1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,458 2 00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:08,500 [music] 3 00:00:30,667 --> 00:00:33,083 Have you ever been fired from a job? 4 00:00:33,167 --> 00:00:37,667 Don't raise your hand, but have you ever been fired from a job? 5 00:00:37,708 --> 00:00:40,917 Did you know it was coming, that feeling in your stomach? 6 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,917 "They're gonna come in and tell me 7 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,417 to pack up my stuff and leave." 8 00:00:45,500 --> 00:00:48,167 And maybe it wasn't a wrongful termination. 9 00:00:48,250 --> 00:00:50,167 They came in and said, "You're fired." 10 00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:52,792 You're like, "Yeah, I kind of expected that." 11 00:00:52,833 --> 00:00:54,250 "Are you gonna sue?" 12 00:00:54,333 --> 00:00:55,667 "Uh, no. 13 00:00:55,708 --> 00:00:58,167 "I didn't really show up to this job. 14 00:00:58,208 --> 00:01:00,917 "I did download a lot of things on the Internet 15 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,917 "and appreciate all the free time you gave me. 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,167 "I had some fantastic rounds of Solitaire 17 00:01:08,250 --> 00:01:11,625 on the company's time." 18 00:01:11,667 --> 00:01:13,625 And you got fired and you deserved it 19 00:01:13,667 --> 00:01:15,000 and you knew it was coming, 20 00:01:15,042 --> 00:01:17,625 but then there's that panic that starts to set in. 21 00:01:17,667 --> 00:01:19,417 "What am I going to do now? 22 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:21,417 "'Cause my next employer's probably going to call 23 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:24,417 "my former employer for a reference. 24 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:25,958 "What have I done? 25 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,958 "How am I going to feed my family? 26 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,958 "How am I going to pay my bills? 27 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,583 What am I going to do?" 28 00:01:31,667 --> 00:01:33,167 If you've felt that, experienced that, 29 00:01:33,208 --> 00:01:35,167 the parable today is real similar. 30 00:01:35,208 --> 00:01:38,000 Jesus is telling a parable, which is a little story that 31 00:01:38,042 --> 00:01:41,625 communicates a big truth, about a guy who was getting fired 32 00:01:41,667 --> 00:01:43,833 and he deserved it and he knew it. 33 00:01:43,875 --> 00:01:46,583 Now, let me just say in advance this is perhaps 34 00:01:46,667 --> 00:01:50,583 the most difficult, complicated parable that Jesus tells 35 00:01:50,667 --> 00:01:52,458 in all of the Bible. 36 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:55,792 So you can disagree with my interpretation and next week 37 00:01:55,833 --> 00:01:59,167 I might disagree with my interpretation, okay? 38 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:03,417 So let me lower your expectations and you'll have 39 00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:06,417 a lot to think about and talk about with your family, friends, 40 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:10,083 community group because one guy rips another guy off 41 00:02:10,167 --> 00:02:13,750 and Jesus says, "That guy was onto something," 42 00:02:13,833 --> 00:02:16,917 the guy who ripped the other guy off. 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,958 And if you read previously in this book, it says things like, 44 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:21,583 "Don't steal." 45 00:02:21,667 --> 00:02:24,458 And so it gets a little confusing when Jesus is like, 46 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:27,958 "That guy who stole, that was awesome." 47 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,417 And it seems like that's what Jesus is saying. 48 00:02:30,500 --> 00:02:33,417 So you can argue over this in your community group, 49 00:02:33,500 --> 00:02:35,292 but now that I've lowered your expectations, 50 00:02:35,333 --> 00:02:38,917 we'll read beginning in Luke 16:1-8. 51 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,958 "He," Jesus, "also said to the disciples, 52 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,417 "'There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges 53 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:48,500 "'were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 54 00:02:48,542 --> 00:02:50,583 "'And he called him and said to him, 55 00:02:50,667 --> 00:02:52,333 "'"What is this that I hear about you? 56 00:02:52,375 --> 00:02:54,083 "'"Turn in the account of your management, 57 00:02:54,167 --> 00:02:56,333 "'for you can no longer be manager." 58 00:02:56,375 --> 00:02:57,917 "'And the manager said to himself, 59 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,667 "'"What shall I do, since my master is taking 60 00:03:00,750 --> 00:03:02,250 the management away from me?"'" 61 00:03:02,333 --> 00:03:04,500 “I'm an indie rocker who types for a living.” 62 00:03:04,542 --> 00:03:06,292 “‘“I'm not strong enough to dig.”’” 63 00:03:06,333 --> 00:03:08,625 It's in the Greek. 64 00:03:08,667 --> 00:03:11,917 "'“And I am ashamed to beg. 65 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,083 "'“I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed 66 00:03:15,167 --> 00:03:18,250 "'“from management, people may receive me into their houses.” 67 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,750 "‘So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, 68 00:03:20,833 --> 00:03:24,417 "‘he said to the first, “How much do you owe my master?” 69 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:26,333 "‘He said, “A hundred measures of oil.” 70 00:03:26,375 --> 00:03:28,958 "‘He said to him, “Take your bill, and sit down quickly 71 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,458 "‘and write fifty.” 72 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:33,083 "‘Then he said to another, “And how much do you owe?” 73 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:34,792 "‘He said, “A hundred measures of wheat.” 74 00:03:34,833 --> 00:03:37,292 He said to him, “Take your bill, and write eighty.”'" 75 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:40,083 There's a 50% and a 20% discount. 76 00:03:40,167 --> 00:03:43,083 "‘The master commended the dishonest manager 77 00:03:43,167 --> 00:03:45,958 for his shrewdness.’" 78 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,583 So the story is this: There's a really rich man. 79 00:03:48,667 --> 00:03:50,417 Maybe he owns a company, a business, 80 00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:52,000 something of that sort or kind. 81 00:03:52,042 --> 00:03:53,667 And so he has a money manager. 82 00:03:53,708 --> 00:03:57,792 This would be his accountant, his CPA, his bookkeeper. 83 00:03:57,833 --> 00:04:00,083 This would be the kind of person who's overseeing 84 00:04:00,167 --> 00:04:03,333 the retirement portfolio, the real estate portfolio, 85 00:04:03,375 --> 00:04:05,917 the investment accounts. 86 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,083 This is the person who's your bill payer, bookkeeper. 87 00:04:10,167 --> 00:04:12,625 This is the individual who oversees your retirement 88 00:04:12,667 --> 00:04:17,167 and your pension and your college fund for your kids 89 00:04:17,250 --> 00:04:20,583 and makes sure you're getting the most out of your money 90 00:04:20,667 --> 00:04:22,417 and a good return on investment. 