WEBVTT 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:51.519 Thankful for a church that was willing to invest and the people that had the expertise to help us do ministry online during uh this past uh year and a half or or plus, and we know we still need to keep praying. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:58.000 Uh my wife and I Jill, we have a friend over in Pauldon County that is in the hospital. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:07.359 Um, with there's some several connections of people in our church that have extended family that are still dealing with COVID, and so we need to be praying. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.919 We've got some people in our church that have been texting and messaging us this week. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:19.039 Pray for my friend, pray for my family member, pray for somebody that is being affected by this virus. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:20.719 So we need to continue to pray. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:29.599 Um, but I'm gonna tell you, like we said it last March in 2020, I'm gonna live courageously because I am not afraid to die. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:33.840 Apostle Paul said to live is Christ, to die as gain. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.680 But we are to live cautiously. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.360 We're to have some common sense. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:42.479 We are to understand that there sometimes we have to adjust our lives a little bit. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:51.439 And so I don't want to die today, although I'm not scared to die, and I want to continue to live and fulfill the mission that God has for me, and I hope that's what you want as well. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.599 And you're asking, you know, why why are you what what is that in your hand? 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.479 Russ, we are not used to seeing that type of item in your hand. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:04.319 Um, this is my boyfriend tool, okay? 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:11.280 As a father of a daughter, this is my boyfriend tool. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:15.120 And so um, you say, well, what uh what about the shotgun? 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:18.560 I said, well, that's see the shotgun's the first date. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:21.439 This is the second date. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:27.680 And so um, and so you know, that sounded so much funnier uh when I said that in my head. 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:34.960 But I do I have a 20-year-old daughter, and she's got this new boy, and and so I, you know, I I want him to have a little respect. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:55.280 No, I actually I I brought this out because um, believe it or not, and people don't believe this usually, but when I work was in college, I worked my way through college doing construction, and my specific trade um was pouring and finishing concrete. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.759 And that that sounds so strange to say that now because it's so long ago. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:02.479 Um, but that was a trade that I learned. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:07.919 It's a trade that I apprenticed under another um concrete finisher. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:24.800 And so when you pour and finish concrete, especially if you are going to pour a slab and you're going to put a building on top of that slab, what do you have to make sure that you do before you pour the concrete? 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:31.839 You've got to make sure that the foundation is rock hard solid. 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:37.600 And so when we would build homes or do commercial buildings, we had to dig footings. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.480 And I'm gonna tell you, when I first started, it was it was it was hand digging. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:52.879 And then later on, my the guy that owned the company invested in a tractor in a in a in a um uh you know uh a machine that would dig the footings for us. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:05:13.759 And and I I can't remember what they're called, but but they're um, but I I I used to have to to dig, and and he, I was the hired help, and so I would have to dig the footings around the edge of the um the uh the slab that we were gonna pour to make sure that we were gonna pour concrete on solid hard ground. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:29.439 And and of course they would do the plumbing, and then we would we would put wire in or we would put rebar in, uh, depending on what what the codes were, and we wanted to make sure that we dug down far enough that it was rock solid hard ground. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:33.920 Because if not, what would be the problem long term? 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:35.199 What happens? 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.160 Even even on solid ground, what happens sometimes? 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.199 Uh that's set things settle. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:45.040 Um, the earth moves, it things happen. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:48.079 And so um we're beginning this series today. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.199 We've been spending three weeks in this series called Breakthrough. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:56.800 We've talked about community and community groups and biblical community. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.319 Um we're gonna jump back into the Sermon on the Mount. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:01.279 We're coming to a close. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:14.399 We've been in the Sermon on the Mount for uh most of this year, and and so at the very end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, He says this: He says, Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.000 Like a person who builds a house on a solid rock. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:26.480 Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.600 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey my teaching, it is foolish. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:34.720 Like a person who builds a house on sand. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:42.560 When the rains and the floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:46.480 And so Jesus is saying, you need to build your house with wisdom. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.160 You need to listen to my teaching. 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:52.000 Build your house by obeying and following what I'm teaching. