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Howdy Mars Hill Church.

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Pastor Sutton Turner here
and I'm in Ethiopia.

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And I just want to thank Jesus

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for continuing to use
Mars Hill Church

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to make disciples 
and plant churches.

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Mars Hill Global
is the arm of Mars Hill Church

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that makes disciples

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and plant churches 
all over the world.

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We not only do church planting,

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but we help better equip 
church planters.

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Most recently we shipped 
and now distributed

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1,000 bibles into Amharic,

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which is the language 
here in Ethiopia.

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And we launched a project

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to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's 
doctrine book into Spanish.

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We have people 
from over 29 different countries

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that are giving on a monthly basis
to Mars Hill Global.

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So whether you're a member

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of one of our Mars Hill 
church locations

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in the United States,

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or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters
every single week,

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we encourage you to pray

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about giving above 
and beyond your tithe

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to Mars Hill Global.

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Thank you and let's see
more materials translated,

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more pastors sent out,
more churches planted,

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and more people 
saved by Jesus Christ.

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Brotherhood,
it's a bond as old as time.

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It's a love
that runs deep.

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It's bold.
It's strong.

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It's enduring.

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There's a trust that's
built among brothers,

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from the trials
to the triumphs.

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It's a trust that comes
from living life together.

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No one knows you
like your brother.

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He knows your strengths;
he knows your weaknesses.

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A bold brother will lay it
all down for his family.

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It is difficult to describe
that kind of loyalty,

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that kind of courage,
that kind of strength.

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It's the love of a brother.

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It's that kind of love that
compelled James to become

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Jesus' bold little brother.

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All right, as you know, we
go through books of the Bible.

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What book of the Bible
are we in?

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James.

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So, this is the 13th week.

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We're in chapter 5, so find
chapter 5 in your Bible

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or in your fake Bible
on your phone.

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And we'll be in
James 5:1-6.

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And while you find your spot,
I'll tell you a story,

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because every sermon
starts with a story.

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And so, I was taking
a flight not too long ago.

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Not a long flight,
short flight, not a big deal.

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And you know, they always
sit--what group of people do

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they seat first?

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First class.

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So, they seat all the people
in first class first,

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and then the rest of us have to
walk by and lament the fact

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that we're in coach.

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So, we're walking through,
and it's not a big deal.

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It's, you know,
a simple, little flight.

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And I'm in line and walking to
the back of the aircraft

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with everybody else,

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and there's a gal
in front of me in her 40s.

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She's a blonde gal,
and all of a sudden,

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she starts making
her opinion known.

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And she says things like
this, looking at people,

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making eye contact with those
who are in first class

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as she's walking by to coach.

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"Must be very nice
to sit in first class.

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"Must be very nice to be rich
and to be seated in a big chair

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"where they've already given you
something to drink,

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and they wait on you
hand and foot."

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And she's escalating,
and it's awkward, OK?

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Very awkward, because
everybody's trying to get,

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you know, basically
a Humvee in the overhead bin,

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and so it's taking a while.

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Nothing fits, so all the traffic
is backed up and we're at

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a standstill, which means we're
stuck here for a while,

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and she just keeps going.

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She looks over
to her right,

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"Oh, how much did you
pay for that seat?"

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And it just keeps going,
right?

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So suddenly, everybody in
first class starts getting

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e-mails and texts.

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They're just very
consumed with their phone,

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unable to make eye contact.

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It was a very curious
coincidence and timing.

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So all of a sudden,
nobody's looking at her.

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And one guy, immediately, he
taps out in the first round.

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Here's what he says:
"I travel for business.

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I have a lot of miles,
so they upgrade me for free."

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Really? Wow. Tapped out
first round, that guy.

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He's not even going to engage,

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so then she moves on
to other people.

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And she's going to the right
and to the left,

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and she's making eye contact
with individual people,

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rebuking them publicly,
openly, for being rich.

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OK, let me just
point out something:

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only in America can you publicly
lament your poverty while

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boarding $100 million aircraft
where they have a custom seat

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for you that reclines
and someone to bring you

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drinks and chips.

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Nonetheless, she was
publicly decrying

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her horrific condition in life.

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You know, it's like
Dante's Inferno,

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the nine levels of hell.

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One is coach, you know?

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It's just unimaginable
and inexplicable.

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So then I'm behind
this gal, right?

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And then as she's looking over
to the right rebuking these

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people for being rich, the guys
on the left are looking at me

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like, "Hey, hey, hey!"

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And I'm like,
"I don't know."

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They're like,
"Is that your wife?"

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Oh, because it's
a blonde gal in her 40s.

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I have one of those.

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And I thought,
"Oh my gosh.

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I'm gonna end up on CNN."

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"Yeah, Pastor Mark
was on the plane

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"and there was this blonde gal

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just cussing everybody out
in first class for being rich."

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And I'm thinking, "Ah!"

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OK, I shouldn't have done
this, but I faked a phone call,

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OK?

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"Yeah honey,
I'm catching my flight.

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"I love you.

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Thanks for being
such a good wife."

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I'm just trying to find a way
to publicly declare

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that this is not my girl, OK?

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Just an awkward moment.

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We're going to do the bourgeois
and the proletariat right here

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at the front of the Boeing jet.

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And I thought to myself,

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"Boy, only I could get
into this situation."

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But it really
illustrates how we,

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as a culture, we do things
to those who are rich

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that we wouldn't do
to those who are poor.

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Imagine the reverse.

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Imagine if all the people
in first class just,

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halfway through
the flight, decided,

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"We're just going to
walk down the aisle like,

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"'It stinks to be poor,
doesn't it?

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"'Don't you hate it back here.

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"'Yeah, we have meals
up in the front.

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"'It's amazing.

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Somebody comes
and rubs your back.'"

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Right, it would not be
acceptable for rich people to

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publicly rebuke the poor people,
but it was amazing

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because nobody told her
to stop.

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Nobody said or did anything.

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She just kept going until
eventually the line cleared up,

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and it's like, "Ma'am, you need
to continue to the back

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of the plane."

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And it brings up this issue of
those who are rich

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and those who are poor.

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And my question
to you would be,

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how do you think about
those categories?

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How do you see yourself?
How do you see others?

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How do you feel about others?

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How do you speak about others
regarding whether

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they're rich or poor?

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So really, what
we're going to do today--

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and James does it a lot--we're
going to take your wallet

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and your Bible, and we're
going to put them together.

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We're going to take your
wallet--it got really serious

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all of a sudden.

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I don't know.

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You're like, "Oh no, I think
he's going to take an offering

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after that."

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Yes, he will.

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OK, so today we're going to
take your wallet and your Bible,

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and we're going to put them
together,

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and we're going to ask,
what does the Bible say

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about your wallet?

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And does God have any right
to rule over your wallet?

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Does God have any right
to speak about your wallet?

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Does God have any right
to open your wallet?

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And that's a big theme that
continues throughout James.

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So, when it comes to the Bible,
the hero is Jesus.

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Let me do a little bit of
theological set up for you.

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And the three main themes of
the Bible are sin, suffering,

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and stewardship.

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Those are the three big themes.
Sin--we sin against God.

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Jesus comes, dies on
the cross in our place,

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paying our penalty for our sin.

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Suffering--when we're hurting,
and struggling, and weeping,

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and dying, we need comfort,
we need encouragement,

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we need love,
and grace, and mercy,

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and assistance from
God and God's people.

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Stewardship is really
about all the things

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that God entrusts to us.

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Our time,
our talent, our treasure,

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the totality of our life and how
we invest it to God's glory

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and others' good.

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And those are the three
big themes of the Bible:

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sin, suffering, stewardship.

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Today, James in James 5,
is going to talk a lot about

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stewardship and also about sin
as it relates to stewardship.

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And he's going to talk about
the rich and he's going to talk

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about the poor.

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But before we jump into it,
here's what I need you to do:

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I need you to think biblically
and not just economically.

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Not just socially, not just
politically, but biblically.

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So, I've done this before,
and I'll do it again:

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I want to share for you
the four categories

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that the Bible gives us when it
comes to wealth,

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and when it comes to the rich
and the poor.

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So, if the guys have got
the chart--thank you very much.

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We tend to think rich or poor,
and the Bible has not two

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but four categories.

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The first category
is the godly poor.

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This would be Jesus' family.

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His family was poor.
This would be Jesus.

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He was poor.

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This would be
a woman named Ruth.

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She's godly and poor.

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This would include, in
James, widows and orphans.

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Right, in our day
it would be a godly,

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single mom who's working
hard to make ends meet

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and take care of her kids,
OK?

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That's godly poor.

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The other category
is godly rich.

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These are people who love
the Lord and have a lot of loot.

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All right,
this would be Abraham.

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This would be Job.

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This would be certain
godly kings like Josiah.

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This would be like
Joseph of Arimathea,

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who gave Jesus a rich man's tomb
after his death.

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This would include a gal
named Lydia, who funds a lot of

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ministry in the New Testament.

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They're godly people
and also rich.

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And I'll tell you this:

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I know some very godly people
who are poor,

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and I know some very godly
people who are rich.

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Number three, the third category
that Bible has

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is the ungodly poor.

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Proverbs talks a lot about
these kinds of people.

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These are people
who won't work.

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These are people who, they just
drink and gamble away

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every opportunity.

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I grew up in a neighborhood
that had a lot of number one

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and number three.

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Some of you know my story.

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I grew up next to
the airport, poor,

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first-generation
immigrant neighborhood.

247
00:10:56,375 --> 00:10:58,333
There were some families
there that loved Jesus

248
00:10:58,417 --> 00:11:01,208
that were fleeing religious
and political persecution

249
00:11:01,292 --> 00:11:03,708
and some horrific
cultural contexts.

250
00:11:03,792 --> 00:11:06,375
They were coming to the US,
trying to get a start

251
00:11:06,458 --> 00:11:09,917
for their family, trying to get
traction, a better life.

252
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,917
They tended to live
in an apartment.

253
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,417
They'd pack
all the generations together.

254
00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:16,083
They would work hard.

255
00:11:16,167 --> 00:11:19,125
They would encourage
their kids to study hard.

256
00:11:19,167 --> 00:11:21,625
They were trying to get
the family moving forward

257
00:11:21,667 --> 00:11:23,500
in a new country.

258
00:11:23,583 --> 00:11:27,000
They were godly,
and they were poor.

259
00:11:27,042 --> 00:11:30,000
And over time,
I'll just tell you this,

260
00:11:30,042 --> 00:11:32,208
most of them weren't poor
by the second, third,

261
00:11:32,292 --> 00:11:36,333
fourth generation because they
were making some traction

262
00:11:36,375 --> 00:11:38,208
by God's grace.

263
00:11:38,292 --> 00:11:41,083
In that same neighborhood,
there was also ungodly poor,

264
00:11:41,167 --> 00:11:44,500
people who, because of
addictions, gambling,

265
00:11:44,583 --> 00:11:48,667
compulsions, and some just an
absolute unwillingness to work,

266
00:11:48,750 --> 00:11:52,083
they were poor,
but not like Jesus.

267
00:11:52,167 --> 00:11:53,792
Not like Jesus.

268
00:11:53,833 --> 00:11:56,375
And then the fourth category
are the ungodly rich.

269
00:11:56,458 --> 00:11:58,583
And the ungodly rich are
throughout the Bible.

270
00:11:58,667 --> 00:12:00,792
This is like the Herods,
the pharaohs.

271
00:12:00,833 --> 00:12:04,167
These are some of the godless
political leaders.

272
00:12:04,250 --> 00:12:06,958
This would include a guy who's
called the rich, young ruler.

273
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,167
These are people who
have a lot of money,

274
00:12:09,208 --> 00:12:11,167
a lot of fame, a lot of power.

275
00:12:11,208 --> 00:12:14,875
The way they get it and what
they do with it is very ungodly.

276
00:12:14,958 --> 00:12:18,375
Which category are you in?

277
00:12:18,458 --> 00:12:20,958
Which category
are you in?

278
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,500
And let me say this: we need
to be careful in America not to

279
00:12:24,542 --> 00:12:28,375
just put ourselves immediately
into the poor category.

280
00:12:28,458 --> 00:12:31,000
True?

281
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,958
True?

282
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,500
If you look at it historically,
the standard of living

283
00:12:38,542 --> 00:12:41,250
that we enjoy is amazing.

284
00:12:41,333 --> 00:12:43,500
Imagine 2,000 years ago
when the Bible is written,

285
00:12:43,542 --> 00:12:46,500
and it's written to the poor,
which you're going to see here

286
00:12:46,542 --> 00:12:47,875
in James 5.

287
00:12:47,958 --> 00:12:49,292
If you teleported--you
Trekkies--

288
00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:52,917
if you teleported
the poor people to your house,

289
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,333
they would go,
"What's that?"

290
00:12:54,375 --> 00:12:55,708
"That's a fridge."

291
00:12:55,792 --> 00:12:57,125
"What does it do?"

292
00:12:57,167 --> 00:12:59,333
"It keeps food at
a temperature that I prefer."

293
00:12:59,375 --> 00:13:01,542
"Wow, you have food?
What are all the cabinets?"

294
00:13:01,625 --> 00:13:03,042
"It's to hold the extra food."