91 00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:24,958 Perhaps they're involved in his business as well, 92 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,167 looking at the income, looking at the expenses, 93 00:04:28,208 --> 00:04:32,000 making sure that prudent decisions are being made. 94 00:04:32,042 --> 00:04:35,958 And all of a sudden, this rich man hears that his money manager 95 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,167 is not doing a good job. 96 00:04:38,250 --> 00:04:40,625 We’re not given any indication that he's been stealing 97 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:41,917 or a thief. 98 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,250 He's just not been doing a good job. 99 00:04:44,333 --> 00:04:46,292 He's not been saving his boss money. 100 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:49,917 He's not been investing his boss' money well. 101 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,792 So the boss decides, "I need a full accounting. 102 00:04:52,833 --> 00:04:54,458 I need an audit." 103 00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:56,958 So he brings in an external auditor. 104 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,792 Every company should do this. 105 00:04:58,833 --> 00:05:02,917 We need to run our own audits individually on our own budgets. 106 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,583 Every year at Mars Hill, we run a big audit. 107 00:05:05,667 --> 00:05:07,583 We pay an external firm, they come in, 108 00:05:07,667 --> 00:05:09,917 comb through all the books, policies, procedures, 109 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,917 and dollars, and give us an external, objective accounting. 110 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,833 You can get that on your way out or at marshill.com. 111 00:05:17,875 --> 00:05:20,417 And so he calls for this same kind of accounting. 112 00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:23,917 He says, "I want to get to the bottom of this and I want 113 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,333 to see exactly what's going on with my finances." 114 00:05:26,375 --> 00:05:30,250 And the manager realizes he's in trouble. 115 00:05:30,333 --> 00:05:33,583 He's really not done a good job. 116 00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:36,667 And it dawns on him, "Once I get fired, 117 00:05:36,708 --> 00:05:38,833 "I'm not going to get another job. 118 00:05:38,875 --> 00:05:40,458 "They're going to call my boss, 119 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:43,083 "he's not going to give me a good reference. 120 00:05:43,167 --> 00:05:45,583 Furthermore," as he said, "I'm a skinny little guy. 121 00:05:45,667 --> 00:05:48,125 "I can't go get a job as a logger. 122 00:05:48,167 --> 00:05:51,125 "I can barely carry a backpack. 123 00:05:51,167 --> 00:05:55,083 You know, and I'm too proud to beg, so what am I going to do?" 124 00:05:55,167 --> 00:05:58,083 And for the first time, he comes up with a pretty clever idea. 125 00:05:58,167 --> 00:06:00,750 It's wicked, but clever. 126 00:06:00,833 --> 00:06:03,958 And the wicked, clever idea is, "Since I'm still legally 127 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,667 "employed by my master and I still represent him legally 128 00:06:07,708 --> 00:06:10,667 "in business transactions, a lot of people owe him money, 129 00:06:10,750 --> 00:06:13,458 "I'll get on the phone and start giving them discounts 130 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:15,625 "and cancel their debt. 131 00:06:15,667 --> 00:06:19,792 "And as I cancel their debt to him, he's going to lose money, 132 00:06:19,833 --> 00:06:23,500 but somebody's going to give me a job and look after me." 133 00:06:23,542 --> 00:06:25,333 So he gets on the phone. 134 00:06:25,375 --> 00:06:27,917 This would be like you having run up significant debt. 135 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,750 Maybe you're upside down on your mortgage or you've got 136 00:06:30,833 --> 00:06:36,083 a massive school debt or car loan or credit card debt. 137 00:06:36,167 --> 00:06:38,333 You got a call from the lender and they said, 138 00:06:38,375 --> 00:06:39,958 "You know, we were thinking about it. 139 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,958 "We decided today is your lucky day. 140 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,917 We're going to give you a discount." 141 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,125 "Really?" 142 00:06:46,167 --> 00:06:47,917 "How about 50 cents on the dollar? 143 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,917 We cancel half your debt, you send a check today." 144 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,167 That'd be a miracle bigger than walking on water. 145 00:06:54,208 --> 00:06:57,000 You would say, "That's fantastic. 146 00:06:57,042 --> 00:06:58,667 And to whom am I speaking?" 147 00:06:58,750 --> 00:07:00,167 "Oh, you're speaking to Tim. 148 00:07:00,250 --> 00:07:05,083 And by the way, I'm looking for a job," right? 149 00:07:05,167 --> 00:07:08,458 So Tim here is real shrewd and clever with his idea. 150 00:07:08,500 --> 00:07:11,292 We don't know exactly how much money this cost because 151 00:07:11,333 --> 00:07:14,625 the Bible here is talking about commodities, 152 00:07:14,667 --> 00:07:16,958 not necessarily straight dollars, 153 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,083 but one commentator says that this is canceling the debt that 154 00:07:21,167 --> 00:07:25,083 is equivalent to the average wage of the average worker. 155 00:07:25,167 --> 00:07:29,583 So to make some sort of modern comparison, 156 00:07:29,667 --> 00:07:33,417 this could be $50,000 of debt canceled, 157 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:36,125 at least in one of these occasions. 158 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:38,083 That's a massive debt cancellation, 159 00:07:38,167 --> 00:07:39,583 would you not agree? 160 00:07:39,667 --> 00:07:42,833 Imagine you had $100,000 on a credit card and the company 161 00:07:42,875 --> 00:07:46,292 took $50,000 off. 162 00:07:46,333 --> 00:07:50,083 And the Bible says that his boss, the rich man, 163 00:07:50,167 --> 00:07:54,083 he was impressed by how shrewd this guy was. 164 00:07:54,167 --> 00:07:56,792 He thought to himself, "He's never really shown much ambition 165 00:07:56,833 --> 00:07:59,833 "or creativity, but the wicked, 166 00:07:59,875 --> 00:08:03,333 that was a pretty good idea for him." 167 00:08:03,375 --> 00:08:07,917 And the point here is this: that there are good and bad stewards. 168 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,667 And we're all a steward. 169 00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:12,958 The question is whether or not we're a good or a bad steward. 170 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,292 The Bible here in this translation 171 00:08:14,333 --> 00:08:15,958 uses the word "manager." 172 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,417 Some of your translations will use the word "steward." 173 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:20,667 The word "steward" is a very significant, 174 00:08:20,708 --> 00:08:23,750 important word for a Christian. 175 00:08:23,833 --> 00:08:26,250 The Bible says elsewhere that we are to be stewards 176 00:08:26,333 --> 00:08:27,833 of God's grace. 177 00:08:27,875 --> 00:08:32,667 A steward is one who takes what belongs to another 178 00:08:32,708 --> 00:08:36,833 and then wisely distributes it. 179 00:08:36,875 --> 00:08:40,583 So, in the story, everything belongs to the rich man and 180 00:08:40,667 --> 00:08:46,000 the money manager, the steward, is to oversee the investing, 181 00:08:46,042 --> 00:08:50,500 spending, saving, tithing of the rich man's money. 