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.720 If you do so, it's like a wise person that builds their house on solid rock. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:58.959 They dig their footings deep. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:04.560 They put in the right uh rebar, they put in the right wire, they do it the right way. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:13.519 So when things shift, when the winds come, when the storms come, it will be able to withstand the beating. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:32.720 But if you're not, if you're like a foolish person, you hear my teaching, you hear my wisdom, you hear what I'm telling you, and you just go build your house on the sand when the winds and the storms and all the issues that life have, that life throws at us, your house will crumble. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.319 And so that's the very end of the section. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:43.759 We'll come back to that over and over as we come to the close of this series and the close of this sermon on the mount. 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:53.439 And so this morning we're coming back to Matthew chapter 6, and we're gonna be Matthew chapter 6, uh, verses uh 19 through 24. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:08:06.079 So if you want to open your Bibles up or your phones or uh electronic Bible, you can follow along Matthew 6, uh verses 18 through 24, is where we're gonna be, 19 through 24. 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:09.600 And so we're we're making a choice this morning. 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:11.759 Hopefully, I want you to make a choice. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:18.079 Are you gonna be a person that builds your house on the rock and the wisdom of Jesus? 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.800 Or are you gonna be a person who builds your house on sand? 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:29.040 You listen and you hear, but you disobey or disregard the teachings of Jesus. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:30.720 And we've got a choice. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:32.720 Today, what are we talking about? 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:34.240 We're talking about money. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:45.279 Now, 26 years ago, when I started in ministry, and even 15 years ago when we planted this church, a lot of times I would get nervous when the topic of money would come up in church. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:46.399 I would dread it. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:47.039 You know what? 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:58.960 I love it now because I it is the it is the most, it is the best teaching that you can get is to listen to biblical wisdom on the topic of money. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:04.159 Because if you listen to what the Bible says about money, it's just wisdom. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:06.559 You will flourish in your life. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:17.759 The other part that I've come to believe and just have such a strong conviction is you can't separate discipleship and money management. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.679 You just can't separate the two. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:24.639 You don't follow Jesus and then and then rope off areas of your life. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.559 All of your life is given to the Lord. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.000 Every area. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:40.480 And money being one of the most important areas to really gauge where you are spiritually in your life. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:42.559 And so here's the big idea this morning. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:46.399 Where you invest, your heart is sure to follow. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.399 Where you invest, your heart is sure to follow. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:57.200 Wherever you put your money, wherever you put your treasure, your heart is guaranteed to follow. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:02.639 You're just naturally gonna have attention to that area of your life. 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:04.720 I didn't grow up going to church. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.600 Many of you know that part of my story. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:14.639 My Sunday worship was at a place called Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in the falls. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:24.399 My dad, from year number one that the Falcons were in Atlanta, uh, up until they were in the Georgia Dome, he had season tickets to the Atlanta Falcons games. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.480 And so he and my mom would go at the beginning of the season. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:32.639 But as soon as it got cold, my mom would give her ticket up. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.440 And he and then I me and my brothers were able to go. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:38.320 But my dad, my dad, he wasn't gonna miss a game. 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.480 It didn't care how he didn't, it didn't matter how hot it was, it didn't matter how cold it was. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.399 One time I went to a Falcons game with my dad, and it was so cold. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:52.960 I don't, I didn't, I was a little kid, I didn't even drink coffee, but I went and bought a cup of coffee just to stick my hands in the cup. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:54.720 It was so cold. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:11:05.519 And um, and so you listen, if you find it, it doesn't matter how cold it is, if you invest in something like that, you put money in it, your heart is going to follow it. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:17.039 You see people buy a new car and they they take really, really, they're picky about their car and they're picky about their homes, they're picky about places they invest their money. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:30.799 Um you get to my age, you get to a little bit on the older side, and and I probably check uh my retirement uh funds more often now than I did 10 years ago. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:32.559 And it's depressing, by the way. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:33.360 Just let me tell you that. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.200 It's depressing, okay? 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.159 Wherever you invest, your heart is sure to follow. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:44.000 Relationships are important. