me being
made alive in the spirit. And that is we're supposed to go
to the cross every day and die to self, which means die to die
to focus on comfort. And then we go out and share
with the world what he's done in our lives.
And it's it's a world full of sinners guys, and we're supposed
to be out sharing the good news and opportunity just to go
through what that is right when you're talking to somebody and
you've got your story because that's you know, your testimony
is that. But Romans 323 says for all of
sin and fall short of the glory of God and Jesus is the son of
God and he was born born of a virgin on or 2000 years ago and
he paid for all of our sin on the cross right.
And this is stuff we can we can walk him through.
But those are those are facts. Romans 58 says, but God showed
his love for us that that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. So take him take him through
that. And this is that this is Romans
wrote if you guys haven't heard it, but it's and what I deserve
is death. But I was saved by his work on
the cross and that's 6 Romans 623 and it's for the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Now this is where this is where
you can get them because all of that is in our world.
We can get the idea that, well, you know, there's the Buddhists
believe one thing and the Muslims believe something and
the Hindus believe something. And on the third day, he proved
who he is by rising from the dead.
And that can be proven in secular, in secular history
books from, from the 1st century, Jesus rose from the
dead and that proves who he is and that he, what he said.
And the difference when you're having those conversations is
that you should be in the background, in your in your
head, you should be praying because the Lord is the one that
can do the speaking, right? It isn't you doing the time and
you're going to be you're going to be there and you're going to
be talking. But but the one that is working
on him is the living God that lives inside you.
John 112 says, but to all who did receive him, who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children's of God.
And he desperately wants a relationship with not only
everybody in this room, but everybody in Sandpoint,
everybody in Idaho, everybody in America, everybody in the world.
And he is willing to keep us as uncomfortable as is required to
reach as many of them as possible.
And he gives us the grace, gives us his grace to withstand that,
to be uncomfortable and filled with him.
Ephesians 289 says For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and this is not your own doing.
It is a gift of God, not as a result of words so that no one
may boast and then do they want it.
It is simple as saying Lord save me a Sinner.
Romans 10/9 says because if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. And that is something that each
and every one of us should be able to share with people that
you have the God of the universe living inside you and he wants
out into the world. He wants to he wants to flow out
of each and every one of us. He wants us to say like Peter
silver and gold, I have not, but in the name of Jesus, rise up
and walk there are there are lost and dying people and I say
that every week. But do you know him?
Do you work with them? And what they don't have is
Christ. What they need is him and what
we have is him. That's the richest.
He wants us pouring out. Are we too comfortable to pour
that into our world? And that's.
It's my heart for sampling, heart for you guys.
So Lord, I just lift up this time and lift up just just us,
Lord, that you would fill us with your spirit guide and
direct us. Lord, that you would bring
people into our lives, that you would help us, help us to pour
out into our community, help us to share with people all that
you've done and all that you want to do.
Lord, that your light would, would just erupt from this
building, Lord, and just just flow out of here in a, in a
mighty way. Lord, then you would, you would
guide and direct. And I pray this all in Jesus
name, Amen.