182 00:08:50,542 --> 00:08:54,500 In the same way, ultimately, everything belongs to God. 183 00:08:54,542 --> 00:08:57,625 He made it, he owns it, it's his. 184 00:08:57,667 --> 00:08:59,417 It's all his. 185 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:02,500 And he entrusts some to each of us to be a steward, 186 00:09:02,542 --> 00:09:06,167 to spend it on things we need, to save some for a rainy day, 187 00:09:06,208 --> 00:09:08,917 to give to the purposes of God and the gospel, 188 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,250 to help those who are poor and needy with generosity 189 00:09:12,333 --> 00:09:17,417 and grace, to make investments for our future. 190 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:20,833 And the question is, have we been a good or a bad steward? 191 00:09:20,875 --> 00:09:22,667 That's the question. 192 00:09:22,708 --> 00:09:24,583 Do you have a retirement account? 193 00:09:24,667 --> 00:09:26,167 Do you have life insurance? 194 00:09:26,250 --> 00:09:28,167 Do you have disability insurance? 195 00:09:28,250 --> 00:09:31,333 Do you have college funds for your children? 196 00:09:31,375 --> 00:09:36,083 Do you have plans for the worst-case scenario? 197 00:09:36,167 --> 00:09:39,083 Do you understand how to make money, how to spend money, 198 00:09:39,167 --> 00:09:43,083 how to save money, how to invest money, how to track money? 199 00:09:43,167 --> 00:09:46,000 Do you know how to negotiate a deal? 200 00:09:46,042 --> 00:09:48,083 Do you know how to read the fine print? 201 00:09:48,167 --> 00:09:50,792 Do you know how to shop for a bargain? 202 00:09:50,833 --> 00:09:56,250 All of that is inclusive in this big category of being a steward. 203 00:09:57,667 --> 00:09:59,000 A steward. 204 00:09:59,042 --> 00:10:02,083 Some stewards are good, some stewards are bad. 205 00:10:02,167 --> 00:10:05,667 And what Jesus is doing here, he's giving a positive example 206 00:10:05,750 --> 00:10:07,917 from a negative lesson. 207 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:09,583 And the point here is this. 208 00:10:09,667 --> 00:10:12,667 Even people who sin have something to teach us. 209 00:10:12,750 --> 00:10:14,625 That's the big idea. 210 00:10:14,667 --> 00:10:16,625 And for some of you who say, "Well, 211 00:10:16,667 --> 00:10:19,167 "I thought Jesus would only use a positive example to teach 212 00:10:19,250 --> 00:10:21,000 a positive story," sometimes a negative example 213 00:10:21,042 --> 00:10:23,917 can also teach a positive lesson. 214 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,667 So, for example, if you want to have a good marriage, 215 00:10:26,750 --> 00:10:28,917 don't just learn from everyone with a good marriage. 216 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:30,417 Some people have bad marriages. 217 00:10:30,500 --> 00:10:32,083 They have things to teach as well. 218 00:10:32,167 --> 00:10:35,333 If you want someone who has really walked with God 219 00:10:35,375 --> 00:10:36,958 to teach you, that's great. 220 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,167 Also get to know a few people who have really messed up their 221 00:10:40,208 --> 00:10:43,167 walk with God because they have things to teach you as well. 222 00:10:43,250 --> 00:10:45,917 You need to learn from those who are successful in business 223 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,500 and finance, and also those who have made some tragic mistakes 224 00:10:49,542 --> 00:10:53,083 because, if we're humble, everyone has something 225 00:10:53,167 --> 00:10:55,625 to teach us, positive and negative. 226 00:10:55,667 --> 00:10:57,667 And even if it's a negative lesson, 227 00:10:57,750 --> 00:11:00,417 it's an important lesson nonetheless. 228 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:06,083 And so here the bad steward does have the capacity to make some 229 00:11:06,167 --> 00:11:12,333 creative decisions and the Bible says that his boss was impressed 230 00:11:12,375 --> 00:11:15,667 with his shrewdness, with his cleverness, 231 00:11:15,708 --> 00:11:18,125 even though it was in sin. 232 00:11:18,167 --> 00:11:20,667 Had this man demonstrated that kind of shrewdness 233 00:11:20,750 --> 00:11:23,667 and cleverness while an employee, 234 00:11:23,708 --> 00:11:27,083 he wouldn't have ended up getting fired. 235 00:11:27,167 --> 00:11:32,167 And so he demonstrated this kind of ambition too late. 236 00:11:32,250 --> 00:11:34,250 The story continues. 237 00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:36,917 Jesus explains this a bit more clearly. 238 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,000 Luke 16, the second half of verse 8 and verse 9. 239 00:11:40,042 --> 00:11:43,083 "‘For the sons of this world,’" those are non-Christians, 240 00:11:43,167 --> 00:11:45,583 "‘are more shrewd,’" that's an important word, 241 00:11:45,667 --> 00:11:47,417 "‘in dealing with their own generation 242 00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:49,083 than the sons of light.’" 243 00:11:49,167 --> 00:11:50,458 Those are the Christians. 244 00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:53,083 "‘And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of 245 00:11:53,167 --> 00:11:55,750 "‘unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails 246 00:11:55,833 --> 00:12:01,417 they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.’" 247 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,667 Jesus, we like to say here at Mars Hill, 248 00:12:03,708 --> 00:12:05,792 is a prophet, priest, and king. 249 00:12:05,833 --> 00:12:10,000 The Bible reveals him in these three roles. As king, 250 00:12:10,042 --> 00:12:13,083 he builds a kingdom, he organizes, he administrates, 251 00:12:13,167 --> 00:12:16,625 he stewards wisely and well. 252 00:12:16,667 --> 00:12:20,000 As a priest, he loves, encourages, intercedes, 253 00:12:20,042 --> 00:12:23,083 forgives, and befriends. 254 00:12:23,167 --> 00:12:25,083 As a prophet, he preaches, teaches, 255 00:12:25,167 --> 00:12:29,083 proclaims the truth with great boldness and passion. 256 00:12:29,167 --> 00:12:32,000 And we believe, based upon the teaching of the Bible and 257 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:36,667 Protestant historical orthodoxy, that as Jesus is king and priest 258 00:12:36,708 --> 00:12:40,167 and prophet, so we too as Christians are to grow as kings 259 00:12:40,208 --> 00:12:42,167 and priests and prophets. 260 00:12:42,250 --> 00:12:45,167 And as leaders, it is incumbent on us to have teams 261 00:12:45,208 --> 00:12:48,167 that represent kings and priests and prophets. 262 00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:51,167 And here Jesus is going to give us a kingly, a priestly, 263 00:12:51,208 --> 00:12:54,500 and a prophetic view of money. 264 00:12:54,542 --> 00:12:57,417 His kingly view of money is this, 265 00:12:57,500 --> 00:13:00,250 that Christians need to be shrewd 266 00:13:00,333 --> 00:13:02,000 in their business dealings. 267 00:13:02,042 --> 00:13:04,167 Some of you, this will shock you. 268 00:13:04,250 --> 00:13:06,625 Jesus says to be shrewd. 269 00:13:06,667 --> 00:13:10,417 As there is wealth, possessions, influence, and opportunity, 270 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:16,417 he says that sadly oftentimes it is the Christians who are naive, 271 00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:19,000 who don't understand how to make money, how to save money, 272 00:13:19,042 --> 00:13:21,667 how to invest money, how to spend money, 273 00:13:21,708 --> 00:13:25,250 how to negotiate a deal, how to read the fine print. 274 00:13:25,333 --> 00:13:27,917 And the result is we always lose 275 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,083 when it comes to finances and wealth. 