295
00:13:03,125 --> 00:13:05,167
"You have extra food?
Where do you get that?"

296
00:13:05,250 --> 00:13:07,042
"At the store filled
with more food.

297
00:13:07,125 --> 00:13:10,042
"We can actually go to a store
that has so much food

298
00:13:10,125 --> 00:13:13,042
"that you need a pallet to take
the food to your truck.

299
00:13:13,125 --> 00:13:16,458
"You can't put it in a car
because it doesn't fit in a car.

300
00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:19,458
"You can get enough Cheetos
that, if the end of the world

301
00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:21,667
"comes in 17 years, you'll
still be eating Cheetos.

302
00:13:21,708 --> 00:13:23,167
And they come in a pallet."

303
00:13:23,208 --> 00:13:24,667
And they go, "Really,
that's amazing.

304
00:13:24,708 --> 00:13:26,042
What's that big box?"

305
00:13:26,125 --> 00:13:28,667
"It's endless entertainment,
24 hours a day, 7 days a week,

306
00:13:28,750 --> 00:13:30,083
in various languages."

307
00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:32,542
"Really?
That's amazing.

308
00:13:32,625 --> 00:13:35,583
"What are these different rooms
for because in our house,

309
00:13:35,667 --> 00:13:38,083
we had one room,
and we all lived in it."

310
00:13:38,167 --> 00:13:39,500
"Oh, this is the bathroom."

311
00:13:39,542 --> 00:13:40,875
"What is the bathroom?"

312
00:13:40,958 --> 00:13:44,750
"Well, it's a magical place
where you get rid of things

313
00:13:44,833 --> 00:13:46,167
"you don't want.

314
00:13:46,250 --> 00:13:48,208
It's amazing."

315
00:13:48,292 --> 00:13:49,625
"Well, what's the knob do?"

316
00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:51,000
"It brings water in."

317
00:13:51,083 --> 00:13:52,500
"Water?
What kind of water?

318
00:13:52,583 --> 00:13:53,917
Is it polluted?"

319
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,333
"No, it's clean water."

320
00:13:55,375 --> 00:13:57,500
"You can drink it?"
"Yeah, you can drink it."

321
00:13:57,542 --> 00:13:58,875
"That's amazing.

322
00:13:58,958 --> 00:14:00,667
"The temperature in
here is very nice.

323
00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:02,083
Why is that?"

324
00:14:02,167 --> 00:14:03,583
"We have something
called a heater."

325
00:14:03,667 --> 00:14:05,583
"Really, because we had
something called a fire.

326
00:14:05,667 --> 00:14:07,083
Heater's better."
OK?

327
00:14:07,167 --> 00:14:09,250
"You're going somewhere.
What are you going to do?"

328
00:14:09,333 --> 00:14:11,000
"I'm going to get in my car.

329
00:14:11,042 --> 00:14:13,500
"No, I'm poor, I'm going
to get on the bus,

330
00:14:13,542 --> 00:14:16,000
"which is just a big car
that somebody else drives.

331
00:14:16,042 --> 00:14:17,375
It's not that bad."

332
00:14:17,458 --> 00:14:19,542
Right, we live in a world where,

333
00:14:19,625 --> 00:14:24,375
if you have
a slow Internet connection,

334
00:14:24,458 --> 00:14:27,375
then you're reading all
the suffering verses

335
00:14:27,458 --> 00:14:29,542
in the Bible.

336
00:14:29,625 --> 00:14:32,333
You're like, "Oh yes, persecuted
for righteousness' sake.

337
00:14:32,417 --> 00:14:34,792
"Suffering for
the glory of the kingdom.

338
00:14:34,833 --> 00:14:37,167
"I can barely watch
the cat videos on YouTube

339
00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:39,792
because of the difficulty
of the life--"

340
00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:42,000
no, it's not that bad, OK?

341
00:14:42,042 --> 00:14:46,000
So historically, we live
at a level of luxury

342
00:14:46,042 --> 00:14:49,125
that kings and queens
used to only dream of.

343
00:14:49,167 --> 00:14:53,000
And if you think of it
globally, we're still the rich.

344
00:14:53,083 --> 00:14:57,833
I mean, because everybody
wants to immigrate to America.

345
00:14:57,875 --> 00:15:00,292
I'll tell you right now,
I've been to India.

346
00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:02,292
I've been to
the townships in South Africa.

347
00:15:02,333 --> 00:15:03,667
I've been to Haiti.

348
00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:08,667
There's not a huge border patrol
to keep people from fleeing in.

349
00:15:08,708 --> 00:15:11,083
Everybody's trying to get
out of the rural areas,

350
00:15:11,167 --> 00:15:14,792
trying to get out of poverty,
trying to get out of difficulty,

351
00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:17,583
and the hope is
to get to America.

352
00:15:17,667 --> 00:15:20,958
Even globally, we live at
a standard and level of living

353
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,000
that I just want to be
very careful

354
00:15:23,042 --> 00:15:25,167
that we think biblically,
we think historically,

355
00:15:25,250 --> 00:15:27,792
that we don't just think
economically, or socially,

356
00:15:27,833 --> 00:15:29,750
or selfishly.

357
00:15:29,833 --> 00:15:32,167
OK, what category
are you in?

358
00:15:32,208 --> 00:15:35,375
What kind of home
did you grow up in?

359
00:15:35,458 --> 00:15:39,292
What kind of lifestyle
do you aspire to?

360
00:15:39,333 --> 00:15:42,375
And today, as jump into James,
we're going to deal with

361
00:15:42,458 --> 00:15:45,375
category one
and category four, OK?

362
00:15:45,458 --> 00:15:48,917
So, it really doesn't deal with
category two or category three.

363
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,375
Today, we're dealing
primarily, if not exclusively,

364
00:15:51,458 --> 00:15:54,708
godly poor and ungodly rich.

365
00:15:54,792 --> 00:15:59,417
And he's going to--Pastor James
will have some very strong,

366
00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:04,000
tense, terse things to say to
those who are ungodly and rich,

367
00:16:04,042 --> 00:16:07,292
because of whom much is given,
Jesus said much is what?

368
00:16:07,333 --> 00:16:08,958
Expected.

369
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,583
And the context
there is financial,

370
00:16:10,667 --> 00:16:13,667
that if God is going to
put a lot in your hands,

371
00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:16,667
he wants you to be generous,
he wants you to help others.

372
00:16:16,750 --> 00:16:19,750
But here, what you're going to
see is that instead of that,

373
00:16:19,833 --> 00:16:22,375
these ungodly rich
are doing two things,

374
00:16:22,458 --> 00:16:23,875
the first of which is hoarding

375
00:16:23,958 --> 00:16:25,958
and the second
will be defrauding.

376
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,167
James 5:1-3, here's
what Jesus' brother,

377
00:16:28,208 --> 00:16:29,542
who's now a pastor, says:

378
00:16:29,625 --> 00:16:31,000
"Come now, you rich."

379
00:16:31,042 --> 00:16:33,542
OK, he's talking here,
I believe, primarily,

380
00:16:33,625 --> 00:16:37,292
if not exclusively,
to non-Christians, OK?

381
00:16:37,333 --> 00:16:39,792
Because their identity is what?

382
00:16:39,833 --> 00:16:41,167
Rich.

383
00:16:41,250 --> 00:16:43,542
Previously in the book
he says, "Now, brothers."

384
00:16:43,625 --> 00:16:44,958
He doesn't say that here.

385
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,333
These aren't brothers.

386
00:16:46,417 --> 00:16:47,708
These aren't Christians.

387
00:16:47,792 --> 00:16:49,125
These are non-Christians.

388
00:16:49,167 --> 00:16:51,333
And he's going to say,
"You're going to hell."

389
00:16:51,375 --> 00:16:53,708
Just so you know, those
are the non-Christians.

390
00:16:53,792 --> 00:16:56,125
OK, "Come now, you"--what?

391
00:16:56,167 --> 00:16:57,500
"Rich."

392
00:16:57,583 --> 00:17:01,958
That's their identities
in their riches, right?

393
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,500
Their net worth
establishes, in their eyes,

394
00:17:06,542 --> 00:17:08,875
their self-worth.

395
00:17:08,958 --> 00:17:12,375
They wouldn't have
expected this.

396
00:17:12,458 --> 00:17:18,792
"Weep and howl for the miseries
that are coming upon you."

397
00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:21,000
You're going to hell

398
00:17:21,042 --> 00:17:25,875
maybe first class,
but the destination

399
00:17:25,958 --> 00:17:29,458
is not a real vacation.

400
00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:33,458
"Your riches have rotted and
your garments are moth-eaten.

401
00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:34,958
"Your gold and silver
have corroded,

402
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,875
"and their corrosion will be
evidence against you

403
00:17:36,958 --> 00:17:38,875
and will eat your flesh
like fire."

404
00:17:38,958 --> 00:17:40,333
You get that?

405
00:17:40,417 --> 00:17:41,833
He's talking about hell.

406
00:17:41,917 --> 00:17:44,292
"You have laid up
treasure in the last days,"

407
00:17:44,333 --> 00:17:46,833
talking about
the Day of Judgment.

408
00:17:46,875 --> 00:17:48,833
Here's what he doesn't say:

409
00:17:48,875 --> 00:17:51,500
"No one should be rich."

410
00:17:51,583 --> 00:17:55,500
What he does say is that those
who are rich should be sharing,

411
00:17:55,583 --> 00:17:58,000
not hoarding.

412
00:17:58,083 --> 00:18:00,333
Sharing, not hoarding.

413
00:18:00,417 --> 00:18:03,667
And if you're familiar
with the teaching of Jesus,

414
00:18:03,750 --> 00:18:05,833
you're going to hear echoes
and intimations of

415
00:18:05,917 --> 00:18:08,375
James' big brother, Jesus,
OK?

416
00:18:08,458 --> 00:18:11,583
So, just keep your eye on that
and let me just read you

417
00:18:11,667 --> 00:18:13,375
some words from Jesus.

418
00:18:13,458 --> 00:18:16,875
Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not lay
up for yourselves treasures

419
00:18:16,958 --> 00:18:19,542
"on earth, where moth
and rust destroy

420
00:18:19,625 --> 00:18:21,375
"and where thieves break in
and steal,

421
00:18:21,458 --> 00:18:23,667
"but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven,

422
00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:26,042
"where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves

423
00:18:26,125 --> 00:18:27,542
do not break in and steal.

424
00:18:27,625 --> 00:18:31,667
For where your treasure is,
your heart will be also."

425
00:18:31,750 --> 00:18:35,167
Jesus gave instructions,

426
00:18:35,208 --> 00:18:38,083
the ungodly rich
have not heeded them,

427
00:18:38,167 --> 00:18:43,167
and now James
is rebuking them.

428
00:18:43,250 --> 00:18:46,083
Jesus says, "You have clothes
that you don't even wear

429
00:18:46,167 --> 00:18:48,208
"and the moths eat them.

430
00:18:48,292 --> 00:18:52,667
That's not the best
use of the clothes."

431
00:18:52,750 --> 00:18:55,000
"Your riches have rotted and
your garments are moth-eaten,"

432
00:18:55,042 --> 00:18:57,000
James says.

433
00:18:57,083 --> 00:19:00,500
Jesus says, "Don't just pile
up everything you have

434
00:19:00,542 --> 00:19:03,875
"and you don't even need it.

435
00:19:03,958 --> 00:19:06,958
Share it."

436
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,083
James says, "You have so much
gold and silver, it's corroded."

437
00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:15,000
This is like someone who has
more vehicles than they

438
00:19:15,042 --> 00:19:18,667
can drive, and one is rusting,
falling apart in the driveway

439
00:19:18,750 --> 00:19:20,583
because they have no need to it.

440
00:19:20,667 --> 00:19:23,583
And they live next door to
the single mom who, every day,

441
00:19:23,667 --> 00:19:26,250
is walking the kids to school
and really could use something

442
00:19:26,333 --> 00:19:27,958
to drive.

443
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,500
And it never dawns on
the owner, "I am not using this.

444
00:19:31,542 --> 00:19:35,750
"It's just rotting and it's
perfectly good and usable.

445
00:19:35,833 --> 00:19:38,833
I should just give it
to someone who needs it."

446
00:19:38,917 --> 00:19:42,167
And here's the big idea:

447
00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:45,958
You can't take it with you,
but you can send it on ahead.

448
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,500
That's what Jesus says.

449
00:19:47,542 --> 00:19:49,000
Store up your
treasures in heaven.

450
00:19:49,042 --> 00:19:50,500
You can send it on ahead.

451
00:19:50,542 --> 00:19:52,708
By sharing, by
being generous, God,

452
00:19:52,792 --> 00:19:55,625
who in the end does
all the accounting,

453
00:19:55,667 --> 00:20:01,292
he will reward you eternally
for your faithfulness presently.

454
00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:03,500
That's what he's saying.

455
00:20:03,583 --> 00:20:08,000
We need to be
careful to read this.

456
00:20:08,042 --> 00:20:10,333
He's not talking
about the godly rich.

457
00:20:10,375 --> 00:20:11,917
The godly rich are generous.

458
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,583
The godly rich are sharing.