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.399 Man, our heart follows our kids. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:54.639 Our heart follows our family, our heart follows our spouses and our wives and the things that are important to us. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:00.000 What if your life could be invested in something that really mattered? 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.960 What if your life could be invested in something that would last forever? 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:09.440 What if you could invest in something that had eternal impact? 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:11.840 You know, the world is a mess right now. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.639 Have you noticed that the world is a is a mess? 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:28.799 We were outside last night talking to some neighbors, and we were talking about Afghanistan, and we were talking about Haiti, and we were talking about just the world and everything that's happening in the world, the virus, and it's just a mess. 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:33.600 And I said, Do you know what I'm so thankful for? 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:39.279 Is that I have hope beyond this mess. 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:48.799 I have hope beyond this mess that there's something eternal worth putting my hope in, worth investing in. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:53.840 So Jesus gives us this sermon on the mount. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.799 It's a hillside on the Sea of Galilee. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:01.919 It's the best, most powerful sermon ever preached. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:04.000 I think he preached it multiple times. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:07.519 And if you look through the Gospels, we get bits and pieces of it. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:11.519 We get the biggest block of it here in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:15.120 But I think Jesus taught the same things over and over and over. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.039 And Jesus has been teaching us even from the beginning. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:25.919 He says, He says, He says, if you want to understand how to be blessed or to be happy, you've got to start with the inner life. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:32.639 You've got to understand, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:39.840 And he goes through what we call the beatitudes, and he works his way out to our outside outward behavior. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:48.559 He says, You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, you are called to be an influence in this world, shining in darkness. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:54.720 And he walks through and he talks about all of these spiritual disciplines. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:55.919 We talked about prayer. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.000 We spent several weeks on prayer recently. 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.679 Any of you want to can go back and watch those or listen to those. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:03.919 We spent some time talking about fasting. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:14.559 We spent some time talking about spiritual disciplines, and then he gets to this part right here where he deals with the issue of money. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.559 Because Jesus knew that this is a big issue. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.080 It's an important issue. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:28.559 Do you know that there's like over 2,000 verses in scripture about money? 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.559 There's about 500 verses in scripture about faith. 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:42.000 If you went and just looked at how much Jesus mentioned about money versus some of the other things he talks about, money gets a lot of attention. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:47.120 It's a very important thing in the eyes of God, in the sight of God. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:49.759 Money has power. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.000 Money has potential. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:15:03.039 The world values money, maybe not all in a good way, but the kingdom of God can benefit from money. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:04.559 Let's read the passage here. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:05.039 Let's read it. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.919 Matthew 6, 19 through 24. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:18.799 He says, Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:25.600 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also. 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:30.879 Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:35.360 When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:40.159 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:46.799 And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.600 And he says this no one can serve two masters. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:58.960 For you will hate one and love the other, you will be devoted to one and despise the other. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:04.399 You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:09.759 So let's just talk through this passage a little bit. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:13.679 Here's kind of the first thing I see that pops out. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:18.240 We can choose to invest here, or we can choose to invest there. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:30.240 We can choose to invest all our money in this temporary earthly life, or we can choose to invest some of our resources in eternity. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:37.600 In a way that will last forever, that will impact lives, that will, that will, that will change eternity. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.159 He says, Don't, listen, here's what he's saying. 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:48.320 Jesus says, don't store up treasures here on earth where moths eat them and rust destroys them, where thieves break in and steal. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:55.120 Store your treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:56.639 Here's what he's saying. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:57.519 He's saying, you know what? 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.759 Everybody lives somewhere forever. 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:05.279 There's something that separates us as human beings from the rest of creation. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.720 We are created in the image of God. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:11.440 You're created in the image of God. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:20.319 I mean, you God, the scripture says in Psalm 139, and you go to Jeremiah, where he tells Jeremiah, I knew you before you were born. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:26.000 And it talks how we're formed in our mother's womb. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:28.240 We're created in the image of God. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:33.039 We have the capacity to even know and think about eternity. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:38.799 No other animal, no other part of creation sits around thinking about what happens after death. 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.279 We're created in the image of God. 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.160 We are eternal creatures. 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.640 And so Jesus says, there's your investment. 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:56.640 There's where you can put your effort, your resources, your money. 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:02.079 He says, don't just settle for this here and now. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:04.480 Don't. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:09.279 What happens when you store up things on earth? 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:11.359 They don't last. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:14.720 Everything's going to break down at some point. 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.000 And things can be stolen. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:31.599 I would if I took a survey, I mean some, I would ask, how many of you had, you've either had something stolen from you, or you've had your house broken into, or you've had a car stolen? 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:45.279 I mean, you know, probably all of you at some, you you would say my family at some point had something of value that was taken, something that was stolen, something, you know, that was valuable to somebody. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.759 I've never had a car stolen. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:53.519 I'm my parents, the home that we grew up in one time was broken into. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:00.240 And I and I remember just the insecurity and the fear and the you know the vulnerability of that feeling. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.200 Um and and and I know I've never had a car stolen. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.640 You know why I've never had a car stolen? 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:08.400 Because if you drove the kind of cars that I drive, nobody would ever want it. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:14.240 My first car was a 76 Ford Granada. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:24.000 No, I I I don't think I've ever seen anybody restoring a Ford Granada. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.480 You know why? 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.559 Because they were awful. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:30.799 My friends would laugh at me. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:35.279 I'd say, hey, I've got a date Friday night and I'm driving a granada. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.240 You're driving a Camaro and you're sitting at home. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.480 So, buddy, have fun all you want to. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:49.359 Things can be taken, things can be broken. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:20:03.279 And Jesus says, you've got to take your interest and your heart and your affections off temporary things and put them in eternal things. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:07.279 Jesus knew this. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:15.519 He knew that that people that had wealth, and by the way, there's nothing wrong with wealth. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:19.039 Um money is not evil in and of itself. 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:20.400 It is neutral. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:26.880 What is the scripture says it's the love of money that is the root of evil. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.279 And so money's not a problem. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:35.680 Money's a blessing if we understand it in the context that God shares it with us. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:21:00.160 But with more money comes more worry, more anxiety, more problems, more frustration, and we're tempted to follow what the world thinks we should have, which means that we can easily be pulled into debt, and when we have more debt, we have less margin, which means we have higher stress, and we can't obey God. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:02.799 We can't obey God. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:05.440 And I want to obey God. 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.640 I want to be able to have, I want to have the freedom. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:14.640 If God tells me to give or to help somebody, I want to be able to say, yes, God, I will do that. 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:19.440 My wife and I we served as I'm a recovering youth pastor, I say that a lot. 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:26.079 We served as a youth past, I was a youth pastor at a church in Cobb County in West Cobb County in Kennesaw, Ackworth. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.640 And so I don't know if you've ever been around West Cobb and Cobb County in general. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:32.799 There's a pretty high standard of living. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:41.839 And so we would drive all the way through West Cobb to find a house where we lived right over the line in Pauldon County. 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.759 And somebody would say, Why are you driving way out into Pauldon County? 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:51.920 I said, Well, we that's what we can afford, or that's what we have chosen to afford. 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:59.440 We might could have afforded to live in Cobb County, but we would have had less margin and we would have had possibly been. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:07.519 Constrained in saying yes, if God led us to either give or support or obey. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:10.799 Let me tell you this: Church at the Grove would not be here. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:12.400 And what let me let me take that. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.640 That's a scary thing to say. 