276 00:13:31,167 --> 00:13:33,958 And he says that we need to learn to be shrewd. 277 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,667 Not sinful, but shrewd. 278 00:13:36,708 --> 00:13:40,583 One of the duties of a steward is to be shrewd, 279 00:13:40,667 --> 00:13:42,583 is to be shrewd. 280 00:13:42,667 --> 00:13:44,792 So I'll ask it again. 281 00:13:44,833 --> 00:13:46,833 Are you shrewd? 282 00:13:46,875 --> 00:13:48,667 Do you know how to make money? 283 00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:50,417 Do you know how to save money? 284 00:13:50,500 --> 00:13:52,167 Do you know how to spend money? 285 00:13:52,250 --> 00:13:54,000 Do you know how to invest money? 286 00:13:54,042 --> 00:13:55,958 Are you thinking generationally, like Proverbs, 287 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,125 to leave an inheritance for your children's children? 288 00:13:59,167 --> 00:14:01,500 Some of you say, "I don't know, Pastor Mark, 289 00:14:01,542 --> 00:14:03,083 "if you're aware of this. 290 00:14:03,167 --> 00:14:05,000 We're sort of in an economic downturn." 291 00:14:05,042 --> 00:14:09,333 This is the perfect time to learn these lessons. 292 00:14:09,375 --> 00:14:13,167 When times are hard, we tend to be more motivated to learn 293 00:14:13,250 --> 00:14:16,125 how to be a shrewd steward. 294 00:14:16,167 --> 00:14:18,917 When times are going well, there doesn't seem to be 295 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,917 that sense of urgency. 296 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,958 All right, we just came out of a season where people 297 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,667 were putting rims on their rims, right? 298 00:14:26,750 --> 00:14:30,083 'Cause they didn't know what to do with all their extra money. 299 00:14:30,167 --> 00:14:33,500 And now we're in a place where many of you are in debt, 300 00:14:33,542 --> 00:14:37,917 your equity in your home is diminished, you're upside down, 301 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,333 unemployment is up, underemployment is way up, 302 00:14:41,375 --> 00:14:44,417 times are tough, things are hard, people are discouraged. 303 00:14:44,500 --> 00:14:47,583 It's the perfect time to learn how to be shrewd. 304 00:14:47,667 --> 00:14:49,625 It's like Joseph in Genesis. 305 00:14:49,667 --> 00:14:52,917 When there were fat years, he set aside for the lean years. 306 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,458 We just had the fat years and nobody set aside 307 00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:57,500 for the lean years. 308 00:14:57,542 --> 00:14:59,833 Now that we're in the lean years, 309 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,583 we need to learn shrewd stewardship, 310 00:15:02,667 --> 00:15:05,417 because if we just got more money and we didn't get 311 00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:09,167 more wisdom, we would repeat the same problem. 312 00:15:09,250 --> 00:15:10,958 God loves us. 313 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,292 God is good. 314 00:15:12,333 --> 00:15:14,417 And if and when things turn around, 315 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:17,125 just getting more money will not help. 316 00:15:17,167 --> 00:15:21,125 We need more wisdom so that we can be shrewd stewards. 317 00:15:21,167 --> 00:15:23,667 And I'll be honest with you, as a new Christian, 318 00:15:23,750 --> 00:15:26,292 this was really hard for me and it's something I'm learning. 319 00:15:26,333 --> 00:15:27,917 I didn't grow up in money. 320 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,458 You know, my family was poor. 321 00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:31,458 I didn't know how to negotiate a deal. 322 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:35,083 I used to go buy a car and I wouldn't even haggle for price 323 00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:37,083 'cause I felt bad. 324 00:15:37,167 --> 00:15:38,667 I didn't like to negotiate. 325 00:15:38,708 --> 00:15:40,667 "How much do you want for the car? 326 00:15:40,708 --> 00:15:41,917 Okay." 327 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,167 I'm sure they were laughing. 328 00:15:44,250 --> 00:15:46,583 What he's saying is, "Hey, you're a Christian. 329 00:15:46,667 --> 00:15:49,167 "If the non-Christians are gonna negotiate the price of the sale, 330 00:15:49,250 --> 00:15:52,000 "feel free to negotiate the price of the sale. 331 00:15:52,042 --> 00:15:54,917 That's just the way that business works." 332 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,667 Early on in Mars Hill, I didn't like to talk about money. 333 00:15:58,750 --> 00:16:01,792 We didn't even collect an offering. 334 00:16:01,833 --> 00:16:04,417 Didn't know what to say about finances because I only read 335 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:06,167 part of what the Bible said. 336 00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:08,583 "Money is the root of all kinds of evil." 337 00:16:08,667 --> 00:16:10,583 And I thought that meant money was evil. 338 00:16:10,667 --> 00:16:11,958 Money's not evil. 339 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,417 The love of money's evil. 340 00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:16,417 Money's a tool or an idol. 341 00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:18,458 It depends on what you do with it. 342 00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:19,958 “Don't be greedy.” 343 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,417 Okay. 344 00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:23,958 But it doesn't say, "Be foolish. 345 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,000 Don't negotiate. Get ripped off." 346 00:16:28,042 --> 00:16:30,583 It says to be a shrewd steward. 347 00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:32,458 How many of you, because you're Christians, 348 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:34,625 you don't even like contracts? 349 00:16:34,667 --> 00:16:37,000 You don't like attorneys, you don't like CPAs, 350 00:16:37,042 --> 00:16:39,792 you don't like to negotiate a deal. 351 00:16:39,833 --> 00:16:42,958 Some of the worst decisions I've seen by Christians are when they 352 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 go into business together and they don't negotiate the deal 353 00:16:47,042 --> 00:16:50,667 and they don't write a legal contract. 354 00:16:50,708 --> 00:16:52,000 You need to. 355 00:16:52,042 --> 00:16:55,083 Some people say, "Well, we're both Christians. 356 00:16:55,167 --> 00:16:59,417 We love each other. We both love God." 357 00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:03,458 Oh, we'll see in a year if you still feel that way. 358 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:05,417 Right? 359 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:09,125 I've seen a lot of Christian friendships damaged because of 360 00:17:09,167 --> 00:17:12,250 the lack of a contract on a business matter. 361 00:17:12,333 --> 00:17:14,917 I've seen whole churches embroiled in controversy. 362 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,167 I've seen families split over a business 363 00:17:18,250 --> 00:17:21,000 that they were all invested and involved in. 364 00:17:21,042 --> 00:17:22,792 They didn't negotiate the deal, 365 00:17:22,833 --> 00:17:24,458 they didn't have the job descriptions, 366 00:17:24,500 --> 00:17:26,250 they didn't have the performance reviews, 367 00:17:26,333 --> 00:17:27,917 they didn't do it professionally, 368 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,500 they didn't bring in an attorney, 369 00:17:29,542 --> 00:17:33,583 they didn't sign contracts, and as a result, 370 00:17:33,667 --> 00:17:37,083 someone felt like they got ripped off 371 00:17:37,167 --> 00:17:39,958 and it led to contention and conflict. 