459
00:20:13,667 --> 00:20:16,625
Sometimes, the reason that
godly people are rich is because

460
00:20:16,667 --> 00:20:20,125
they're givers and generous, so
God keeps giving more to them

461
00:20:20,167 --> 00:20:23,333
because he knows he
can trust them with it.

462
00:20:23,375 --> 00:20:28,708
That's not the situation
or scenario here.

463
00:20:28,792 --> 00:20:31,292
He says that their
clothes are rotting,

464
00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:36,333
their wealth is corroding,
and their God is watching.

465
00:20:36,375 --> 00:20:39,708
OK, what category
are you in?

466
00:20:39,792 --> 00:20:42,417
What category are you in?

467
00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:46,750
Godly rich, ungodly rich,
godly poor, ungodly poor?

468
00:20:46,833 --> 00:20:48,458
All right, have you
even practically,

469
00:20:48,500 --> 00:20:51,167
functionally taken your
wallet and taken your Bible,

470
00:20:51,208 --> 00:20:52,667
put them together,
and said,

471
00:20:52,708 --> 00:20:56,458
"OK, how does this
affect this?"

472
00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:57,958
The godly rich,
they do that.

473
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,167
The ungodly rich,
they don't.

474
00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:02,708
So, the first problem is
hoarding.

475
00:21:02,792 --> 00:21:05,917
It's not that you don't have
a right to take your wealth

476
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,625
and to purchase something,

477
00:21:07,667 --> 00:21:10,167
but if you have things
you don't even need,

478
00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:13,208
if you have things
you don't even use,

479
00:21:13,292 --> 00:21:17,000
does not your heart open to
love, and to help, and to serve,

480
00:21:17,083 --> 00:21:18,417
and to bless others?

481
00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:20,917
If not, then you don't have
the heart of God

482
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:22,500
because that's God's heart.

483
00:21:22,542 --> 00:21:24,417
God's heart is a giving heart.

484
00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:26,667
God's heart is a sharing heart.

485
00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:31,625
God's heart is a glad heart.

486
00:21:31,667 --> 00:21:37,125
So, he rebukes for hoarding
and also defrauding.

487
00:21:37,167 --> 00:21:41,500
James 5:4-6, "Behold, the wages
of the laborers who mowed

488
00:21:41,583 --> 00:21:44,833
your fields, which you
kept back by"--what?

489
00:21:44,875 --> 00:21:47,833
"Fraud"--there's the issue--
"are crying out against you,

490
00:21:47,875 --> 00:21:50,292
"and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears

491
00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:52,000
"of the Lord of hosts.

492
00:21:52,042 --> 00:21:54,500
"You have lived on the earth
in luxury and self-indulgence.

493
00:21:54,583 --> 00:21:58,167
"You've fattened your hearts
in a day of slaughter.

494
00:21:58,250 --> 00:22:00,833
"You have condemned and
murdered the righteous person.

495
00:22:00,917 --> 00:22:02,500
He does not resist you."

496
00:22:02,542 --> 00:22:03,958
OK, here's the situation:

497
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,458
There are two groups.

498
00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:08,167
One are the landowners, and
the others are the laborers.

499
00:22:08,250 --> 00:22:09,583
These are the two groups,

500
00:22:09,667 --> 00:22:11,542
the landowners
and the laborers.

501
00:22:11,625 --> 00:22:14,042
The landowners that
he's speaking of,

502
00:22:14,125 --> 00:22:15,458
they're unbelievers.

503
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:17,958
They don't love the Lord;
they don't serve the Lord.

504
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,667
The laborers that he's speaking
of, they do love the Lord,

505
00:22:20,750 --> 00:22:24,333
and they're receiving
tremendous injustice

506
00:22:24,417 --> 00:22:26,667
and so they are crying out
to the Lord.

507
00:22:26,708 --> 00:22:32,000
These are hardworking guys who
are supposed to get paid

508
00:22:32,042 --> 00:22:35,375
at the end of the day so they
can go home and provide dinner

509
00:22:35,458 --> 00:22:37,667
for their family.

510
00:22:37,708 --> 00:22:41,667
And they worked hard all day
and they didn't get paid.

511
00:22:41,750 --> 00:22:44,792
And so they go home, and they're
sitting around the dinner table

512
00:22:44,833 --> 00:22:46,833
with their family.

513
00:22:46,875 --> 00:22:48,875
It's like,
"Kids, I hate to tell you,

514
00:22:48,958 --> 00:22:50,375
Dad didn't make anything
today."

515
00:22:50,458 --> 00:22:51,792
"Did you not work, Dad?"

516
00:22:51,833 --> 00:22:53,292
"No, Dad worked hard all day."

517
00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:55,000
"Well, what happened?"

518
00:22:55,083 --> 00:22:57,125
"Well, they didn't pay me."

519
00:22:57,167 --> 00:23:00,833
Then the family is weeping,
the kids are crying,

520
00:23:00,917 --> 00:23:06,458
and it's so loud
that God hears it.

521
00:23:08,708 --> 00:23:14,500
I know what this feels like.

522
00:23:14,542 --> 00:23:17,750
See, my dad was
a union drywaller.

523
00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:19,750
He was a construction worker.

524
00:23:19,833 --> 00:23:22,042
And so when there was
work, he would work,

525
00:23:22,125 --> 00:23:24,542
and when there wasn't work,
he'd go find side jobs

526
00:23:24,625 --> 00:23:25,958
to make ends meet.

527
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,667
Some of you
know my dad's story.

528
00:23:27,750 --> 00:23:29,875
He hung drywall until he
literally broke his back

529
00:23:29,958 --> 00:23:31,375
feeding his family.

530
00:23:31,458 --> 00:23:35,583
He would come home from work and
lay on the floor in such pain

531
00:23:35,667 --> 00:23:37,167
from holding sheetrock.

532
00:23:37,208 --> 00:23:40,500
He actually shrunk a few inches
over the years by carrying

533
00:23:40,542 --> 00:23:44,792
so much sheetrock on his back
that it compressed his spine.

534
00:23:44,833 --> 00:23:48,083
I remember as a little boy, my
dad would come home in just

535
00:23:48,167 --> 00:23:50,833
such great pain, and he still
coached our Little League teams.

536
00:23:50,875 --> 00:23:53,333
And I still can't believe
it: as a little boy,

537
00:23:53,375 --> 00:23:56,500
he would go down on the street
and he'd put a glove on

538
00:23:56,583 --> 00:23:59,208
and catch me, because I was
a pitcher and he coached

539
00:23:59,292 --> 00:24:01,083
my Little League teams.

540
00:24:01,167 --> 00:24:03,375
All right, my dad's back
was always in pain,

541
00:24:03,458 --> 00:24:06,750
yet he would still squat
down and be catcher for me.

542
00:24:06,833 --> 00:24:09,750
And sometimes, before he'd go
out and catch me, he'd be like,

543
00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:11,750
"All right, Dad's gonna
lay on the floor."

544
00:24:11,833 --> 00:24:13,250
He couldn't afford
a chiropractor.

545
00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:14,792
"You kids walk on Dad's back."

546
00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:16,292
And you'll hear it pop, OK?

547
00:24:16,333 --> 00:24:18,292
Now, at the time
I thought, "I'm helping."

548
00:24:18,333 --> 00:24:21,292
Today, I realize that might not
have been the most helpful thing

549
00:24:21,333 --> 00:24:23,500
for Joe's back, OK?

550
00:24:23,542 --> 00:24:26,875
But there were times that my dad
would have to go away because

551
00:24:26,958 --> 00:24:28,375
there was no work in town.

552
00:24:28,458 --> 00:24:30,375
That's actually how we
ended up in Seattle.

553
00:24:30,458 --> 00:24:33,375
We were in North Dakota, and
then we ended up in Spokane,

554
00:24:33,458 --> 00:24:35,083
and then we ended up in Seattle.

555
00:24:35,167 --> 00:24:37,583
We kind of went wherever
work was for my pops.

556
00:24:37,667 --> 00:24:40,792
And there were times when my dad
would have to leave town because

557
00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:42,292
there'd be a job somewhere else.

558
00:24:42,333 --> 00:24:44,958
My dad would sleep in his truck
or he'd sometimes sleep

559
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:46,333
on the sheetrock.

560
00:24:46,417 --> 00:24:49,333
Take a nap, get up, and hang
more because you get paid

561
00:24:49,375 --> 00:24:51,500
by the board foot,
and so you work hard.

562
00:24:51,583 --> 00:24:54,500
And there were times that my
dad would be away from home,

563
00:24:54,583 --> 00:24:55,917
sleeping on the job site.

564
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,125
I was the oldest of five kids,
my mom stayed home with us,

565
00:24:59,167 --> 00:25:01,667
and there'd be times that
they didn't pay my dad.

566
00:25:01,750 --> 00:25:04,250
Not because he didn't
work, because he did work.

567
00:25:04,333 --> 00:25:07,583
Not because he was lazy--
he wasn't lazy at all.

568
00:25:07,667 --> 00:25:10,667
But they knew there's
nothing he can do about it,

569
00:25:10,708 --> 00:25:13,083
because you know what
a guy like that can't do?

570
00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:16,500
Go get an attorney
and file a suit.

571
00:25:16,542 --> 00:25:19,500
He doesn't have the means to.

572
00:25:19,542 --> 00:25:22,000
I can still remember
when I was a little boy,

573
00:25:22,042 --> 00:25:25,292
my dad had an old Chevy
pickup truck that I loved.

574
00:25:25,333 --> 00:25:28,292
And I remember as a little
boy when we'd be at job

575
00:25:28,333 --> 00:25:31,000
sites--because sometimes I'd go
to the job sites with my dad.

576
00:25:31,042 --> 00:25:33,000
I had a little Thermos
and a lunchbox.

577
00:25:33,042 --> 00:25:34,750
I had my own
steel-toed work boots.

578
00:25:34,833 --> 00:25:36,750
I had my own overalls,
my own tools.

579
00:25:36,833 --> 00:25:38,875
I wasn't very helpful,
but I thought I was.

580
00:25:38,958 --> 00:25:42,083
When it was really cold, it had
this heater right in the center

581
00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:45,083
of this old Chevy pickup truck,
and I would just huddle down

582
00:25:45,167 --> 00:25:46,583
by the heater to warm up.

583
00:25:46,667 --> 00:25:48,625
I'll never forget
the time that, you know,

584
00:25:48,667 --> 00:25:51,500
my dad being stiffed on the
job, not getting paid for stuff,

585
00:25:51,583 --> 00:25:54,708
just to even pay the rent,
we had to sell my dad's truck.

586
00:25:54,792 --> 00:25:57,375
I remember as a little boy
standing there as the truck

587
00:25:57,458 --> 00:25:59,292
drives away thinking,
"That's my dad's truck

588
00:25:59,333 --> 00:26:04,000
and that's our truck
to go to work."

589
00:26:04,042 --> 00:26:10,000
I cried as a little boy because
I knew my dad worked so hard,

590
00:26:10,042 --> 00:26:12,792
and that wasn't right.

591
00:26:12,833 --> 00:26:16,667
James is talking about scenarios
and situations like that.

592
00:26:16,708 --> 00:26:19,292
He's not talking about lazy
people who refuse to work or

593
00:26:19,333 --> 00:26:21,792
guys who just refuse to submit
to authority

594
00:26:21,833 --> 00:26:23,875
so they can't keep a job.

595
00:26:23,958 --> 00:26:27,875
He's talking about hard-working,
honest, put food on the table,

596
00:26:27,958 --> 00:26:30,792
take care of your family,

597
00:26:30,833 --> 00:26:35,875
salt of the earth men of God,

598
00:26:35,958 --> 00:26:40,958
like Jesus and James' brother
had a dad named Joseph who was

599
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,792
a carpenter, and was poor,
and had a huge family

600
00:26:44,833 --> 00:26:47,875
with a bunch of kids,
and swung a hammer

601
00:26:47,958 --> 00:26:50,625
to put food on the table.

602
00:26:50,667 --> 00:26:54,208
Jesus and James came
from a family like that,

603
00:26:54,292 --> 00:26:58,000
and so when James sees the way
that the wealthy landowners

604
00:26:58,083 --> 00:27:02,292
are treating the poor laborers,
there's a sense of justice

605
00:27:02,333 --> 00:27:05,000
and righteous indignation that
rises up in him and says,

606
00:27:05,042 --> 00:27:09,167
"Hey, don't treat guys like
my dad, like that."

607
00:27:09,208 --> 00:27:13,292
And so he's stern in his tone.

608
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:15,875
And the way it worked
legally was this:

609
00:27:15,958 --> 00:27:19,583
as a general rule--there were
exceptions--the landowners

610
00:27:19,667 --> 00:27:22,333
were educated;
the laborers were not.

611
00:27:22,417 --> 00:27:25,500
Well, guess what that does when
it goes to negotiate a deal or

612
00:27:25,542 --> 00:27:30,167
have a contract? The guy who
went to college negotiating with

613
00:27:30,250 --> 00:27:31,833
a guy who's illiterate?

614
00:27:31,917 --> 00:27:34,458
The way it worked as
well in the legal system

615
00:27:34,500 --> 00:27:39,667
was, you only had legal rights
if you were a landowners.