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:18.079 Because God could plant Church at the Grove without Russ Butcher. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:29.519 My role, my role that God gave me, my small role, because there's a lot of families that were part of this church plant. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:42.960 But one of the reasons that we were able to say yes when God led us to plant a church was because we had put margin in our life financially. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:54.079 Because I I didn't, I mean, we didn't know if I mean I was I was filling out job applications when we started the church. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.119 I didn't know if we were gonna, how many people would come. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.920 I didn't know how much money people would give. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:05.119 And so I was prepared and knew that I may have to be bivocational. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.759 God has blessed us immensely. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:14.480 And so so we know that earthly treasures can be stolen and they can fade away. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:16.559 But what about the treasures in heaven? 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:19.680 What about the investment that goes to heaven? 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:25.839 Being generous with our possessions, it allows us to help people in need. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:28.319 It allows us to invest in the community. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:34.480 It allows us to support our neighbors, it allows us to say yes to what God leads us to give. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:43.839 It allows us to pray about who we want to reach or who we want to reach as a church and as individual families. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:55.839 Jesus says, Listen, if you will think eternally, I will help bring people into your circle that you can share the gospel with, the good news of Jesus, the hope of heaven. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:00.720 He addresses all of these disciplines early on in the Summer of the Mount. 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:02.240 He says, praying and fasting. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.599 These are private. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:06.319 These are things you don't do on the stand on the street corner. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.519 You don't pray and fast. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.240 You don't tell people, just pray out in public. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:18.880 You don't fast, and the religious leaders would even wear clothes and and put on, uh they would let their faces sink in. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:26.160 They had ways of manipulating their disciplines for their own benefit. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:28.079 He says to love your enemies. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.759 He says you're to you're you're to suffer and to be persecuted. 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.440 You're to share the gospel. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:46.559 And he says, he said, and then he comes and he says, you need to use your treasures for helping people find eternity through Jesus. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:50.640 Where you invest, your heart is sure to follow. 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:57.440 Verse 21, wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:04.079 Rick Warren is a pastor, just retired, I think, this past year in uh Southern California. 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.400 He wrote a book called The Purpose-Driven Life. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:12.720 And he says, You want to see, do you want to see what gods that people serve? 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:14.160 You want to see somebody's God? 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:15.599 You want to know what their God is? 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:21.279 He said, Look at two things: their calendar and their checkbook. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:23.599 Or their bank account. 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:27.599 He said, That will tell you what their God is. 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:34.799 And he goes on in this passage, he says, keep your eyes on the eternal prize. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.960 Keep your eyes on the eternal prize. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.480 Look at verse 22. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:44.160 Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:48.240 When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.440 When your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:57.200 And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.519 That's hard to understand on the surface. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.359 What is he saying here? 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:14.640 He's saying, listen, the eyes, we've heard this, the eyes are the window to the soul, the eyes are the gateway into your heart. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:24.319 A lot of our sin, a lot of our struggles, a lot of what Jesus is talking about right here, it comes through our eyes. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:29.200 1 John talks about the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh. 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:36.079 And so part of the issue with money and materialism is sin. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:46.960 It's just this human-based nature of us wanting to fulfill our own pleasures and our own desires at the expense of everything else. 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:49.440 We're focused on us. 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:52.160 We're born with this sin issue. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.039 We're born where it's all about me. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:06.640 And so the issues with materialism and money and finances come through our eyes, the sin of coveting. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:11.599 When you see something that somebody else has, and you say, Man, I want that. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:17.279 In your heart, maybe you're not saying it out loud, but in your heart, I want that. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:26.319 I want that car, or I want their house, or I want their job, or I want their lifestyle, whatever it is. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:27.920 I want that. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:31.839 And it's crazy how that can happen. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:38.880 How how this this covetous heart, the sin of comparison. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.119 The sin of comparison has been around since the beginning of time. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:48.640 But all of a sudden now it's it's in the palm of our hand. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:53.359 Look at what he's wearing, what she's wearing, look at what they're doing. 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:58.079 Look at how they're honey, they went to Hawaii last year. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:05.440 We've got to go to Hawaii, or we've got to do, we've got to, you know, look at all the things that are in our pockets and available to us, the lifestyle. 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:12.720 By the way, let me tell you that most of the stuff you see is not necessarily indicative of what's really happening in that person's life. 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:20.400 The sin of comparison, the sin of materialism, commercials, advertisements. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:27.920 We don't really even know we want stuff until sometimes we come across it scrolling or watching, and then we're aware. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:29.279 Oh, I need that. 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:30.400 Do you really need that? 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:31.440 And I want that. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.759 Sometimes we need to clarify that. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:43.039 And so one of the hardest sins to identify in the life of the human heart is the sin of greed. 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:46.240 How do you measure greed? 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:49.279 How do you measure it? 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:51.440 I said, You said, Russell, I don't know how to measure it. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:57.519 Sometimes you just know it when you see it, or you know it when you feel it, when it grabs your heart. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.160 Greed has always been tough. 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:07.039 I came across this um this crazy uh piece of material when I was studying. 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:17.839 In 1635, there was a church in the northeastern part of the United States, and it was a group of Puritans, and they were trying to figure out how to how do we define what is greed. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:38.480 And so, as a church body, this this Puritan church, they said, and they were all business owners and people that had that worked for themselves, and they said, if you charge, they said, they said, um uh it is reasonable to make a profit of 4% above what it costs you. 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:49.920 So they agreed as a whole church that 4% was enough, and if anything above that, they declared as a church that that was agreed. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:59.440 And so there's a story where they bring this business owner before the church for church discipline because he was charging 6% above his cost. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:02.960 Now that's that's crazy, isn't it? 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:08.960 But I don't want to, I'm not calling for that to be proposed. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:12.880 It would fit out very quickly. 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:16.799 And I that seemed, that's crazy. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:23.440 But what I was learning from that is that it's hard sometimes to measure. 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:26.799 Sometimes it's just you, a you and God thing. 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:38.319 And so we have to choose am I gonna serve, am I gonna allow money and my possessions to serve the interest of the kingdom? 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:38.960 Listen to this. 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:43.119 Choose whether you serve your money or whether your money serves you. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.160 And really serving you, I mean kingdom interest. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.640 Things that matter to God. 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:55.039 Things that God cares about. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:07.680 A lot of people, when they think of money, they think of church, we think of the word tithe. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:30.640 It's an Old Testament concept where God told his people, you are to take the first 10% of your work, of your fruit, of your your harvest, and make that available for the needy, for the ministry, for the priest, for the temple. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.160 And so that tithe, that word tithe, it literally means tenth. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:36.000 It was identified as 10%. 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:41.519 And so I've had people tell me that the New Testament doesn't even uh talk about tithing. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:59.119 It's not a New Testament concept, and and I always have to bring up Matthew 23 because Jesus is is condemning the the Pharisees, and he says, You you you Pharisees, you tithe, you tithe down to the to the minute little little uh spices you have, your mint and your cumin. 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:01.759 And and and and he says, you shouldn't neglect that. 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:05.119 He said, but you can tithe and your heart can be far from God. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:07.119 That's what Jesus is saying. 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:12.880 He said, You can you can give money to the needy and your heart is far from God. 00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:15.599 You can tithe and give a percentage. 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:19.359 Why does the New Testament not say a lot about tithing? 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:21.759 You know why? 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.519 Because they didn't need it. 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:26.000 They didn't need anybody teaching them. 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:37.839 The Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 people were saved, and the church was birthed, and somebody said, You know what? 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:47.680 There is a supernatural work of a being that is beyond us, a transcendent God has come to show us his power. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:33:00.880 And it says they would gather in homes and they would pray and they would eat meals and they would read the scriptures, and what would they do with their possessions? 00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:09.039 They would bring them together and share them to make sure that everybody's needs were taken care of. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:15.680 You don't need to talk about tithing when the Holy Spirit and the power of God is active in your life. 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:21.039 You don't need to tell somebody to tell you that 10% is what you need to give. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:25.599 What you would need is you need to say, God, would you move in my heart? 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:32.000 Jesus talked a lot about money, but he never took up an offering. 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:38.160 He never wanted to be constrained by percentages. 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:40.079 He wanted your heart. 00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:43.279 He wanted the heart, the human heart. 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:47.680 And say, well, we are we gonna keep taking up offerings? 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.279 I'm not Jesus. 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:51.839 Okay, so still working on that. 00:33:55.839 --> 00:34:00.160 You know, I want I want the power of the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you. 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:04.720 I don't want to reduce what you give down to a percentage point. 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:16.880 I mean, there's I when Jill and I meet with couples, we encourage them to think about making sure that they, you know, always give off the top, give off the first fruit. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:19.199 Don't wait to see what's left over. 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:22.079 You adjust your lifestyle, give to God first. 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:24.159 So what do we do? 00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:25.280 What do we do? 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:26.880 Here's what Paul says to Timothy. 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.880 1 Timothy 6, 17. 00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:43.199 He says, Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:51.199 Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:54.559 Teach them to use their money to do good. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:03.280 They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:14.800 By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:25.679 Don't push your trust in material things. 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:32.800 Put your trust in Jesus because he will never fail. 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:37.760 He came to give life. 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:40.960 He came to bring us hope. 00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:53.119 In the midst of a world, we we wish, listen, we wish that money could fix our problems. 00:35:56.480 --> 00:36:03.519 But more than ever, in this season we're in, we see there really isn't. 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:16.880 There isn't technology, there isn't medicine, there isn't materialism, there isn't, there is no political answer. 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:36.239 There are no answers where most of humanity has thought if we could just be a little more advanced, we would find those answers, and we come to the end of the rope, and there are no answers because our hope is not in this life. 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:43.519 Our hope is in a person, and that person's name is Jesus. 00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:51.920 And so he says, Do all you can to share this hope. 00:36:53.440 --> 00:37:06.480 He said, I'm gonna give you some tools, I'm gonna give you the Holy Spirit, I'm gonna give you myself in the form of a spirit that lives inside of you when you put your faith in Jesus Christ. 00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:09.280 I'm gonna give you a spiritual gift. 00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:22.159 I'm gonna give you a heart for your creator, and you will seek and you will search, and and and I will be found if you seek and search. 00:37:23.119 --> 00:37:50.800 I will give you gifts, I will give you people, I will give you all the tools that are that is necessary, and one of those tools will be wealth and money, and just like all the others, use them for my glory and for my name and for the hope that goes beyond this life. 00:37:53.360 --> 00:38:09.519 Put our hope in Jesus and everything he gives me, whether it's a in the form of money or a gift or whatever he puts in my hand, I need to listen to what he tells Timothy. 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:14.320 Use it to be generous to people. 00:38:18.079 --> 00:38:28.000 By doing this, you'll be storing up their treasure, listen, as a good, let's say it together, foundation. 00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:31.119 As a good foundation. 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:33.360 You want to build your house? 00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:37.280 Build your house on the gospel. 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:40.559 This good news of Jesus. 00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:50.639 He came, he taught, he surrendered, and he died, and he rose again. 00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:55.760 Now that's life. 00:38:58.400 --> 00:38:59.360 Let's pray together. 00:39:01.119 --> 00:39:08.960 Father, thank you for the hope that we have in Jesus. 00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:21.760 Father, I pray that as we come to a close this morning, that we would examine our hearts, maybe take some inventory. 00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:28.880 And the first most important examination is really to know where our trust is. 00:39:29.679 --> 00:39:31.599 Are we putting our trust in Jesus? 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:34.239 Have we put our trust in Jesus? 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:39.360 Have we taken that very first simple step of faith? 00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:55.119 To admit that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and redemption, to believe and trust, to turn, to repent and believe this good news that life has come through Jesus, and that we would confess Jesus as our Lord. 00:39:55.920 --> 00:39:57.760 That's the first step. 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:04.480 First step, baby step for your spiritual life is to say yes to Jesus. 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:13.519 Yes, I believe and I receive what you offer, your life and your death, and your resurrection. 00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:16.960