372 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,667 Don't be like that. 373 00:17:42,708 --> 00:17:45,917 Some of you who are priests, you will think that anything 374 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,917 that is kingly is unholy. 375 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,750 It's not. 376 00:17:50,375 --> 00:17:52,000 It's not. 377 00:17:52,042 --> 00:17:57,500 Being a shrewd steward is as holy as being a prayer warrior. 378 00:17:58,667 --> 00:18:03,000 It's just the stewardship of a different aspect of your life. 379 00:18:03,042 --> 00:18:08,583 So Jesus says to us, as a king, "Be a shrewd steward. 380 00:18:08,667 --> 00:18:12,333 Be a shrewd steward." 381 00:18:12,375 --> 00:18:16,292 As a priest then, he says, "Use your money to love people." 382 00:18:16,333 --> 00:18:18,500 It sounds crazy. 383 00:18:18,542 --> 00:18:22,292 Jesus says, "Spend money so that people will be your friend." 384 00:18:22,333 --> 00:18:24,750 That's exactly what he says. 385 00:18:24,833 --> 00:18:26,667 It sounds odd, right? 386 00:18:26,708 --> 00:18:29,917 And you know what? It works. 387 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,667 How many of you have noticed that? 388 00:18:31,708 --> 00:18:35,417 You ever met someone who's really generous and lonely? 389 00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:37,917 Answer: no. 390 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,417 “Why are they alone? 391 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:41,417 “How come no one hangs out with them? 392 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:43,083 Why do they have no friends?” 393 00:18:43,167 --> 00:18:48,000 “Oh, they're too generous and people just hate that. 394 00:18:48,042 --> 00:18:50,167 “People hate that kind of generosity. 395 00:18:50,208 --> 00:18:53,083 It repels them.” 396 00:18:53,167 --> 00:18:55,917 And so Jesus is saying here, as a priest, 397 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:01,000 he says to make friends through wealth. 398 00:19:01,042 --> 00:19:03,750 That's exactly what he says. 399 00:19:03,833 --> 00:19:06,458 And here is what we're doing when we're generous 400 00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:08,083 toward people. 401 00:19:08,167 --> 00:19:10,250 And see, again, some of you will hear, 402 00:19:10,333 --> 00:19:13,167 "Oh, Pastor Mark says to make as much money as we can." 403 00:19:13,208 --> 00:19:14,667 I'm not saying that. 404 00:19:14,708 --> 00:19:16,667 I'm not saying to sin or be greedy, 405 00:19:16,708 --> 00:19:18,667 but I'm saying to be a shrewd steward. 406 00:19:18,708 --> 00:19:21,667 And when you get your money, it may not be to increase 407 00:19:21,708 --> 00:19:23,083 your standard of living. 408 00:19:23,167 --> 00:19:25,292 It may be to increase your standard of giving. 409 00:19:25,333 --> 00:19:28,667 It may be so that you could be more generous to more people. 410 00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:30,125 And in so doing, be friendly. 411 00:19:30,167 --> 00:19:31,833 Proverbs says, "If you want friends, 412 00:19:31,875 --> 00:19:33,083 you got to be friendly." 413 00:19:33,167 --> 00:19:36,792 One of the ways we're friendly is by being generous. 414 00:19:36,833 --> 00:19:39,667 And oftentimes non-Christians, they don't want us to hammer 415 00:19:39,708 --> 00:19:43,417 them with our beliefs and they think that we're all crooked 416 00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:46,083 and in it for the money. 417 00:19:46,167 --> 00:19:49,417 And if we come to non-Christians seeking to make these kinds of 418 00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:52,583 eternal friendships that Jesus is speaking of and we begin 419 00:19:52,667 --> 00:19:55,667 with generosity, you know what happens? 420 00:19:55,708 --> 00:19:58,083 It confuses people. 421 00:19:58,167 --> 00:20:01,292 “You saw that my car broke down and you're my neighbor and you 422 00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:05,083 “walked over to my house and you asked me if I needed a car 423 00:20:05,167 --> 00:20:06,917 “and you said I could borrow yours. 424 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,333 Huh, that was interesting.” 425 00:20:10,375 --> 00:20:14,000 The single mom that you meet and you find out she's down on her 426 00:20:14,042 --> 00:20:16,958 luck and times are hard and you start giving her grocery money 427 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,333 or helping her with her rent and she says, "Why do you do that?" 428 00:20:20,375 --> 00:20:21,833 Say, "You know what? 429 00:20:21,875 --> 00:20:25,083 "Ultimately, everything I have belongs to God. 430 00:20:25,167 --> 00:20:31,083 "My God's a loving God, he's a gracious God, and I'm a steward. 431 00:20:31,167 --> 00:20:35,917 "So he gives things not just to me, but through me. 432 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,333 "And he wanted me to help you and to tell you 433 00:20:39,375 --> 00:20:42,958 that he really loves you and he's concerned for you." 434 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,083 "Oh, well, who is that?" 435 00:20:46,167 --> 00:20:47,667 "Well, his name is Jesus. 436 00:20:47,750 --> 00:20:50,083 He's a giver." 437 00:20:50,167 --> 00:20:54,000 The whole theology of the Bible is that he gives salvation. 438 00:20:54,042 --> 00:20:56,792 He gives us this word "grace." 439 00:20:56,833 --> 00:20:59,875 And God's whole relationship toward us is one of grace, 440 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,083 where he gives generously and he gives lavishly and he gives 441 00:21:03,167 --> 00:21:08,000 gladly and God so loved the world he gave his only Son, 442 00:21:08,042 --> 00:21:11,083 the greatest gift of all. 443 00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:13,917 It's a different take on evangelism, isn't it? 444 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,792 As opposed to knock on their door and they open it up, 445 00:21:17,833 --> 00:21:19,167 "You're going to hell!" 446 00:21:19,250 --> 00:21:23,833 You're not going to get the same kind of response, right? 447 00:21:23,875 --> 00:21:26,625 You're not going to get the same kind of response. 448 00:21:26,667 --> 00:21:29,458 I grew up in a home--I'll honor my mom today. 449 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:31,792 She goes to Mars Hill and I love her. 450 00:21:31,833 --> 00:21:35,917 My mom, growing up, we were very poor, but she was very generous. 451 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,958 My dad hung sheetrock till he broke his back 452 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,625 and he's at Mars Hill as well. 453 00:21:40,667 --> 00:21:43,833 And we were a poor family in a poor neighborhood, 454 00:21:43,875 --> 00:21:46,833 but I was one of the only kids that had a dad. 455 00:21:46,875 --> 00:21:50,792 And my dad worked really hard to feed five kids. 456 00:21:50,833 --> 00:21:53,625 And we didn't have much, but my mom was very generous. 457 00:21:53,667 --> 00:21:56,625 I could still remember going to Sears surplus to buy one coat 458 00:21:56,667 --> 00:21:59,625 every winter that would fit 'cause you got one winter coat 459 00:21:59,667 --> 00:22:03,083 and my mom would look for the sale and she was a good steward 460 00:22:03,167 --> 00:22:04,583 and we didn't have much. 461 00:22:04,667 --> 00:22:07,083 She stretched it out and she'd buy extra coats. 