616
00:27:39,708 --> 00:27:42,792
Not everybody voted,
just the landowners.

617
00:27:42,833 --> 00:27:46,333
Not everybody could bring a case
to court, only the landowners.

618
00:27:46,417 --> 00:27:49,625
It wasn't the kind of culture
that we enjoy

619
00:27:49,667 --> 00:27:51,333
because of biblical values.

620
00:27:51,375 --> 00:27:53,833
See, the reason that we have
a culture that considers

621
00:27:53,875 --> 00:27:57,667
all created equal is because
they're endowed by their Creator

622
00:27:57,750 --> 00:27:59,333
with rights.

623
00:27:59,375 --> 00:28:01,667
That everybody, because of
the teaching of the Bible,

624
00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:05,042
is equal, and we should be equal
in the standing of the law, and

625
00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:07,792
we should be equal in the sight
of the government because

626
00:28:07,833 --> 00:28:10,292
we're supposed to be equal
in the sight of God.

627
00:28:10,333 --> 00:28:12,792
And it doesn't always work
that way, but in principle,

628
00:28:12,833 --> 00:28:15,292
that's the world that we're more
accustomed to because of

629
00:28:15,333 --> 00:28:17,000
the influence and effects
of biblical teaching.

630
00:28:17,042 --> 00:28:19,000
Now, in that day, in
the Roman Empire,

631
00:28:19,042 --> 00:28:21,500
it was like a class system
or a caste system,

632
00:28:21,542 --> 00:28:23,083
like we see in India.

633
00:28:23,167 --> 00:28:25,792
These people own land, and
these people were educated,

634
00:28:25,833 --> 00:28:27,375
and these people
had legal rights.

635
00:28:27,458 --> 00:28:28,792
And these people
were uneducated,

636
00:28:28,833 --> 00:28:32,083
and they didn't own land, and
they didn't have legal rights.

637
00:28:32,167 --> 00:28:34,167
And so if these people
would commit injustice

638
00:28:34,250 --> 00:28:38,250
against these people, there
was nothing they could do.

639
00:28:38,333 --> 00:28:40,375
The laborers had no recourse
toward the landowners,

640
00:28:40,458 --> 00:28:43,792
so what they would do is they
would go up the chain of
command,

641
00:28:43,833 --> 00:28:46,000
and they would bring their
concerns to the Lord

642
00:28:46,042 --> 00:28:48,333
who rules over all.

643
00:28:48,375 --> 00:28:52,708
And they were crying
out to the Lord.

644
00:28:52,792 --> 00:28:55,875
Because if you go to work
and they don't pay you,

645
00:28:55,958 --> 00:28:58,083
and so you go to work
somewhere else

646
00:28:58,167 --> 00:28:59,792
and then they don't pay you,

647
00:28:59,833 --> 00:29:05,167
and you need to feed
your family, what do you do?

648
00:29:05,250 --> 00:29:07,792
And these are godly people,

649
00:29:07,833 --> 00:29:10,667
and now they're being
tempted to do ungodly things

650
00:29:10,750 --> 00:29:16,875
to put food
on the table for the family.

651
00:29:16,958 --> 00:29:18,958
Do you feel it?

652
00:29:19,625 --> 00:29:22,167
Do you feel it?

653
00:29:22,208 --> 00:29:26,167
The Bible's not just a book
about what happens when you die.

654
00:29:26,250 --> 00:29:30,792
It's a book about everything.

655
00:29:30,833 --> 00:29:32,500
It includes what
happens when you die

656
00:29:32,542 --> 00:29:35,500
and everything that happens
before that.

657
00:29:35,542 --> 00:29:37,375
God cares about your business.

658
00:29:37,458 --> 00:29:39,875
God cares about your family.

659
00:29:39,958 --> 00:29:45,958
God cares about
your dinner, right?

660
00:29:47,292 --> 00:29:50,500
And I want you
to think biblically,

661
00:29:50,583 --> 00:29:52,500
and I really want
you to distinguish.

662
00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:55,667
Because what we can do--and this
is what some of you are doing

663
00:29:55,750 --> 00:29:57,167
in your heart right now,
right?--

664
00:29:57,250 --> 00:29:59,208
we look at the rich,
the ungodly rich,

665
00:29:59,292 --> 00:30:00,625
and we're like,
"They're terrible.

666
00:30:00,667 --> 00:30:02,208
They're horrible people."

667
00:30:02,292 --> 00:30:06,917
Well, but the way that we get
into that similar scenario in

668
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,125
whatever level of affluence or
influence that is entrusted

669
00:30:10,167 --> 00:30:12,625
to us is, we think in terms
of ownership

670
00:30:12,667 --> 00:30:15,167
instead of stewardship.

671
00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:17,875
And really, behind this great
conflict and this rebuke from

672
00:30:17,958 --> 00:30:21,625
Pastor James is really
two ideologies, two mindsets,

673
00:30:21,667 --> 00:30:24,500
two worldviews.

674
00:30:24,583 --> 00:30:27,500
One is one of ownership,
and one is one of stewardship.

675
00:30:27,583 --> 00:30:30,167
And so let me break
these down for you.

676
00:30:30,250 --> 00:30:32,583
And these are massive
biblical categories,

677
00:30:32,667 --> 00:30:36,625
but here's really how
the ungodly rich are thinking:

678
00:30:36,667 --> 00:30:38,417
they're thinking
in terms of ownership.

679
00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:41,583
Here's their underlying
prevailing ideology

680
00:30:41,667 --> 00:30:43,208
and their commitments:

681
00:30:43,292 --> 00:30:46,208
Number one, "I do not
belong to the Lord.

682
00:30:46,292 --> 00:30:52,167
"If there's a God, he doesn't
own me like a possession.

683
00:30:52,208 --> 00:30:54,750
"He's not in charge.
He's not in control.

684
00:30:54,833 --> 00:30:58,833
"Maybe if I want him
to come serve me,

685
00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:03,500
"maybe that's a possibility
but certainly not rule over me.

686
00:31:03,583 --> 00:31:10,000
And language like, 'Lord,' no,
I'm not interested in that."

687
00:31:10,083 --> 00:31:12,708
Number two, "Nothing I
have belongs to the Lord.

688
00:31:12,792 --> 00:31:14,625
"I don't belong to
the Lord, right?

689
00:31:14,667 --> 00:31:17,375
"So this doesn't belong to
the Lord, and what I drive,

690
00:31:17,458 --> 00:31:20,000
"and where I live, and what
I do, that doesn't belong--

691
00:31:20,083 --> 00:31:21,417
"that's all mine.

692
00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:23,167
"That's not his,
that's mine.

693
00:31:23,250 --> 00:31:27,417
I'm not his
and that's not his."

694
00:31:27,500 --> 00:31:30,833
Number three, "I deserve
all that I--I work for it.

695
00:31:30,875 --> 00:31:32,875
"Hey, there's winners, losers.

696
00:31:32,958 --> 00:31:34,417
"They couldn't
afford an attorney.

697
00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:35,833
"Whatever the case is.

698
00:31:35,875 --> 00:31:37,333
"I took it. I stole it.

699
00:31:37,375 --> 00:31:38,708
"Might makes right.

700
00:31:38,792 --> 00:31:41,875
"Survival of the fittest.
That's just the way it works.

701
00:31:41,958 --> 00:31:45,167
"Whatever I've got, it's mine.
I deserve it.

702
00:31:45,250 --> 00:31:48,917
You lose, I win."

703
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,667
Number four is,
"I only answer to myself.

704
00:31:52,750 --> 00:31:55,333
"I'm not going to answer
to God.

705
00:31:55,375 --> 00:31:57,083
"I'm not going to
give an account.

706
00:31:57,167 --> 00:31:59,292
"I'm not going to have
a Day of Judgment

707
00:31:59,333 --> 00:32:02,583
"before I stand before
some sentient being

708
00:32:02,667 --> 00:32:06,083
"and talk about what
I did with my life

709
00:32:06,167 --> 00:32:08,792
"and my stuff.

710
00:32:08,833 --> 00:32:11,000
"No, that's not the way it is.

711
00:32:11,042 --> 00:32:13,167
"I give an account to myself.

712
00:32:13,208 --> 00:32:14,667
"I rule over myself.

713
00:32:14,750 --> 00:32:19,292
I'm in charge of myself."

714
00:32:19,333 --> 00:32:23,292
That's the underlying ideology
that James is going after

715
00:32:23,333 --> 00:32:27,042
in the ungodly rich.

716
00:32:27,125 --> 00:32:29,875
It's this issue of ownership.

717
00:32:29,958 --> 00:32:35,000
What's mine is mine, what's
yours is mine, right?

718
00:32:36,333 --> 00:32:40,000
Now, biblically,
it's not about ownership;

719
00:32:40,042 --> 00:32:42,875
it's about stewardship,
OK?

720
00:32:42,958 --> 00:32:44,583
Here are the underlying values.

721
00:32:44,667 --> 00:32:46,583
I put some Scripture
with each of them.

722
00:32:46,667 --> 00:32:49,333
You're welcome to look it up
and study it for yourself.

723
00:32:49,375 --> 00:32:53,000
A steward begins
with this principle.

724
00:32:53,083 --> 00:32:55,833
"I belong to the Lord."

725
00:32:55,875 --> 00:33:00,375
Romans 1:6, "And you are called
to belong to Jesus Christ."

726
00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:03,083
For me, that was
an earth-shattering,

727
00:33:03,167 --> 00:33:07,250
heart-melting,
life-changing verse.

728
00:33:07,333 --> 00:33:09,875
The word of God is
living and active.

729
00:33:09,958 --> 00:33:13,042
I still remember, I was
a freshman, just lost,

730
00:33:13,125 --> 00:33:15,583
did not know the Lord.

731
00:33:15,667 --> 00:33:19,500
I'm sitting in my dorm room
at a state university, right?

732
00:33:19,542 --> 00:33:22,792
God'll go anywhere to get you.

733
00:33:22,833 --> 00:33:24,583
That's the point, right?

734
00:33:24,667 --> 00:33:28,250
And I'm reading the Bible
that Grace gave me as a gift,

735
00:33:28,333 --> 00:33:31,250
and I'd had it for a long
time and hadn't read it.

736
00:33:31,333 --> 00:33:33,000
And I'm reading Romans 1.

737
00:33:33,042 --> 00:33:35,792
I kind of had to read it for
a philosophy class

738
00:33:35,833 --> 00:33:37,792
at a state college, right?

739
00:33:37,833 --> 00:33:40,667
And I read
Romans 1:6, and it says,

740
00:33:40,750 --> 00:33:44,000
"And you are called
to belong to Jesus Christ."

741
00:33:44,042 --> 00:33:46,583
And it's like God flipped
a switch in my soul.

742
00:33:46,667 --> 00:33:53,083
I was like,
"Oh, I belong to Jesus."

743
00:33:53,167 --> 00:34:00,083
And I remember this was almost
an instantaneous thought.

744
00:34:00,167 --> 00:34:04,000
That changes everything.

745
00:34:04,042 --> 00:34:09,750
If I belong to Jesus--like,
if I'm not my own,

746
00:34:09,833 --> 00:34:15,250
if I belong to someone else,
well, that changes everything.

747
00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,750
I remember sitting there in
that moment just thinking,

748
00:34:17,833 --> 00:34:20,667
"I don't know exactly
what this entails,

749
00:34:20,708 --> 00:34:24,167
but I think this is going
to affect everything,"

750
00:34:24,208 --> 00:34:26,667
like who I marry,
what I get for a degree,

751
00:34:26,750 --> 00:34:29,375
what I do for a career.

752
00:34:29,458 --> 00:34:36,375
Like, this is a massive
alteration of my whole existence

753
00:34:36,458 --> 00:34:40,667
to go from, "I belong to
myself," to "I belong to Jesus."

754
00:34:40,750 --> 00:34:43,458
Just so you know, that
changes everything, amen?

755
00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,167
How many of you have become
Christians, and you didn't know

756
00:34:46,208 --> 00:34:48,625
this at the front end;
otherwise, you would have been

757
00:34:48,667 --> 00:34:51,000
a little more hesitant to join
Team Jesus, right?

758
00:34:51,042 --> 00:34:53,708
But how many of you joined
Team Jesus and you're like,

759
00:34:53,792 --> 00:34:56,417
"He's in charge of everything.

760
00:34:56,500 --> 00:35:01,083
"Like, I belong to him, like
in a way that I used to think

761
00:35:01,167 --> 00:35:02,667
"that my possessions
belonged to me.

762
00:35:02,750 --> 00:35:04,500
"I'm his possession.

763
00:35:04,542 --> 00:35:07,042
He owns me."

764
00:35:07,125 --> 00:35:08,667
That's a good thing.

765
00:35:08,708 --> 00:35:10,167
Don't think it's a bad thing.

766
00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:12,583
Jesus is way better
in control than you.

767
00:35:12,667 --> 00:35:15,292
He's way better
in charge than you.

768
00:35:15,333 --> 00:35:17,667
That's what I've learned.

769
00:35:17,708 --> 00:35:20,792
But a steward starts with
this, "I belong to the Lord."

