WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.800 Well, good morning. 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:10.160 So you picked a great Sunday to be here because this morning we're going to talk about speaking in tongues and money on the same Sunday. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:20.000 It was a horrible idea that I had earlier this week to try to do this both in the same Sunday, but I figured at some point we got both these issues, they're both really difficult. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:25.440 Let's just make one Sunday really awkward for all of us and very difficult. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:39.840 Now, so some of you have been in churches and you've had great experiences with churches teaching about money because it helped you free you from greed, uh helped you learn to save, uh helped you become a giver. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:41.280 It's been incredible for you. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:49.920 Now, others of you have been in churches and every time they talked about money, it just felt like a beatdown in some way, right? 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:52.159 And so you've had a range of experiences. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:58.320 Now, as well on this other issue, the speaking in tongues, some of you aren't even sure what it is, so we'll talk about that. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:02.719 Others of you have been in churches where that was practiced, and maybe you practice it. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:14.400 And now the others of us, uh, you've been in churches where it was taught that it was a charade, it's not real, it has no uh no effect in today's life. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.959 So we're gonna look at both these things in Acts chapter 2, sort of an overview of these two. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:29.120 Um so if you remember where we've been, if you remember where we've been the past two weeks, Peter, this really wimpy kind of disciple, I mean, he was he was one of the wimpiest really. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:39.439 And all of a sudden, in the beginning of Acts, as Christ ascends, the Spirit of God comes on Peter, and he's transformed, he becomes a different guy. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.879 I mean, he just becomes emboldened in a way that he's never been before. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:44.560 He preaches this great sermon. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:46.400 This is the beginning of the church, right? 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:52.560 We said last week this is why your grandma's Baptist Church exists, this is why we exist, this is why the Catholic Church exists. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.959 It exists all because this happened here at the beginning of Acts. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.680 And so Peter preaches this great sermon to a bunch of religious folks. 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:10.000 I mean, people who are trying to be enough, be good enough, maintain their standing with God, with their kind of righteousness report and how good they are. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:14.719 And these are tired people because anytime you get into that, you're a tired person. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:23.759 So what a relief, what a relief this would have been for these people to hear that Jesus truly was enough. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:30.800 Jesus, his work, his sacrifice truly was enough for their guilt, their shame, their sin. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:33.599 Not only that, but also their righteousness. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:37.199 So it wasn't just like you're forgiven and hey, hit the treadmill. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:41.199 Like you gotta, you gotta be really, really, really, really good to maintain this thing with God. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:46.240 It was like, no, Jesus is enough for your forgiveness and your righteousness. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:47.439 So this was incredible. 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:55.280 So no wonder in Acts 2, verse 37, it says, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:57.280 Of course. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.120 Of course they were cut to the heart. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.520 These are an exhausted people bound up in religiosity and in law. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:09.680 So this is the beginning of the movement that we call the New Testament church, the Christian church. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:15.199 So a few points to guide us this morning as we make our way through these two issues. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:20.960 The first is this there is everything that surrounds something, and then there's the something. 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:24.879 Okay, so there's everything that surrounds something, and then there's the something. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:38.560 So think about it this way: you see a picture of your friend Brenda on Instagram, and her boyfriend Brad is next to her, but she's holding up her left hand ring finger, and she has on a ring. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:43.039 And you saw the picture one day and you go, Oh my gosh, I didn't know they got engaged. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:43.840 That's incredible. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.840 And she writes, look what happened. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:49.199 And you don't know any of the details though, but you're excited for her. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:50.800 You're really, you want to know. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.080 You're her friend, a really, really good friend. 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:56.960 And so you're thinking, like, what did he say? 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:59.120 How did that moment play out? 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.039 What did you feel like? 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:02.800 What are your plans? 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:05.280 You want to know all the information. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.840 And so you call Brenda right away. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.479 You're like, hey, what happened? 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:11.759 What happened? 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:18.560 And she says, Oh, we went and ate at the Optimus down in Atlanta, and I had a great lobster roll. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.120 And you're like, okay, yeah, I know about the lobster roll at the Optimus. 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:24.319 But what happened? 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.519 I saw a picture of you and Brad, and I saw the ring. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:29.279 What, Brenda, what happened? 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:46.399 And she said, Oh, yeah, after the lobster roll, we went for a walk in Piedmont Park, and there's a little boy, and he was learning to ride his bike with his dad, and the little boy sort of got out over a hill and kind of went down a grassy hill and he fell over, but he fell over next to Brad, and Brad was so sweet and kind of picked the boy up until the dad came and oh, it was so great. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:48.319 And he's like, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Brenda. 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:50.240 I don't care about the lobster roll. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.480 I don't care about the boy riding the bike. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:54.560 What happened? 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.680 I saw the picture of you and the ring. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:04:58.639 What happened? 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.680 And at this point, you know, Brenda's just messing with you. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:02.160 Right? 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:02.879 You know this. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:04.240 She's just messing with you. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:05.600 She's dodging you. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:07.360 And you're frustrated, right? 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:10.160 Like the more she dodges, the more you get frustrated. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:13.600 She's talking about everything around the thing. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:17.040 So you're not liking this. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:23.360 Because Brenda will give you all that surrounds something, but never give you the something. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:24.000 Okay. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:38.160 I think, just my thoughts, I think there's a lot of frustration when it comes to an issue like speaking in tongues and money, because they are the things that surround the something. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:50.319 And when we sense that issues like this become dominant rather than in service to the gospel, then we feel like we're being manipulated in some way. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.759 And we get repelled from that. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:02.079 So because of point number one, there is stuff that surrounds something, meaning there's issues in Christian life like speaking in tongues and money. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:03.920 There's these issues that surround something. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.959 But then there's the something, and the something's the gospel. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.600 So because of that, we have point number one. 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:10.800 That's our starting point. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.480 There's the something, and then there's stuff that surrounds the something. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.839 So we're united from the very beginning of this conversation. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.319 Now, this sermon is going to be choppy, I'll admit it. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:21.680 It's probably not a good sermon. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:23.360 Let's just go ahead and admit that. 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.720 It's not going to flow, it's not going to be some beautiful masterpiece. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.040 We got part one, speaking in tongues, part two, money. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.839 We're going to accept it from the beginning, and I'm going to make a feeble attempt at the end to tie all this together. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:38.480 So, Acts 2, 1 through 4. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:50.000 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.879 And divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:00.639 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:07.360 So point number two is this the church began with signs to validate the gospel. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.480 The church began with signs to validate the gospel. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.560 My sophomore year of college was my first experience with speaking in tongues. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.639 I remember I was 19 years old. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:27.680 I was in a chapel of a student ministry on the campus of the school I went to, and we're in that chapel, and it was a worship and a prayer service, and we're worshiping, and then we moved into a time of prayer. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.800 And sitting there, I can remember sitting there. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:35.199 I was on the left side, about halfway up, and I can remember the back right corner. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:40.639 I just started to hear like a gibberish, is what I heard. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.600 Just that's what I heard was gibberish. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:49.519 And it just went on for a while, and it went on loud enough for everybody to hear and kind of get quiet. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:57.920 And then the pastor stopped and he got up and he said, Will anybody interpret what was just spoken? 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:10.399 And another person stood up and spoke what seemed to be to me sort of like a psalm, is what it sounded like to me. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:21.040 And so for me, as an incredibly cynical person, I just go ahead and say, I am a skeptical, cynical person about pretty much everything. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:24.879 And so for me, I'm sitting there, I'm going, we could have read a psalm. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.560 We could have just opened it up and read a psalm. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.320 It would have been the same thing. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:34.000 That's what I was thinking. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.559 But my cynicism doesn't ultimately matter here. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.039 What ultimately matters is the text. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:47.440 So this speaking in tongues here in Acts 2, it seems to be people speaking in different languages, but then hearing it in their own language. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:09:01.840 But then there's also the speaking in tongues, which it seems to be sort of like a coded language or a heavenly language, an angelic language, which then is sort of like a non-language, and then people can interpret it, or it's like their prayer language. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:04.320 Okay, so here's how it breaks down. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:09.600 Like if you get into the study of it, and I'll break it down to like ultra, ultra simple because I like things to be simple. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:16.480 Some people believe that this phenomenon existed during the time of the church starting to validate the church and then it ended. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:17.679 Some people believe that. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:30.080 Other people believe that this gift continues to keep going, and that's why you go into some churches and there's no speaking in tongues, and then you go into other churches, probably Pentecostal churches, and there are speaking in tongues occurring. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:35.039 So what you basically have is you have people who say yes. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.279 Let's just categorize yes. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:39.600 They speaking in tongues, keep going. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:40.240 Yes. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:42.799 Speak it, go for it, yes. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:44.000 It never stopped. 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.639 And then you have another group of people that say, no. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:51.440 It stopped with early church, it's emotionalism, don't go for it. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.799 So I don't know where you are on that issue. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.919 You can study it, you can probably work that out, you can read a lot of books on it. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:10.720 I would say personally, I, um you don't have to agree with me, I am a no, but you know, like I don't want to say like it could never happen. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:17.279 I'm like, no, but I'm open. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:19.840 I'm not gonna close the door. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:27.679 Meaning I'm not gonna rule out the legitimacy of speaking in tongues for anybody or any church, but I also don't see a huge benefit for it. 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:30.080 Maybe you're here and you believe differently. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:31.600 And you would go the other way. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:32.879 You would say, yes. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:34.240 We're glad you're here. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.639 Or you would say, yes, but, right? 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:38.559 Like there's a range here to be in. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:44.960 Where I think we can meet up, no matter what, where you are, we can meet up and say, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.480 1 Corinthians 12, he says, hey, we're all given different gifts. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.120 They're all from the same spirit, so we can meet up there. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:11:06.159 And then he says in chapter 13, usually we hear this read in weddings, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.120 So something superior to any gift. 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:19.840 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:26.960 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned and have not love, I gain nothing. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:29.600 So here's my pastoral advice. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.159 Whether you go to church here, you go to church somewhere else. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:33.759 Here's my pastoral advice. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:41.200 If you walk into a church and the church has no interest in the spirit working, go somewhere else. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:41.759 Okay? 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:42.960 Number one. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:59.039 Number two, if you walk into a church and the church's idea of the spirit working is constantly on gifts and having enough faith to somehow warrant a gift, go somewhere else. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:01.279 Okay, part two, money. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:02.240 All right, there we go. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:04.159 That was speaking in tongues. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.320 Broad overview. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.279 Part two, giving, money. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.600 Uh, verse 44, Acts 2, 44. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:16.639 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:22.879 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:33.200 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.519 And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:44.399 So point number three is the church began with giving as a fruit of the gospel. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:49.519 So it's still not the something in the middle, it's it's something on the outside. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:51.440 The something in the middle creates us. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.440 The gospel creates the generous heart. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.799 The church began with giving as a fruit of the gospel. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:01.759 So this week I tried to pay attention to my thinking about money. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:06.159 This is very easy for me to do because I think about money a lot. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:08.399 It is very easy for me. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:09.519 Here's what I learned this week. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.480 Just trying to think about how when I think about money, what am I thinking about? 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.399 It is very easy for me to think about saving money. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:19.440 I love to save money. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.279 I love to buy a stock. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:23.440 I love to buy a mutual fund. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:25.120 I love it. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:33.840 I love when, especially in the last year and a half, when my financial statement comes at the end of the month, and I get to open it up and I get to see how much it went up. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:35.600 I love it. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:38.240 It is easy for me to do this. 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.879 And yet it can be very painful. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:49.039 And it has taken a marriage of 13 years for me to get over this issue to spend some money. 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:52.000 That has actually been very hard for me. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.200 Now, why? 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:54.720 Why am I like this? 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:55.840 And maybe you're like that. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:57.600 When I describe that, you're like, that's me. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.919 Or maybe you're not like that, you're like something else. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.200 But why am I like this? 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.519 Well, I love to feel like I'm in control. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:12.639 And I think if I save enough money that no matter what happens, I'll be okay. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:18.559 Because at least I have that to be there for me. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:23.679 So I can control all things by just having enough. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.159 Now maybe it's reverse for you, right? 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:29.519 Like you spend money easily on clothes, right? 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:36.480 Because you love to look good and you love people to see you, and you love when people say you look good, and you love to look important. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.919 And so money, money being spent on clothes, very easy. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:40.960 It's very easy for you. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.000 It's just not that hard. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:43.679 You can actually do that quite naturally. 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:49.200 Or maybe it's easy for you to spend money on toys, like you really needed the fourth four-wheeler. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:54.159 You know, the first three, we need a fourth one, because whatever, right? 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.159 Like it because you love toys. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.919 At the end of the day, you just want to have something to escape into. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.240 So these are all tendencies. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:03.759 We all have them, right? 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:05.679 In some way when it comes to money. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:14.399 It's but then it's easy for a tendency to tip over, just to shift, and it tips over, and when it tips over, it becomes an idol. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:21.679 When it becomes an idol, then you don't own it, it owns you, and you work for it. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:39.039 And you can always tell the truth because our giving to the poor and to the church or to some cause which is unseen and unselfish will reveal how much other idols have us bound up in greed. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.000 Tim Keller says this about greed. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.559 You don't have to say to somebody, watch out, you might be committing adultery. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.440 If you're committing adultery, you know you're committing adultery. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:51.759 You don't say, Oh, you're not my wife. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:58.399 But Jesus is his quote. 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.679 But Jesus has to say, watch out. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:08.320 You might be greedy. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:10.240 Because greed hides itself. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:11.679 It blinds you. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.720 About a year ago, we were with Christian and with some really great friends of ours, just beloved friends of ours, and we're spending a few days with them. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:25.120 And I would guess they make 20 times our yearly income. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:39.840 And we're hanging out with them and we're with them, and we're talking about something, and then they started to talk about some of their friends, who very clearly, those friends made about 20 times a year what they make. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:52.159 And what was also clear was that they thought that those people were wealthy, but they didn't necessarily think they were wealthy, yet I think that they are wealthy. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:52.799 Right? 00:16:52.879 --> 00:17:00.960 And it hit me that then there's somebody in this world that thinks I am wealthy, but I don't think that I'm wealthy. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.759 So nobody feels wealthy. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:06.480 There's always somebody else to compare to. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:19.680 And so then what happens is rarely do we walk in the spirit of freedom and discernment when it comes to money, and rarely do we ever ask questions like, should my money really be going toward that? 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.640 Do I need that many of that? 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:34.319 Rarely do we ask questions like, how can I give to that nonprofit whose cause has always interested me? 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:40.640 How can I give regularly to my faith community? 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.960 In Acts chapter 20, Paul's leaving some friends of his. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.079 He's leaving a church, a group of people, he went to hell. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:48.960 This is his moment. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.519 He's leaving them. 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:51.920 So it's a moment to speak final words, right? 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:53.599 A final word moment. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:57.519 In verse 32, he says, I commend you to God. 00:17:57.599 --> 00:17:58.319 So he's leaving them. 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:10.400 He says, I hand you over, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:15.920 So he says, Hey, the way that you're going to get built up is not by you just being enough and doing enough and doing more and more and more. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.000 It's by the word of his grace, because that will transform your heart, it will free you, and the fruit of the gospel will come forth. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:31.839 And then he says this remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.400 So Paul's saying right here in Acts 20, love this. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:42.799 Paul is saying, you're not saved, you're not a Christian, you're not a good Christian, a bad Christian. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:47.440 I mean, you're not a Christian based on giving money away. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:49.759 Or any other good word. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:19:02.400 It's the word of grace toward you in Jesus the Christ who died on a cross, taking your sin, giving you his righteousness, and you are fully beloved in God's sight. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:04.240 That is what makes you a Christian. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:07.519 I commend you to God and to the word of grace. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.880 I hand you over, that's where your life of freedom will be. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:18.480 And by the way, remember the words of Jesus, it's more blessed to give than to receive. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:30.799 Last point, which I think is Paul's point here in Acts 20, and I also think it's the point in 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, and I think this is where the speaking in tongues and the money can meet together. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.000 Point number four. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:40.240 You don't build your life on signs given for the gospel, and you don't build your life on fruit of the gospel. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:44.960 You give your life over to the gospel. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:58.640 Don't build your life on how much you give away or any other moral or righteousness record you keep for yourself to try to feel more and more important or more and more beloved by God based on your record. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:08.559 The gospel is not you being enough or trying to maintain enough or having enough faith as to be right with God today or tomorrow. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:28.640 The gospel is though you are not enough, that you don't give enough money away, that you are greedy, and I am greedy, and we don't have enough faith, and we're messed up, and we're not perfect, and we're really trying, but then we're still messed up, and then we have sin in our lives, and we need to repent, and even that's difficult for us. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:36.559 The gospel is saying, because all that's true, and we're struggling with all of this, God perfectly loves you. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:47.119 And we know this in the work of Christ, who took on our sin and gives us his righteousness, so we are his forever, secure and beloved. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:56.079 So, my brothers and sisters, may the Spirit do great work in your hearts as you rest solely in Christ's work for you, for He is enough for you. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:57.759 Let's pray together. 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.960 God, thank you for your great love for us. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:12.079 That you are enough for us, that we are a people who don't we never have enough faith. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:18.480 Thank you that we have the freedom that we can confess that over to you, but your love for us is enough. 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:23.119 While we don't have perfect faith, you have perfect love for us. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:44.240 While our work is not enough, we will never have a moral record or spiritual record that is that's enough for you, that you came toward us, and the person and the work of Jesus is enough for us, and that you can even free us from our love of money. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.400 Would you show us in our hearts the way that we are greedy? 00:21:50.559 --> 00:22:03.680 That we might just be free, that you might create in us a freedom and may we walk in your spirit with greater discernment and greater freedom, that we might honor you in Christ's name. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:04.559 Amen.