462 00:22:07,167 --> 00:22:09,083 And I'm--"Mom, why do you buy extra coats?" 463 00:22:09,167 --> 00:22:11,417 "Well, 'cause some of the kids in the neighborhood, Marky," 464 00:22:11,500 --> 00:22:16,000 she still calls me Marky, "Marky," you can't do that. 465 00:22:16,042 --> 00:22:18,833 "Marky, when the kids come over, some of these kids 466 00:22:18,875 --> 00:22:21,167 "don't have coats and their moms don't have any money 467 00:22:21,208 --> 00:22:22,833 "and they don't have a dad. 468 00:22:22,875 --> 00:22:25,167 So I buy extra coats to give them a coat." 469 00:22:25,250 --> 00:22:27,625 So we'd have extra coats hanging in our closet. 470 00:22:27,667 --> 00:22:30,000 And when the kids would come over in the winter, 471 00:22:30,042 --> 00:22:33,000 'cause my mom set up our house like the community center where 472 00:22:33,042 --> 00:22:36,000 everybody'd come and hang out so she'd keep an eye on us, 473 00:22:36,042 --> 00:22:38,000 she had extra coats and extra shoes 474 00:22:38,042 --> 00:22:39,917 and extra baseball gloves and extra food. 475 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,917 And she would give. 476 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,792 I saw that in my mom. 477 00:22:43,833 --> 00:22:45,167 It was beautiful. 478 00:22:45,250 --> 00:22:50,000 To this day, grown men, women who lived in our neighborhood 479 00:22:50,042 --> 00:22:52,417 30 years ago, when I'm over visiting, 480 00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:54,417 will still come knock on my parents' door 481 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:57,792 just to visit Mrs. Driscoll. 482 00:22:57,833 --> 00:23:01,917 Because she loved 'em by being generous. 483 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000 What Jesus is saying is, as a king, 484 00:23:04,042 --> 00:23:06,458 be a shrewd steward so that, as a priest, 485 00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:08,583 you can be a generous giver. 486 00:23:08,667 --> 00:23:10,417 Isn't that good? 487 00:23:10,500 --> 00:23:12,417 That's really beautiful. 488 00:23:12,500 --> 00:23:15,625 And then he speaks to us as a prophet and he gives us 489 00:23:15,667 --> 00:23:18,667 the theological motivation. 490 00:23:18,750 --> 00:23:24,083 He says, "Regarding wealth, when it fails," 491 00:23:24,167 --> 00:23:27,083 not if, all right? 492 00:23:27,167 --> 00:23:28,917 You watch TV. 493 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,833 Every night on the news, "We can't believe it. 494 00:23:32,875 --> 00:23:36,667 "Unemployment's up. Incomes are down. 495 00:23:36,750 --> 00:23:41,250 "Debt is high. Hope is low. 496 00:23:41,333 --> 00:23:45,458 The real estate market has not yet bottomed out," and it's not. 497 00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:48,917 If you want to buy a home, it may be worth your while 498 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,083 to wait a year or more, that's what they say. 499 00:23:53,167 --> 00:23:55,250 People are freaking out, "I can't believe it. 500 00:23:55,333 --> 00:23:56,958 I can't believe it." 501 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,667 Jesus says, "When it fails." 502 00:24:00,708 --> 00:24:01,917 Not if. 503 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,083 When. 504 00:24:04,167 --> 00:24:07,083 For some, wealth fails in this life. 505 00:24:07,167 --> 00:24:09,958 For all, wealth fails at the end of this life. 506 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:11,958 You know the old adage and it's true, 507 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,417 you can't take it with you. 508 00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:15,000 You can't. 509 00:24:15,042 --> 00:24:18,417 You and I will stand before God on the other side of this life 510 00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:23,500 and there is nothing we can bring to earn salvation. 511 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:30,083 There's nothing we can pay to receive salvation. 512 00:24:30,167 --> 00:24:33,917 It's nothing we give, it's something we receive, 513 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,083 it's a gift that God gives through the person and in 514 00:24:37,167 --> 00:24:40,083 the work and the death, burial, resurrection of the Son of God, 515 00:24:40,167 --> 00:24:42,833 the Lord Jesus Christ. 516 00:24:42,875 --> 00:24:45,458 We leave this world with nothing. 517 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:47,917 That's what he's saying. 518 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,750 And sometimes we're so shortsighted in our thinking 519 00:24:52,833 --> 00:24:56,083 that we don't realize that this life is an opportunity to love 520 00:24:56,167 --> 00:24:59,875 people and to serve God, and one day we'll stand before him. 521 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,792 And what we wear in heaven will be a gift and where we live in 522 00:25:03,833 --> 00:25:07,417 heaven will be a gift and what we eat in heaven will be a gift 523 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:10,417 and the kingdom of God is nothing but a series of gifts, 524 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:13,083 nothing that we brought with us, but everything that 525 00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:18,667 God gives graciously, generously, lavishly. 526 00:25:18,708 --> 00:25:23,083 So he says, "Knowing that wealth is going to fail, use it. 527 00:25:23,167 --> 00:25:27,000 Don't worship it." 528 00:25:27,042 --> 00:25:29,083 And many are now feeling this pain. 529 00:25:29,167 --> 00:25:31,958 Wealth has failed. 530 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,458 I'll give you one example. 531 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:36,083 I've got a whole chapter on stewardship in the book “Doctrine” 532 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:38,917 that I got to write with my friend, Dr. Gerry Breshears. 533 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,667 And I'll pull a section out for you. 534 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:46,417 As an example of Jesus' principle that wealth does fail. 535 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:49,083 "In 1928 some of the planet's most wealthy people met 536 00:25:49,167 --> 00:25:51,250 "at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. 537 00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:53,458 "Those in attendance were the president of the largest 538 00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:56,333 "utility company, the greatest wheat speculator, 539 00:25:56,375 --> 00:25:59,000 "the president of the New York Stock Exchange, 540 00:25:59,042 --> 00:26:00,958 "a member of the presidential cabinet, 541 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,000 "the greatest bear in Wall Street, 542 00:26:03,042 --> 00:26:05,250 "the president of the Bank of International Settlements, 543 00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,083 "and the head of the world's greatest monopoly. 544 00:26:08,167 --> 00:26:11,500 "A short 25 years later, these were their fates. 545 00:26:11,542 --> 00:26:13,667 "Charles Schwab, who has been president of 546 00:26:13,708 --> 00:26:16,583 "the largest steel company, lived on borrowed money 547 00:26:16,667 --> 00:26:20,083 "the last 5 years of his life and died broke. 548 00:26:20,167 --> 00:26:23,500 "Arthur Cutten went from being the greatest wheat speculator 549 00:26:23,542 --> 00:26:25,458 "to dying broke. 550 00:26:25,500 --> 00:26:27,125 "Richard Whitney, the former president 551 00:26:27,167 --> 00:26:29,083 "of the New York Stock Exchange, 552 00:26:29,167 --> 00:26:31,667 "served a term in a Sing Sing prison. 