770
00:35:20,833 --> 00:35:24,167
"I was bought with a price,"
the Bible says.

771
00:35:24,250 --> 00:35:26,500
Jesus died for me.

772
00:35:26,542 --> 00:35:29,292
He paid a price
to purchase me.

773
00:35:29,333 --> 00:35:31,042
I'm his possession.

774
00:35:31,125 --> 00:35:34,167
I belong to him.

775
00:35:34,250 --> 00:35:37,167
Well, relatedly,
then number two,

776
00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:41,292
well, then, everything
I have belongs to him.

777
00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:45,667
It's his ownership,
my stewardship.

778
00:35:45,708 --> 00:35:48,833
In Haggai, God says, "The gold
is mine and the silver is mine,

779
00:35:48,875 --> 00:35:50,500
declares the Lord."

780
00:35:50,583 --> 00:35:52,708
It's his way of
saying, "It's all mine.

781
00:35:52,792 --> 00:35:54,417
It's all mine."

782
00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:57,625
This is why I don't even want
you to think in terms of,

783
00:35:57,667 --> 00:35:59,125
"Do I have to give 10%?"

784
00:35:59,167 --> 00:36:02,792
No, you give 100%.

785
00:36:02,833 --> 00:36:05,958
Everything belongs to him.

786
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,583
It's not, "How much of what I
have do I give to the Lord?";

787
00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:11,667
it's "How much of
what is the Lord's

788
00:36:11,750 --> 00:36:14,083
is he generously sharing
with me?"

789
00:36:14,167 --> 00:36:16,000
God says,
"I'll give you 90%."

790
00:36:16,042 --> 00:36:19,083
You're like, "Of your stuff?
Awesome, great deal."

791
00:36:19,167 --> 00:36:22,083
That's amazing that he would
give us 90% of his stuff.

792
00:36:22,167 --> 00:36:24,792
It's a whole lot easier
to accept that than giving him

793
00:36:24,833 --> 00:36:27,667
10% of my stuff.

794
00:36:27,750 --> 00:36:32,000
It's not my stuff;
it's all his stuff.

795
00:36:32,042 --> 00:36:33,833
Everything belongs to the Lord.

796
00:36:33,917 --> 00:36:35,583
You know what?

797
00:36:35,667 --> 00:36:38,083
These are the Lord's.

798
00:36:38,167 --> 00:36:39,500
Thanks, Lord.

799
00:36:39,542 --> 00:36:41,083
We're all glad
I'm wearing pants.

800
00:36:41,167 --> 00:36:42,875
Yay!

801
00:36:42,958 --> 00:36:45,500
OK, but it's
really practical.

802
00:36:45,542 --> 00:36:47,000
It's really practical.

803
00:36:47,083 --> 00:36:49,000
You're like, "My days
belong to the Lord.

804
00:36:49,083 --> 00:36:51,208
My time belongs to the Lord."

805
00:36:51,292 --> 00:36:54,208
If you have a family, your
family belongs to the Lord.

806
00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:56,917
You get in the car to drive
away from this meeting.

807
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:58,583
That car belongs to the Lord.

808
00:36:58,667 --> 00:37:02,333
Everything belongs to the Lord,
and what it compels then is

809
00:37:02,417 --> 00:37:04,000
an attitude of gratitude.

810
00:37:04,042 --> 00:37:05,500
"Hey, thanks!
Thanks!"

811
00:37:05,542 --> 00:37:08,500
Some of you are like, "I have
a very hard time praying.

812
00:37:08,542 --> 00:37:09,875
Life is very hard."

813
00:37:09,958 --> 00:37:13,042
Look, assume you deserve hell
and that nothing you have is

814
00:37:13,125 --> 00:37:15,833
yours and it all belongs
to Jesus, and immediately,

815
00:37:15,917 --> 00:37:19,292
you'll start finding
reasons to be thankful.

816
00:37:19,333 --> 00:37:22,583
"I'm not on fire, yay!

817
00:37:22,667 --> 00:37:27,167
Thanks, Jesus!"

818
00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:30,667
Number three, everything
I have is a gift.

819
00:37:30,750 --> 00:37:33,083
All right, Paul says to
the Corinthians, you know,

820
00:37:33,167 --> 00:37:37,167
"What do you have that wasn't
given to you from Jesus?"

821
00:37:37,250 --> 00:37:38,875
It's all a gift.

822
00:37:38,958 --> 00:37:42,875
It's all
a gift.

823
00:37:42,958 --> 00:37:45,250
When's the last time
you just sat down,

824
00:37:45,333 --> 00:37:48,875
carved out a few hours,
maybe even got a pen

825
00:37:48,958 --> 00:37:52,000
and a pad of paper--
for you kids,

826
00:37:52,083 --> 00:37:55,167
this is what we
used to use.

827
00:37:55,250 --> 00:37:58,500
But without the distraction
of your technology,

828
00:37:58,542 --> 00:38:01,500
and just put this
question at the top:

829
00:38:01,542 --> 00:38:04,292
"What has Jesus given me?"

830
00:38:04,333 --> 00:38:09,042
And then start writing.

831
00:38:09,125 --> 00:38:12,167
Wow.

832
00:38:12,208 --> 00:38:17,792
You could spend the rest
of eternity writing.

833
00:38:17,833 --> 00:38:19,167
I'll give you some examples.

834
00:38:19,250 --> 00:38:22,167
How many of you say this
is a pretty good planet?

835
00:38:22,250 --> 00:38:27,167
Compared to the options,
I like this planet.

836
00:38:27,250 --> 00:38:31,167
Early in the Bible, it tells us
who made the planet.

837
00:38:31,250 --> 00:38:33,500
And he gave it to us as a gift.

838
00:38:33,542 --> 00:38:36,458
Wow, thanks for the planet.

839
00:38:36,500 --> 00:38:38,500
See, right now
you're breathing air.

840
00:38:38,542 --> 00:38:40,000
Do you know who made air?

841
00:38:40,042 --> 00:38:42,500
God did and gave it
to you as a gift.

842
00:38:42,542 --> 00:38:44,167
Oh, and it's going
through your lungs.

843
00:38:44,250 --> 00:38:47,208
Hmm, he made those, too.

844
00:38:47,292 --> 00:38:49,917
You're listening to this
sermon--thank you for

845
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,917
doing that--in the body
that God made for you,

846
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,667
with the ears that
God designed for you,

847
00:38:55,750 --> 00:39:01,458
being filtered through the brain
that God has entrusted to you.

848
00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:06,667
I mean, if we just stop
presuming on God's grace

849
00:39:06,708 --> 00:39:09,667
and stop to remember
God's grace,

850
00:39:09,750 --> 00:39:15,333
it's really life-changing.

851
00:39:15,417 --> 00:39:17,583
And it's amazing because
sometimes people don't sense

852
00:39:17,667 --> 00:39:20,167
that or experience that until
they're on the precipice

853
00:39:20,250 --> 00:39:21,667
of losing their life.

854
00:39:21,750 --> 00:39:24,667
You ever talk to somebody who
thought they were going to die

855
00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:26,083
and then they didn't?

856
00:39:26,167 --> 00:39:27,583
They're like, "Oh,
everything tastes better.

857
00:39:27,667 --> 00:39:29,000
"Everything is better.

858
00:39:29,042 --> 00:39:30,792
"I'm more grateful,
I'm more thankful,

859
00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:33,083
I'm more appreciative,
I'm more--"

860
00:39:33,167 --> 00:39:36,583
Yeah, because the sense
of entitlement is gone,

861
00:39:36,667 --> 00:39:39,750
the sense of presumption is
gone, and the sense of awe,

862
00:39:39,833 --> 00:39:42,667
and wonder,
and gratitude has come.

863
00:39:42,750 --> 00:39:46,250
Christians should always live,
to some degree, in that state--

864
00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:48,708
that it's all a gift.

865
00:39:48,792 --> 00:39:51,875
I mean, my kids are a gift.

866
00:39:51,958 --> 00:39:53,375
I can tell you this.

867
00:39:53,458 --> 00:39:55,583
I kiss my kids on
the head a lot.

868
00:39:55,667 --> 00:39:58,083
Like, if they ever have
a bald spot right here,

869
00:39:58,167 --> 00:39:59,500
it's because of me.

870
00:39:59,542 --> 00:40:01,667
And my kids will tell
you all the time,

871
00:40:01,750 --> 00:40:04,167
I kiss them on the head
and I tell them,

872
00:40:04,250 --> 00:40:05,917
"Thank you for
being my blessing.

873
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,417
Thank you for being a gift."

874
00:40:07,500 --> 00:40:08,833
They are a gift.

875
00:40:08,875 --> 00:40:12,500
I want them to know,
"You're my gift."

876
00:40:12,583 --> 00:40:15,625
The people in your
life are a gift.

877
00:40:15,667 --> 00:40:17,792
The opportunities in
your life are a gift.

878
00:40:17,833 --> 00:40:19,917
The possessions in
your life are a gift.

879
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,208
The resources in
your life are a gift.

880
00:40:22,292 --> 00:40:25,625
The days in your
life--they're a gift.

881
00:40:25,667 --> 00:40:28,333
And the greatest gift
of all is salvation.

882
00:40:28,375 --> 00:40:30,000
I mean,
you need to know this.

883
00:40:30,083 --> 00:40:35,000
Every other religion,
you've got to pay for it.

884
00:40:35,083 --> 00:40:38,125
You've got to pay for it.

885
00:40:38,167 --> 00:40:40,125
You've got to reincarnate
and pay God back

886
00:40:40,167 --> 00:40:42,000
for all this stuff you did.

887
00:40:42,042 --> 00:40:44,167
You've got to suffer.

888
00:40:44,250 --> 00:40:50,667
Or you've got to do a good deed
every time you do a bad deed.

889
00:40:50,708 --> 00:40:55,000
Or you've got to go
to purgatory and pay it back.

890
00:40:58,125 --> 00:41:01,125
And Jesus just gives.

891
00:41:01,167 --> 00:41:05,500
He gives his righteousness,
he gives his holiness,

892
00:41:05,583 --> 00:41:08,167
he gives his love,
and his grace, and his mercy,

893
00:41:08,250 --> 00:41:09,625
and his forgiveness.

894
00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:13,125
He goes to the cross, he gives
his body, he gives his blood.

895
00:41:13,167 --> 00:41:16,000
He gives it all.

896
00:41:16,083 --> 00:41:18,917
He gives.

897
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,000
Everything you have
spiritually is a gift.

898
00:41:22,083 --> 00:41:24,000
Everything we have
physically is a gift.

899
00:41:24,083 --> 00:41:28,833
Everything we have
relationally--it's a gift.

900
00:41:28,875 --> 00:41:34,500
And so, number four,
if I belong to the Lord,

901
00:41:34,542 --> 00:41:36,500
and everything I have
belongs to the Lord,

902
00:41:36,542 --> 00:41:38,917
and everything I have
is a gift from the Lord,

903
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,917
then I am a steward
of the Lord.

904
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,417
"Lord, what do you want me
to do?

905
00:41:44,500 --> 00:41:46,333
Do you want me
to help them?

906
00:41:46,375 --> 00:41:48,333
Great, because you help me.

907
00:41:48,375 --> 00:41:50,500
"Oh, you want me to be
generous with them?

908
00:41:50,583 --> 00:41:52,208
Great, because you're
generous with me."

909
00:41:52,292 --> 00:41:55,500
"You want to help me
so I can help them?

910
00:41:55,583 --> 00:41:58,708
That's great,
what a deal!

911
00:41:58,792 --> 00:42:01,292
You've alleviated burdens
for me, Lord Jesus.

912
00:42:01,333 --> 00:42:03,667
You want me to go alleviate
a burden for them?

913
00:42:03,750 --> 00:42:05,333
I can do that.

914
00:42:05,417 --> 00:42:08,667
That'd be great."

915
00:42:08,750 --> 00:42:12,792
And a steward recognizes
and realizes that if it's

916
00:42:12,833 --> 00:42:18,583
Jesus' stuff, he
ultimately gets to decide

917
00:42:18,667 --> 00:42:20,375
what I do with it.

918
00:42:20,458 --> 00:42:22,958
And friends, I don't care
if you're rich or poor.

919
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,792
I care if you're
godly or ungodly.

920
00:42:26,833 --> 00:42:33,500
I grew up seeing,
in my parents--

921
00:42:33,542 --> 00:42:35,167
my parents were poor,

922
00:42:35,250 --> 00:42:41,000
working-class poor,
and they were generous.

923
00:42:41,042 --> 00:42:44,375
They were generous people.

924
00:42:44,458 --> 00:42:48,000
I can still remember
as a little boy,

925
00:42:48,083 --> 00:42:50,500
there was a lot of kids
in our neighborhood

926
00:42:50,583 --> 00:42:52,000
who didn't have a dad.

927
00:42:52,083 --> 00:42:54,875
In fact, I don't remember
any other kid having a dad

928
00:42:54,958 --> 00:42:56,625
except for me.

929
00:42:56,667 --> 00:43:00,375
And so the moms would go to
work, and the kids would get

930
00:43:00,458 --> 00:43:02,875
in trouble because they're
all by themselves, right?

931
00:43:02,958 --> 00:43:04,583
That's what boys do.

932
00:43:04,667 --> 00:43:07,750
And so then, my folks decided,
"We're going to set up our house

933
00:43:07,833 --> 00:43:11,167
"so that all the kids can come
to our house to help keep them

934
00:43:11,208 --> 00:43:12,542
out of trouble."

935
00:43:12,625 --> 00:43:15,292
So, we put up a batting cage--
we played Wiffle ball.

936
00:43:15,333 --> 00:43:17,000
We were, again,
not a rich family,

937
00:43:17,042 --> 00:43:18,500
but we were a generous family.

938
00:43:18,542 --> 00:43:21,250
And particularly, my mom had
a heart for all the kids

939
00:43:21,333 --> 00:43:22,667
in the neighborhood.

940
00:43:22,708 --> 00:43:24,042
It was really quite beautiful.

941
00:43:24,125 --> 00:43:26,792
The kids would come over,
and we weren't a rich family,

942
00:43:26,833 --> 00:43:30,000
but she would cook lots of food,
knowing that there's going to be

943
00:43:30,042 --> 00:43:31,667
extra kids who
don't have any food.

944
00:43:31,750 --> 00:43:33,458
We fed the neighborhood
all the time,

945
00:43:33,500 --> 00:43:34,833
pretty much every day.

946
00:43:34,917 --> 00:43:37,583
When we'd go to Sears Surplus
to buy coats--in the winter,

947
00:43:37,667 --> 00:43:40,583
you got one winter coat and you
go to Sears Surplus because

948
00:43:40,667 --> 00:43:42,583
it's the cheapest place
to buy a coat.

949
00:43:42,667 --> 00:43:44,792
We'd find the sale rack
and get the coats,

950
00:43:44,833 --> 00:43:47,292
and then my mom would
buy a few extra coats.

951
00:43:47,333 --> 00:43:50,292
And I'd always be like, "Mom,
why are you buying extra coats?"

952
00:43:50,333 --> 00:43:52,417
She's like, "Because there's
always kids in the neighborhood

953
00:43:52,500 --> 00:43:55,417
"who come over to the house
during the winter and they don't

954
00:43:55,500 --> 00:43:58,167
have a coat, and we're
going to give them a coat."

955
00:43:58,250 --> 00:43:59,917
My dad always coached
Little League, again,

956
00:44:00,042 --> 00:44:01,667
because he was
probably the only dad.

957
00:44:01,750 --> 00:44:03,875
And during the off-season,
we'd go to Goodwill,

958
00:44:03,958 --> 00:44:05,833
or we'd go to
St. Vincent de Paul,

959
00:44:05,917 --> 00:44:08,500
or we'd go to secondhand stores
any time we're driving by.

960
00:44:08,542 --> 00:44:10,667
We'd pull over in his
truck, his work truck.

961
00:44:10,750 --> 00:44:12,167
"Marky, we got to run in."

962
00:44:12,250 --> 00:44:14,167
"What do we
got to run in for?"

963
00:44:14,250 --> 00:44:16,667
"We've got to see if they
got any ball gloves."

964
00:44:16,750 --> 00:44:19,167
We'd go in and buy all
the old baseball gloves

965
00:44:19,250 --> 00:44:21,167
for a couple bucks
because we were poor.

966
00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:23,958
"Dad, why do we have to buy
all these baseball gloves?"

967
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,958
"Mark, you know, when
the season rolls around,

968
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,958
"there's a bunch of kids that
show up and they don't have

969
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,667
"a glove, so we need to
have a lot of gloves

970
00:44:31,750 --> 00:44:35,958
and let them pick a glove."

971
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,083
I'm really glad for
the generosity of my folks

972
00:44:40,167 --> 00:44:42,292
and that I got to see that.

973
00:44:42,333 --> 00:44:43,833
I got to see my folks

974
00:44:43,917 --> 00:44:46,083
when they didn't have
money to pay the rent,

975
00:44:46,167 --> 00:44:49,417
take money to help somebody
else pay their rent.

976
00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:54,000
There was a spirit of generosity
and sharing that lived

977
00:44:54,083 --> 00:44:56,000
in my parents
that I praised God for.

978
00:44:56,083 --> 00:45:00,042
And I saw it first in my
Grandpa George, my mom's dad.

979
00:45:00,125 --> 00:45:02,292
He was working-class poor.

980
00:45:02,333 --> 00:45:05,292
He was a diesel mechanic, and
then he got poisoned working

981
00:45:05,333 --> 00:45:08,292
at a feed plant from
all the chemicals,

982
00:45:08,333 --> 00:45:10,292
so he died when I was 10.

983
00:45:10,333 --> 00:45:12,292
And I loved him
with all my heart.

984
00:45:12,333 --> 00:45:15,000
And I remember I'd stay at his
house--and I've probably told

985
00:45:15,042 --> 00:45:18,667
you the stories, but we--well,
Grandma tried to make us

986
00:45:18,708 --> 00:45:22,458
eat tomato soup, but we didn't
really go for that, so instead,

987
00:45:22,500 --> 00:45:24,667
we would eat caramel apples.

988
00:45:24,750 --> 00:45:30,667
And he was a big guy too, so
he ate a lot of caramel apples.

989
00:45:30,750 --> 00:45:33,292
And we'd watch wrestling,
and we'd work in the garage,

990
00:45:33,333 --> 00:45:35,083
and we'd make stuff out of wood.

991
00:45:35,167 --> 00:45:37,792
And he lived in sort
of a cul-de-sac,

992
00:45:37,833 --> 00:45:40,833
and then in the summers when
I'd be over at his house,

993
00:45:40,917 --> 00:45:42,958
the ice cream man would come.

994
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,375
"Ding ding ding ding ding
ding," play all the music.

995
00:45:45,458 --> 00:45:47,583
And all the kids in
the neighborhood would run

996
00:45:47,667 --> 00:45:49,083
to the ice cream truck,

997
00:45:49,167 --> 00:45:51,833
and my grandpa would come
out and pay for ice cream

998
00:45:51,875 --> 00:45:54,292
for everybody,
all the time.

999
00:45:54,333 --> 00:45:57,417
OK, my grandpa was
not a wealthy man,

1000
00:45:57,500 --> 00:46:02,292
but I remember being so
glad that he was my grandpa.

1001
00:46:02,333 --> 00:46:06,542
Because these kids, a lot of
them, they're latchkey kids,

1002
00:46:06,625 --> 00:46:08,000
they don't have a dad.

1003
00:46:08,042 --> 00:46:09,792
You know, it's not
a rich neighborhood,

1004
00:46:09,833 --> 00:46:11,500
they don't have extra money,

1005
00:46:11,542 --> 00:46:14,667
they're not going to be able to
afford the ice cream man.

1006
00:46:14,750 --> 00:46:18,292
But somehow, Grandpa George
factored into his budget

1007
00:46:18,333 --> 00:46:22,292
ice cream for the kids, and that
was a big priority for him.

1008
00:46:22,333 --> 00:46:25,500
And I remember the ice cream
man would come and all the kids

1009
00:46:25,542 --> 00:46:28,792
would just run, because
it's free ice cream, right?

1010
00:46:28,833 --> 00:46:32,667
And if you're in a poor
neighborhood and the kids know

1011
00:46:32,750 --> 00:46:35,250
it's free ice cream,
it's on, right?

1012
00:46:35,333 --> 00:46:38,958
Like, that guy's going to get
looted in the ice cream truck.

1013
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:41,292
He's going to be swarmed.

1014
00:46:41,333 --> 00:46:44,000
And I remember, then my
Grandpa George would walk out--

1015
00:46:44,042 --> 00:46:45,583
and I remember walking.

1016
00:46:45,667 --> 00:46:47,583
I remember intentionally,
as a little boy, walking

1017
00:46:47,667 --> 00:46:49,417
behind my Grandpa George.

1018
00:46:49,500 --> 00:46:52,500
I wanted to see the ice cream
truck, all the happy kids,

1019
00:46:52,542 --> 00:46:56,875
and I wanted to see my grandpa,
and the joy that he had

1020
00:46:56,958 --> 00:46:59,708
going to pay for the ice cream.

1021
00:46:59,792 --> 00:47:02,667
And the look on his
face, it was invaluable.

1022
00:47:02,708 --> 00:47:07,000
It told me everything I needed
to know about my Grandpa George.

1023
00:47:07,042 --> 00:47:09,667
He was generous.

1024
00:47:09,750 --> 00:47:11,833
He was a giver.

1025
00:47:11,917 --> 00:47:14,000
That's the heart of God.

1026
00:47:14,042 --> 00:47:16,500
And I don't care if you're
rich or you're poor.

1027
00:47:16,542 --> 00:47:19,667
I could give you stories of some
of the richest people I know,

1028
00:47:19,750 --> 00:47:23,667
and they are some of the most
generous people I've ever known.

1029
00:47:23,750 --> 00:47:27,792
I've actually been out in public
in a coffee shop with

1030
00:47:27,833 --> 00:47:32,500
a really rich person who was
talking to somebody in line

1031
00:47:32,542 --> 00:47:35,542
who was struggling with medical
issues with their child,

1032
00:47:35,625 --> 00:47:40,458
and volunteered to pay for it
after a few-minute conversation

1033
00:47:40,500 --> 00:47:42,792
in line at a coffee shop.

1034
00:47:42,833 --> 00:47:44,875
I mean, who does that?

1035
00:47:44,958 --> 00:47:47,833
God's people do that if
they have God's heart.

1036
00:47:47,875 --> 00:47:50,875
I don't care if you're rich,
I don't care if you're poor,

1037
00:47:50,958 --> 00:47:54,708
I care if you're
godly or ungodly.

1038
00:47:54,792 --> 00:47:58,917
And that's what
a steward understands.

1039
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:03,292
A steward understands,
"It's Jesus' stuff

1040
00:48:03,333 --> 00:48:06,375
"and he's given to me
generously.

1041
00:48:06,458 --> 00:48:09,458
"And some of it I get to use,
and spend, and enjoy,

1042
00:48:09,500 --> 00:48:12,167
and some of it I get
to lavish on my family,"

1043
00:48:12,250 --> 00:48:16,167
because generosity should
not overlook your family.

1044
00:48:16,250 --> 00:48:18,750
That's what
religious people tend to do.

1045
00:48:18,833 --> 00:48:22,000
We give to everybody while we
don't take care of our own.

1046
00:48:22,042 --> 00:48:27,333
No, no, no, your family,
the family of God, and others.

1047
00:48:29,417 --> 00:48:32,500
And this is the heart of
a steward and this is where

1048
00:48:32,542 --> 00:48:35,875
James is so angry,
and he's so frustrated.

1049
00:48:35,958 --> 00:48:39,792
Because what he has
is, he has godly,

1050
00:48:39,833 --> 00:48:43,250
poor people who are
generous stewards,

1051
00:48:43,333 --> 00:48:47,625
and they're good givers,
and then he's got ungodly,

1052
00:48:47,667 --> 00:48:52,500
rich people who are thinking
like owners and not stewards,

1053
00:48:52,542 --> 00:48:54,875
and they're takers,
and they're not givers,

1054
00:48:54,958 --> 00:48:58,375
and they're stealing
and defrauding,

1055
00:48:58,458 --> 00:49:05,292
and he sees
the injustice in it all.

1056
00:49:05,333 --> 00:49:11,000
The anecdote to hoarding

1057
00:49:11,042 --> 00:49:14,875
and defrauding is giving.

1058
00:49:14,958 --> 00:49:16,375
It neutralizes it.

1059
00:49:16,458 --> 00:49:20,583
It disarms it.

1060
00:49:20,667 --> 00:49:24,083
It defeats it.

1061
00:49:24,167 --> 00:49:27,500
See, Jesus came into the world
and he conquered Satan,

1062
00:49:27,542 --> 00:49:32,000
sin, death, hell,
and the wrath of God by giving.

1063
00:49:32,042 --> 00:49:36,292
That's how he did it.

1064
00:49:36,333 --> 00:49:38,333
And let me be careful.

1065
00:49:38,417 --> 00:49:41,792
Usually at this point,
a horrific theological error

1066
00:49:41,833 --> 00:49:48,500
is made, and it is,
"Give to get a blessing."

1067
00:49:48,583 --> 00:49:50,708
Have you heard that?

1068
00:49:50,792 --> 00:49:53,875
Give to get a blessing.

1069
00:49:53,958 --> 00:49:58,333
Here's what I'm saying:
"Give to be a blessing."

1070
00:49:58,375 --> 00:50:02,000
Give to be a blessing.

1071
00:50:02,083 --> 00:50:09,000
God gives, and God's
blessed by his giving,

1072
00:50:09,083 --> 00:50:12,000
and God is joyful in his giving.

1073
00:50:12,083 --> 00:50:14,792
That's why the Bible says that
God loves a cheerful giver.

1074
00:50:14,833 --> 00:50:19,125
God is a cheerful giver.

1075
00:50:19,167 --> 00:50:21,292
You don't give
to get a blessing;

1076
00:50:21,333 --> 00:50:24,167
you give to be a blessing.