553 00:26:31,708 --> 00:26:34,250 "Albert Fall, who had served as a member on the president's 554 00:26:34,333 --> 00:26:38,250 "cabinet, was granted a pardon that enabled him to die at home. 555 00:26:38,333 --> 00:26:41,333 "Jesse Livermore, who had been Wall Street's greatest bear, 556 00:26:41,375 --> 00:26:43,000 "committed suicide. 557 00:26:43,042 --> 00:26:45,833 "Leon Fraser, who had served as the president 558 00:26:45,875 --> 00:26:48,000 "of the Bank of International Settlements, 559 00:26:48,042 --> 00:26:49,583 "committed suicide. 560 00:26:49,667 --> 00:26:52,167 "Ivan Krueger, who had been head of the world's greatest 561 00:26:52,208 --> 00:26:56,250 monopoly, committed suicide." 562 00:26:56,333 --> 00:26:59,417 When wealth fails. 563 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:05,083 Wealth is a wonderful tool and a horrible god. 564 00:27:05,167 --> 00:27:08,917 Wealth is a wonderful tool to serve the real God 565 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:14,667 and it is a horrible false god. 566 00:27:14,750 --> 00:27:19,000 So Jesus says, "Be a shrewd steward who loves people 567 00:27:19,042 --> 00:27:21,917 "and makes eternal friendships through generosity, 568 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,083 "a demonstration of grace, and don't put all your hope 569 00:27:26,167 --> 00:27:29,500 "in your wealth because it will fail you in this life 570 00:27:29,542 --> 00:27:32,583 and it will fail you at the end of this life." 571 00:27:32,667 --> 00:27:36,083 And we don't believe that. 572 00:27:36,167 --> 00:27:40,792 That's why Jesus talks about money 25% of the time. 573 00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:43,083 Jesus talks about money often. 574 00:27:43,167 --> 00:27:44,917 He talks about money clearly. 575 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,958 He talks about money continually. 576 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:53,083 And he says that our money, our treasure, reveals our heart. 577 00:27:53,167 --> 00:27:56,583 When you drive your car, you've got gauges on your dash, speed, 578 00:27:56,667 --> 00:28:00,250 RPMs, temperature, gas, and such. 579 00:28:00,333 --> 00:28:04,750 One of the dashes that Jesus puts on our life to reveal our 580 00:28:04,833 --> 00:28:07,000 heart, 'cause sometimes we don't know what's going on 581 00:28:07,042 --> 00:28:09,667 in our heart, so we look for indicators, 582 00:28:09,708 --> 00:28:13,667 one of those key indicators of our heart is our wealth. 583 00:28:13,750 --> 00:28:16,792 Your treasure goes to where your heart is. 584 00:28:16,833 --> 00:28:22,000 So Jesus just keeps looking at the financial dashboard of our 585 00:28:22,042 --> 00:28:27,167 life, asking us to consider, "Am I a good steward? 586 00:28:27,250 --> 00:28:30,958 Am I a shrewd steward?" 587 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,667 Am I or am I not? 588 00:28:33,708 --> 00:28:38,583 And if I'm not a shrewd steward, it means that my relationship 589 00:28:38,667 --> 00:28:43,292 with wealth is unhappy, unholy, unhealthy. 590 00:28:43,333 --> 00:28:48,000 So there needs to be correction, repentance, learning, and work. 591 00:28:48,042 --> 00:28:51,625 For some of you who don't have a biblical theology of money 592 00:28:51,667 --> 00:28:54,500 and you're not a shrewd steward, yeah, 593 00:28:54,542 --> 00:28:56,417 there's guys like Dave Ramsey or Christians 594 00:28:56,500 --> 00:28:57,958 with biblical principles. 595 00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,917 I've read his stuff, I really it. 596 00:29:00,042 --> 00:29:01,333 It's simple, it's clean. 597 00:29:01,375 --> 00:29:03,000 I would encourage you to use it. 598 00:29:03,042 --> 00:29:05,917 Pastor Jamie's book, "Money," it's a great tool. 599 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,958 We give it away. It's free. 600 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,000 You can afford a copy, all right? 601 00:29:10,042 --> 00:29:12,333 It's just taking biblical principles and working it out 602 00:29:12,375 --> 00:29:15,417 with practical applications. 603 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:22,333 Are you a shrewd steward who is able to love others financially? 604 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,750 And do you understand that in time, invariably, eventually, 605 00:29:27,833 --> 00:29:29,333 your wealth will fail you? 606 00:29:29,375 --> 00:29:31,667 And some of you haven't considered this because 607 00:29:31,750 --> 00:29:34,333 you don't think that you will make a lot of money. 608 00:29:34,375 --> 00:29:38,792 The truth is, some of you are going to make a lot of money. 609 00:29:38,833 --> 00:29:42,417 Many people in Mars Hill are young, starting their careers, 610 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:45,167 starting their business, things are hard right now. 611 00:29:45,208 --> 00:29:47,958 If and when it turns around, I assure you of this, 612 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,958 some people in Mars Hill will be flourishing. 613 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,833 There are some very skilled, very talented, very competent, 614 00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:56,625 very capable people here. 615 00:29:56,667 --> 00:29:59,000 And you may make a great deal of money, 616 00:29:59,042 --> 00:30:02,000 but if you don't have corresponding wisdom 617 00:30:02,042 --> 00:30:06,333 as a shrewd steward, you'll just make the same kinds of mistakes 618 00:30:06,375 --> 00:30:10,000 that others have made before you. 619 00:30:10,042 --> 00:30:14,125 Jesus continues, Luke 16:10-13. 620 00:30:14,167 --> 00:30:17,000 "‘One who is faithful in a very little," 621 00:30:17,042 --> 00:30:20,917 and the context here is money, "‘is also faithful in much, 622 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,333 "‘and one who is dishonest in a very little 623 00:30:23,375 --> 00:30:24,958 "‘is also dishonest in much. 624 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,583 "‘If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous 625 00:30:27,667 --> 00:30:29,583 "‘wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 626 00:30:29,667 --> 00:30:32,250 "‘And if you have not been faithful in that which is 627 00:30:32,333 --> 00:30:35,000 another's, who will give you that which is your own?’" 628 00:30:35,042 --> 00:30:36,625 Here's the big idea. 629 00:30:36,667 --> 00:30:38,000 It's a worship issue. 630 00:30:38,042 --> 00:30:41,667 "‘No servant can serve," that's the language of worship, 631 00:30:41,750 --> 00:30:44,958 "‘two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, 632 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,083 "or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.’" 633 00:30:49,167 --> 00:30:51,667 Here's the verse you underline in your Bible. 634 00:30:51,750 --> 00:30:54,833 "‘You cannot serve God and money.’" 635 00:30:54,875 --> 00:30:57,917 You cannot serve God and money. 636 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,917 You have to pick a God, the real God or the false god. 637 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,917 And I know it says on our money, "In God We Trust." 638 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,417 It should say, "In This God We Trust." 639 00:31:10,500 --> 00:31:13,000 And you've got to pick which God you worship. 640 00:31:13,042 --> 00:31:15,500 And you worship by serving, giving, 641 00:31:15,542 --> 00:31:18,500 of yourself and your life. 642 00:31:18,542 --> 00:31:23,125 And so what happens is Jesus couldn't be more clear. 643 00:31:23,167 --> 00:31:25,292 Serve God, not money. 