1077
00:50:24,250 --> 00:50:26,625
How many of you,
in a moment of generosity,

1078
00:50:26,667 --> 00:50:31,208
have done something
generous for somebody,

1079
00:50:31,292 --> 00:50:32,792
and you didn't need anything.

1080
00:50:32,833 --> 00:50:35,500
Just the ability to do
that was such a joy;

1081
00:50:35,583 --> 00:50:36,917
it was such a delight.

1082
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:38,333
Your heart welled.

1083
00:50:38,375 --> 00:50:40,000
You're like,
"That just felt right."

1084
00:50:40,083 --> 00:50:41,417
You know why?

1085
00:50:41,500 --> 00:50:42,917
Because that's
the heart of God.

1086
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:46,583
I just wish--I wish I could
show you the face

1087
00:50:46,667 --> 00:50:48,125
of my Grandpa George

1088
00:50:48,167 --> 00:50:51,125
as he took the money out
of the wallet in his overalls

1089
00:50:51,167 --> 00:50:53,625
and paid for the ice cream
for all the kids.

1090
00:50:53,667 --> 00:50:55,625
You know what he
didn't need to hear?

1091
00:50:55,667 --> 00:50:57,000
A prosperity sermon.

1092
00:50:57,083 --> 00:50:58,500
"That $27.50, God'll
return it 100-fold.

1093
00:50:58,583 --> 00:51:00,583
"That's going to be
a lot more loot.

1094
00:51:00,667 --> 00:51:02,000
You'll add your--"

1095
00:51:02,042 --> 00:51:03,500
That's wrong.

1096
00:51:03,583 --> 00:51:05,208
You don't give to
get a blessing;

1097
00:51:05,292 --> 00:51:07,917
you give to be a blessing.
And the blessing is seeing

1098
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:09,333
other people blessed.

1099
00:51:09,375 --> 00:51:11,708
God gives generously, lavishly.

1100
00:51:11,792 --> 00:51:14,000
God enjoys giving.

1101
00:51:14,083 --> 00:51:18,167
God loves giving and his
joy is in being a blessing.

1102
00:51:18,250 --> 00:51:21,375
And then when he saves us and
he entrusts to us as stewards,

1103
00:51:21,458 --> 00:51:23,500
as we get an opportunity
to give generously,

1104
00:51:23,583 --> 00:51:30,167
it's not giving to get,
it's getting to give.

1105
00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:32,167
And I'm jealous for you.

1106
00:51:32,250 --> 00:51:34,000
And I'm not saying
I've nailed this.

1107
00:51:34,083 --> 00:51:36,208
I certainly didn't
begin with this.

1108
00:51:36,292 --> 00:51:38,583
When I first married Grace,
her family was generous

1109
00:51:38,667 --> 00:51:40,167
in their giving to the Lord.

1110
00:51:40,250 --> 00:51:41,833
Her dad had been a pastor.

1111
00:51:41,875 --> 00:51:44,000
He was a pastor for
more than 40 years

1112
00:51:44,083 --> 00:51:47,417
and died just over a year ago,
and I got to preach his funeral.

1113
00:51:47,500 --> 00:51:50,417
But they gave to the Lord,
and they gave to others,

1114
00:51:50,500 --> 00:51:51,917
and they were a generous family.

1115
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:54,167
And one of my wife's
spiritual gifts is giving.

1116
00:51:54,250 --> 00:51:57,333
You can't hang out with us
and not leave with something.

1117
00:51:57,375 --> 00:51:59,208
That's just the rule.

1118
00:51:59,292 --> 00:52:02,250
I mean, she loves to give.

1119
00:52:02,333 --> 00:52:05,375
I remember when we were first
married and broke, she's like,

1120
00:52:05,458 --> 00:52:08,167
"Well, how much are we
going to give to the Lord?"

1121
00:52:08,250 --> 00:52:12,042
"Uh, we're in college,
and married. And the Lord--

1122
00:52:12,125 --> 00:52:14,792
"the Bible says he owns
a cattle on 1,000 hills.

1123
00:52:14,833 --> 00:52:18,500
He'll slaughter one and figure
it out, but we've got no cows."

1124
00:52:18,542 --> 00:52:20,375
She's like,
"No, we've got to give.

1125
00:52:20,458 --> 00:52:23,583
"We've got to give to the Lord,
and we've got to give to

1126
00:52:23,667 --> 00:52:26,792
the Lord first, and then we've
got to give to those in need."

1127
00:52:26,833 --> 00:52:28,167
Give to those in need?

1128
00:52:28,250 --> 00:52:29,667
Hey, we are those in need.

1129
00:52:29,750 --> 00:52:31,458
There's broke, and then
there's college broke.

1130
00:52:31,500 --> 00:52:32,833
We're college broke, right?

1131
00:52:32,917 --> 00:52:35,042
We're living in a $250 a month
basement apartment

1132
00:52:35,125 --> 00:52:36,750
that includes utilities.

1133
00:52:36,833 --> 00:52:39,292
I'm driving a vehicle that
has enough miles that I

1134
00:52:39,333 --> 00:52:41,167
could have driven to Jesus,
right?

1135
00:52:41,208 --> 00:52:45,667
We are not--whatever
economic ladder there is,

1136
00:52:45,708 --> 00:52:48,167
we're at the bottom just
holding on to the rung.

1137
00:52:48,250 --> 00:52:49,833
Like, we're not at the top.

1138
00:52:49,875 --> 00:52:52,500
"No, we need to give.
We need to give the Lord.

1139
00:52:52,583 --> 00:52:54,500
"We need to give
to those in need.

1140
00:52:54,583 --> 00:52:57,500
We need to give, we need
to give, we need to give."

1141
00:52:57,583 --> 00:52:59,125
You're right.

1142
00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:01,167
I didn't know that.
I didn't understand that.

1143
00:53:01,250 --> 00:53:02,583
I'll be honest with you.

1144
00:53:02,667 --> 00:53:05,000
For a while, I didn't
agree with that.

1145
00:53:05,042 --> 00:53:11,167
But boy, as you learn
to give--I mean,

1146
00:53:11,250 --> 00:53:14,083
here's what breaks
my heart in James:

1147
00:53:14,167 --> 00:53:17,167
he says there are people that
have a pile of clothes that

1148
00:53:17,250 --> 00:53:19,833
moths are eating, and they're
missing out on the opportunity

1149
00:53:19,917 --> 00:53:22,583
to go give somebody the clothes
and say, "You need clothes?

1150
00:53:22,667 --> 00:53:24,000
I've got clothes."

1151
00:53:24,042 --> 00:53:30,042
What a wasted
opportunity for joy.

1152
00:53:30,125 --> 00:53:33,250
They've got a pile
of gold and silver.

1153
00:53:33,333 --> 00:53:34,750
It's rotting.

1154
00:53:34,833 --> 00:53:36,167
I mean, it's corroding.

1155
00:53:36,208 --> 00:53:37,542
They don't even need it.

1156
00:53:37,625 --> 00:53:40,583
They're never going to use it,
and they can't just go out

1157
00:53:40,667 --> 00:53:44,292
and even pay the laborer who's
worked hard, faithfully,

1158
00:53:44,333 --> 00:53:46,792
during the harvest season.

1159
00:53:46,833 --> 00:53:49,292
I don't know if you
caught that in the text.

1160
00:53:49,333 --> 00:53:53,250
This is when everything's going
really good in the business.

1161
00:53:55,667 --> 00:53:59,625
Are you not rich or poor,

1162
00:53:59,667 --> 00:54:03,500
but are you ungodly or godly?

1163
00:54:03,542 --> 00:54:05,958
And here's--this'll
be controversial,

1164
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:10,667
unlike anything I've ever said,
but let's throw it out there:

1165
00:54:10,708 --> 00:54:15,250
I think it'd be great if many of
you could start a business

1166
00:54:15,333 --> 00:54:17,167
and grow a company.

1167
00:54:17,250 --> 00:54:19,167
That'd be great.

1168
00:54:19,250 --> 00:54:22,375
See, the reason that I'm in this
country is there was a famine

1169
00:54:22,458 --> 00:54:25,875
in Ireland, and my relatives
were starving to death,

1170
00:54:25,958 --> 00:54:28,500
and boarded a coffin ship,
and ended up in America

1171
00:54:28,542 --> 00:54:31,375
trying to survive.

1172
00:54:31,458 --> 00:54:36,375
So, I'm not against starting
a company, feeding your family,

1173
00:54:36,458 --> 00:54:38,875
handing something off
to the next generation,

1174
00:54:38,958 --> 00:54:41,250
because Proverbs says, "A wise
man leaves an inheritance

1175
00:54:41,333 --> 00:54:43,250
for his children's children."

1176
00:54:43,333 --> 00:54:45,250
That's actually
a really good idea.

1177
00:54:45,333 --> 00:54:47,500
And if you'll obey
the teaching of the Bible,

1178
00:54:47,542 --> 00:54:50,417
you'll actually stay out of some
economic difficulty that comes

1179
00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:52,917
with drunkenness,
and gambling, and divorce.

1180
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:55,000
I'm not saying all
divorce is a sin,

1181
00:54:55,042 --> 00:54:57,792
but there are certain things
that are really expensive

1182
00:54:57,833 --> 00:54:59,500
and hard to recover from.

1183
00:54:59,542 --> 00:55:02,542
And if you followed the teaching
of the Bible, by God's grace,

1184
00:55:02,625 --> 00:55:05,250
you'll avoid some things
that are just very expensive.

1185
00:55:05,333 --> 00:55:09,667
This could set you up to be just
in a better, healthier position,

1186
00:55:09,750 --> 00:55:11,750
like some of those
first-generation immigrant

1187
00:55:11,833 --> 00:55:14,667
families that worked by some of
these very clear principles

1188
00:55:14,708 --> 00:55:17,375
in my neighborhood growing up.

1189
00:55:17,458 --> 00:55:21,875
And there may be an opportunity
for you to start a business.

1190
00:55:21,958 --> 00:55:24,583
And wouldn't it be great if
you could feed your family?

1191
00:55:24,667 --> 00:55:27,875
Wouldn't it be great if
we could give to the Lord,

1192
00:55:27,958 --> 00:55:30,583
and give to the poor, and
help others, and be generous?

1193
00:55:30,667 --> 00:55:33,667
Wouldn't it be great if
you could employ people?

1194
00:55:33,750 --> 00:55:38,292
And if you do,
don't do James 5.

1195
00:55:38,333 --> 00:55:42,500
Don't do James 5.

1196
00:55:42,542 --> 00:55:44,458
Pay them what they're worth.

1197
00:55:44,500 --> 00:55:50,625
If you've got outstanding debts
to your suppliers or your

1198
00:55:50,667 --> 00:55:54,708
salespeople, make good
on your obligations.

1199
00:55:54,792 --> 00:55:58,375
Don't go into every business
negotiation thinking, "You know,

1200
00:55:58,458 --> 00:56:00,792
"legally, they can't
really defend themselves,

1201
00:56:00,833 --> 00:56:03,083
so this is an opportunity
to exploit them,"

1202
00:56:03,167 --> 00:56:04,875
because God doesn't
do that with us.

1203
00:56:04,958 --> 00:56:07,375
God doesn't meet with us
and say, "You know what,

1204
00:56:07,458 --> 00:56:08,875
"you're guilty
according to the law.

1205
00:56:08,958 --> 00:56:11,667
"I could absolutely crush you
under the weight of the law,

1206
00:56:11,708 --> 00:56:13,042
therefore I will."

1207
00:56:13,125 --> 00:56:14,542
Instead he says, "You know what?

1208
00:56:14,625 --> 00:56:17,958
"I'm going to give you grace and
mercy, and I'm going to treat
you

1209
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:19,333
with love and dignity."

1210
00:56:19,417 --> 00:56:21,542
Mars Hill, you have no idea how
many businesses

1211
00:56:21,625 --> 00:56:23,292
are going to start
in this church,

1212
00:56:23,333 --> 00:56:25,292
how many businesses have
started in this church.

1213
00:56:25,333 --> 00:56:27,958
Some of them are going
to be small mom-and-pop,

1214
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:29,667
some of them
are going to succeed,

1215
00:56:29,708 --> 00:56:33,042
some of them are going to fail,
but let me just tell you this:

1216
00:56:33,125 --> 00:56:35,542
with the talent pool that
we have, some gifted people,

1217
00:56:35,625 --> 00:56:37,542
some educated people, some
people who are getting

1218
00:56:37,625 --> 00:56:39,292
their lives together,
people who are networking,

1219
00:56:39,333 --> 00:56:41,792
all of a sudden, they're able
to work together vocationally

1220
00:56:41,833 --> 00:56:43,292
and professionally.
It's a wonderful opportunity

1221
00:56:43,333 --> 00:56:46,167
to demonstrate generosity.

1222
00:56:46,250 --> 00:56:53,000
And I would just encourage
you not to lack ambition

1223
00:56:53,083 --> 00:56:59,208
but to commingle with that
ambition godliness so that

1224
00:56:59,292 --> 00:57:02,583
you're not just thinking
of it as your business

1225
00:57:02,667 --> 00:57:06,667
but his business, and not
just how this benefits you,

1226
00:57:06,750 --> 00:57:10,042
but how it benefits your family,
and your legacy, other people,

1227
00:57:10,125 --> 00:57:13,000
their families, the community,

1228
00:57:13,042 --> 00:57:18,875
the poor, those in need.

1229
00:57:18,958 --> 00:57:21,667
Does this make sense?

1230
00:57:21,750 --> 00:57:25,167
And giving transforms us.

1231
00:57:25,250 --> 00:57:30,875
It reveals to us the gracious,
generous, giving heart of God.

1232
00:57:30,958 --> 00:57:33,500
And I was thinking about
it--I've read a lot of

1233
00:57:33,542 --> 00:57:35,583
systematic theology over
the years and they usually

1234
00:57:35,667 --> 00:57:39,375
start somewhere near the front
with the attributes of God,

1235
00:57:39,458 --> 00:57:42,667
and I don't remember
seeing generosity,

1236
00:57:42,750 --> 00:57:45,375
but it is an attribute of God.

1237
00:57:45,458 --> 00:57:48,000
It's an exceedingly
important attribute of God,

1238
00:57:48,042 --> 00:57:49,875
one that we've all
benefited from, amen?

1239
00:57:49,958 --> 00:57:52,833
And if God is generous with
us, we want to be generous

1240
00:57:52,875 --> 00:57:54,792
with others.

1241
00:57:54,833 --> 00:57:58,667
I don't care how much you make,
but God cares what you do

1242
00:57:58,750 --> 00:58:02,042
with it, OK?

1243
00:58:02,125 --> 00:58:07,375
Now, that being said, at this
point, we're going to respond,

1244
00:58:07,458 --> 00:58:09,167
and that's worship.

1245
00:58:09,250 --> 00:58:11,833
We're going to collect
our tithes and offerings.

1246
00:58:11,917 --> 00:58:14,167
As we're collecting those,
I want to thank you.

1247
00:58:14,250 --> 00:58:17,167
We set a goal at the beginning
of James, because James says

1248
00:58:17,250 --> 00:58:19,667
to care for widows, orphans,
and those in need,

1249
00:58:19,750 --> 00:58:22,667
and we set a goal of sponsoring
500 children in Ethiopia

1250
00:58:22,708 --> 00:58:25,292
where we sponsor a lot of
church planters as well.

1251
00:58:25,333 --> 00:58:27,458
Pastor Sutton told me today
that we're almost at

1252
00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:29,000
1,200 children sponsored

1253
00:58:29,042 --> 00:58:31,292
and still
a couple weeks to go in James,

1254
00:58:31,333 --> 00:58:33,500
and so I just want
to say thank you.

1255
00:58:33,542 --> 00:58:37,167
I want to say thank you.

1256
00:58:37,208 --> 00:58:39,167
It's good to give.

1257
00:58:39,208 --> 00:58:42,667
It's good to give, and the Bible
says it's more blessed to give

1258
00:58:42,750 --> 00:58:45,583
than receive, and you feel that.

1259
00:58:45,667 --> 00:58:48,083
In a moment, we're going
to partake of Communion,

1260
00:58:48,167 --> 00:58:51,667
remembering the gift
that Jesus gave, right?

1261
00:58:51,750 --> 00:58:54,417
That God became a man,
that he lived without sin,

1262
00:58:54,500 --> 00:58:57,083
that he gave his body
and he gave his blood,

1263
00:58:57,167 --> 00:59:00,042
shown forth in
the bread and in the wine.

1264
00:59:00,125 --> 00:59:02,000
And he gives himself to us.

1265
00:59:02,042 --> 00:59:06,792
God so loved the world he
gave us his only begotten Son.

1266
00:59:06,833 --> 00:59:08,958
And if you've not
received Jesus,

1267
00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:10,958
you need to receive Jesus.

1268
00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:13,375
You don't come to God
with stuff in your hands

1269
00:59:13,458 --> 00:59:14,792
to give him anything.

1270
00:59:14,833 --> 00:59:17,083
You come to God empty-handed
to receive Jesus.

1271
00:59:17,167 --> 00:59:18,583
That's where it all starts.

1272
00:59:18,667 --> 00:59:20,167
That's where
it all starts.

1273
00:59:20,250 --> 00:59:22,875
And then I want you
to be in a Community Group,

1274
00:59:22,958 --> 00:59:25,083
and Community Groups are where
we do life together

1275
00:59:25,167 --> 00:59:27,833
as God's people, and we're
all a mess, and a wreck,

1276
00:59:27,917 --> 00:59:29,250
and a work in progress.

1277
00:59:29,333 --> 00:59:31,750
So, if you're a total disaster,
you'll fit right in,

1278
00:59:31,833 --> 00:59:33,875
and we welcome you into
a Community Group, OK?

1279
00:59:33,958 --> 00:59:37,083
And this is where we talk about
what the Scriptures say in our

1280
00:59:37,167 --> 00:59:40,458
life and what God has for us.

1281
00:59:40,500 --> 00:59:42,833
And so in your
Community Group this week,

1282
00:59:42,917 --> 00:59:45,750
I want you to kick
around these questions:

1283
00:59:45,833 --> 00:59:50,208
What type of family did you grow
up in--godly poor, godly rich,

1284
00:59:50,292 --> 00:59:53,375
ungodly poor, ungodly rich?

1285
00:59:53,458 --> 00:59:55,917
OK, what kind of family
did you grow up in?

1286
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:58,917
This will help you get to know
each other in your background

1287
00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:00,333
a little bit.

1288
01:00:00,375 --> 01:00:04,125
Number two, what examples have
you seen of godly rich and poor?

1289
01:00:04,167 --> 01:00:07,333
Encourage one another, set forth
examples of people, you say,

1290
01:00:07,375 --> 01:00:12,208
"That's the kind of person by
God's grace I'd like to be."

1291
01:00:12,292 --> 01:00:14,500
And number three, what does
godly stewardship

1292
01:00:14,583 --> 01:00:16,500
look like for you?

1293
01:00:16,583 --> 01:00:19,000
Has anything been laid on
your heart by the Lord?

1294
01:00:19,083 --> 01:00:25,125
Has anyone been laid on
your heart by the Lord?

1295
01:00:25,167 --> 01:00:28,917
It's a wonderful opportunity
that God has given you, then,

1296
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:35,000
to become more like God with
a heart of love and generosity,

1297
01:00:35,042 --> 01:00:38,000
where you stop loving
money and using people

1298
01:00:38,042 --> 01:00:41,000
and you start using money
to love people.

1299
01:00:41,042 --> 01:00:43,292
Father, thanks that I
get to teach the Bible

1300
01:00:43,333 --> 01:00:44,708
at Mars Hill Church.

1301
01:00:44,792 --> 01:00:46,208
I love it.

1302
01:00:46,292 --> 01:00:48,000
I enjoy it.

1303
01:00:48,083 --> 01:00:54,000
Lord, thank you for
the incredible clarity of James.

1304
01:00:54,083 --> 01:00:59,000
And Lord Jesus,
thank you for giving,

1305
01:01:01,333 --> 01:01:04,125
giving us God.

1306
01:01:04,167 --> 01:01:07,125
I just--that's
just mind-blowing.

1307
01:01:07,167 --> 01:01:09,500
We've been given God.

1308
01:01:09,583 --> 01:01:12,667
That's unbelievable,
that's unimaginable,

1309
01:01:12,750 --> 01:01:14,500
that's unfathomable.

1310
01:01:14,583 --> 01:01:18,708
God, thank you for
giving us your Son.

1311
01:01:18,792 --> 01:01:22,625
And as we come to
respond in Communion,

1312
01:01:22,667 --> 01:01:25,417
thank you Lord Jesus for giving
your body and your blood

1313
01:01:25,500 --> 01:01:26,875
on the cross.

1314
01:01:26,958 --> 01:01:28,500
Thank you for rising
from death.

1315
01:01:28,583 --> 01:01:30,708
Thank you for being
alive right now.

1316
01:01:30,792 --> 01:01:32,917
And Lord Jesus, as you're
seated on your throne,

1317
01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:34,917
you're still giving.

1318
01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:37,417
You're giving new
life and salvation.

1319
01:01:37,500 --> 01:01:41,500
You're giving generously,
and gladly, and continually,

1320
01:01:41,542 --> 01:01:44,208
and unreservedly.

1321
01:01:44,292 --> 01:01:47,292
And help us to receive,
Lord Jesus,

1322
01:01:47,333 --> 01:01:50,708
all that you have for us and to
be good stewards of everything

1323
01:01:50,792 --> 01:01:52,417
you've entrusted to us.

1324
01:01:52,500 --> 01:01:54,708
And we ask for this grace
in your good name, amen.

1325
01:01:55,875 --> 01:01:57,250
Pastor Sutton here,

1326
01:01:57,333 --> 01:02:00,333
we've just finished our services
here in the Bellevue church

1327
01:02:00,417 --> 01:02:06,167
and really excited today to tell
the extended family of Mars Hill Global

1328
01:02:06,250 --> 01:02:07,833
about Text to Give.

1329
01:02:07,917 --> 01:02:10,583
Just came out
and many of you know my story:

1330
01:02:10,667 --> 01:02:14,750
2007 heard Pastor Mark
at a pastor's conference

1331
01:02:14,833 --> 01:02:17,042
went there, started podcasting.

1332
01:02:17,125 --> 01:02:20,000
I still gave my tithe
to my local church,

1333
01:02:20,042 --> 01:02:23,375
however, gave a contribution amount
to Mars Hill Church.

1334
01:02:23,458 --> 01:02:28,042
So this Text to Give, the video
that we have produced for you,

1335
01:02:28,125 --> 01:02:30,292
you're going to love,
so check this out.

1336
01:02:32,458 --> 01:02:35,167
Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene
and I work here

1337
01:02:35,208 --> 01:02:37,667
at the Media and Communications
team at Mars Hill Church.

1338
01:02:37,750 --> 01:02:39,458
If you're a mobile user like me,

1339
01:02:39,500 --> 01:02:41,625
I've got some exciting news
to share with you.

1340
01:02:41,667 --> 01:02:44,083
There's a new way to give
at Mars Hill Church

1341
01:02:44,167 --> 01:02:46,333
and it's just as easy
as sending a text.

1342
01:02:46,417 --> 01:02:49,125
Now, many of you take advantage
of our online giving options,

1343
01:02:49,167 --> 01:02:51,833
which is a great way
to set up recurring gifts,

1344
01:02:51,917 --> 01:02:55,083
but until now, we haven't had a way
to set up mobile,

1345
01:02:55,167 --> 01:02:58,000
where you can give on the spot
during our services.

1346
01:02:58,042 --> 01:03:00,083
If you're like me,
you don't carry cash

1347
01:03:00,167 --> 01:03:03,667
you don't carry a checkbook,
so Text to Give is the way to go.

1348
01:03:03,750 --> 01:03:08,125
It's fun, it's simple,
and best of all, it's secure.

1349
01:03:08,167 --> 01:03:10,083
I want you
to do something with me.

1350
01:03:10,167 --> 01:03:12,000
Take out
your smart phone right now;

1351
01:03:12,083 --> 01:03:13,833
we're going to do
something together.

1352
01:03:13,917 --> 01:03:15,792
Don't worry,
you're not obligated to give,

1353
01:03:15,833 --> 01:03:17,792
but try this out.

1354
01:03:17,833 --> 01:03:20,667
Simply send the amount
you want to give

1355
01:03:20,708 --> 01:03:26,667
and the word "Mars Hill" at the end
to the following number: 45777.

1356
01:03:27,875 --> 01:03:29,542
The first time
you give via text,

1357
01:03:29,625 --> 01:03:32,208
you will be asked to fill out
a one-time form,

1358
01:03:32,292 --> 01:03:35,333
which will safely link your card
to your smart phone.

1359
01:03:35,375 --> 01:03:38,750
Now, this new way of giving
doesn't go into your phone bill,

1360
01:03:38,833 --> 01:03:40,667
and in case you make a mistake,

1361
01:03:40,708 --> 01:03:44,375
you can always get a refund
for the gift that you've given.

1362
01:03:44,458 --> 01:03:46,417
And that's it;
you're done.

1363
01:03:46,500 --> 01:03:48,583
You'll receive a text back
confirming your gift

1364
01:03:48,667 --> 01:03:51,125
and from this moment forward,
you'll be able to give

1365
01:03:51,167 --> 01:03:53,833
anywhere, anytime
with just a single text.

1366
01:03:53,917 --> 01:03:56,625
Don't forget to save the number
in your contact list.

1367
01:03:56,667 --> 01:03:59,750
I've saved it
as "Mars Hill Text to Give."

1368
01:03:59,833 --> 01:04:01,667
For more information
about our giving options

1369
01:04:01,750 --> 01:04:04,958
you can visit marshill.com/give.

1370
01:04:06,667 --> 01:04:09,583
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1371
01:04:09,667 --> 01:04:12,667
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1372
01:04:12,750 --> 01:04:15,292
This ministry is generously supported

1373
01:04:15,333 --> 01:04:17,917
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1374
01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:21,500
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1375
01:04:21,542 --> 01:04:24,500
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1376
01:04:24,542 --> 01:04:27,375
by visiting marshill.com/give.