644 00:31:25,333 --> 00:31:29,792 The way this breaks down is there are two polarizing teams 645 00:31:29,833 --> 00:31:32,083 within Christianity regarding wealth. 646 00:31:32,167 --> 00:31:36,958 We'll call them poverty theology and prosperity theology. 647 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,583 Now prosperity--we don't hold either. 648 00:31:40,667 --> 00:31:43,417 But prosperity theology goes to certain people in the Bible 649 00:31:43,500 --> 00:31:45,417 who love God and were rich. 650 00:31:45,500 --> 00:31:48,583 "Well, Job after his suffering, he became rich. 651 00:31:48,667 --> 00:31:51,583 "Abraham was eventually blessed of God, became rich. 652 00:31:51,667 --> 00:31:53,958 "King David, loved God, was rich. 653 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,417 "Solomon, loved God, was rich. 654 00:31:55,500 --> 00:31:59,583 "See, the people who love God, they're rich. 655 00:31:59,667 --> 00:32:01,250 "They're rich. 656 00:32:01,333 --> 00:32:04,958 So the more you love God, the richer he wants you to be." 657 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,583 And so prosperity theology teaches that the more holy 658 00:32:09,667 --> 00:32:13,083 you are, the more wealth you'll accrue. 659 00:32:13,167 --> 00:32:16,083 This becomes very popular for people who are desperate because 660 00:32:16,167 --> 00:32:17,833 they're upside down financially. 661 00:32:17,875 --> 00:32:20,417 This has now been exported to the second and third world. 662 00:32:20,500 --> 00:32:22,667 It's false teaching and they wrongly think, "Oh, 663 00:32:22,750 --> 00:32:26,958 if I become a Christian, I get rich like all the Americans." 664 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:31,375 So we've exported this false teaching and it's grievous. 665 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,500 Prosperity theology is a theology of not loving God, 666 00:32:38,542 --> 00:32:43,792 but using God to get your real god, which is wealth. 667 00:32:43,833 --> 00:32:48,167 So I can manipulate the real God to give me the god that I care 668 00:32:48,208 --> 00:32:50,125 most about, the god of money. 669 00:32:50,167 --> 00:32:53,792 "So God, I'll tithe, but I'll just claim this promise here 670 00:32:53,833 --> 00:32:57,958 that if I give you a little, you've got to give me a lot." 671 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:01,750 And again, it may be that God wants us to be good stewards 672 00:33:01,833 --> 00:33:04,417 not so that we can increase our standard of living, 673 00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:07,167 but so that we can increase our standard of giving. 674 00:33:07,250 --> 00:33:11,083 He just told us to seek to be shrewd stewards so that we could 675 00:33:11,167 --> 00:33:15,167 lovingly be generous toward and help more people. 676 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,625 Prosperity theology's wrong. 677 00:33:22,667 --> 00:33:27,667 It's a Ponzi scheme where we use God to get money, 678 00:33:27,708 --> 00:33:32,167 which means our ultimate goal is to worship money. 679 00:33:32,250 --> 00:33:36,667 So in reaction and sometimes overreaction to that, 680 00:33:36,708 --> 00:33:38,167 there's poverty theology. 681 00:33:38,208 --> 00:33:41,083 Poverty theology goes to the Bible and says, 682 00:33:41,167 --> 00:33:44,792 "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 683 00:33:44,833 --> 00:33:48,417 "Don't be greedy, don't covet your neighbor's stuff. 684 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:49,917 "Be content. 685 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,000 Godliness with contentment is great gain." 686 00:33:54,042 --> 00:33:56,917 It says, "See? Money's bad. 687 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,917 "We shouldn't learn how to make money. 688 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,750 "We shouldn't learn how to spend money. 689 00:34:00,833 --> 00:34:04,583 "If we get some money, we should just get rid of it as quick as 690 00:34:04,667 --> 00:34:06,917 "we can because it's dirty and we just--we don't know 691 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,417 what to do with it." 692 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:10,417 And it sounds pious and it sounds holy, 693 00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:13,000 but it comes out of an ancient Christian error called 694 00:34:13,042 --> 00:34:16,083 asceticism, which is the less you have, 695 00:34:16,167 --> 00:34:18,833 the closer to God you are. 696 00:34:18,875 --> 00:34:21,833 You're not closer to God if you have a lot of stuff. 697 00:34:21,875 --> 00:34:24,417 You're not closer to God if you have no stuff. 698 00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:27,417 You can't get any closer to God than the grace of Jesus. 699 00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:31,083 It's not about what you have, it's about who he is. 700 00:34:31,167 --> 00:34:32,917 So both fall into the same error, 701 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,958 thinking that somehow their stuff mediates 702 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,458 between them and God. 703 00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:39,625 More stuff brings God closer or less stuff brings God closer. 704 00:34:39,667 --> 00:34:42,667 No, Jesus is the one who brings God near. 705 00:34:42,708 --> 00:34:45,292 He is God. 706 00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:48,333 Poverty theology can sound very spiritual. 707 00:34:48,375 --> 00:34:50,625 "I don't make money. I don't negotiate deals. 708 00:34:50,667 --> 00:34:53,167 "I don't sign contracts. I don't like CPAs. 709 00:34:53,250 --> 00:34:55,583 "I don't know what a limited liability corporation is. 710 00:34:55,667 --> 00:34:57,917 "I don't know what a charitable remainder trust is. 711 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:02,917 I don't figure out taxes and how to save money because I'm holy." 712 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:08,583 Jesus told us holiness equals shrewd steward, 713 00:35:08,667 --> 00:35:11,667 not poverty theology, not prosperity theology, 714 00:35:11,708 --> 00:35:14,583 shrewd stewardship. 715 00:35:14,667 --> 00:35:17,625 Shrewd stewardship. 716 00:35:17,667 --> 00:35:20,000 So some of you need to repent of poverty theology, 717 00:35:20,042 --> 00:35:23,000 some of you need to repent of prosperity theology and we've 718 00:35:23,042 --> 00:35:26,458 all got something to learn to become shrewd stewards. 719 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:28,792 That's the big idea. 720 00:35:28,833 --> 00:35:30,667 Do you have a plan for yourself? 721 00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:32,667 Do you have a plan for your family? 722 00:35:32,750 --> 00:35:34,667 Do you have a plan for your kids? 723 00:35:34,750 --> 00:35:36,667 Do you have a plan for your grandkids? 724 00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:38,917 All right, a wise man leaves an inheritance 725 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,750 for his children's children. 726 00:35:42,833 --> 00:35:46,000 And the truth is you can be holy and rich 727 00:35:46,042 --> 00:35:48,458 and you can be holy and poor, right? 728 00:35:48,500 --> 00:35:51,417 Let's use Jesus as an example. 729 00:35:51,500 --> 00:35:54,083 Everybody says, "Jesus was poor." 730 00:35:54,167 --> 00:35:57,417 He was for about 33 years. 731 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:00,083 Before that, where did Jesus live? 732 00:36:00,167 --> 00:36:01,958 Heaven. 733 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,417 It's a pretty fantastic zip code. 734 00:36:05,500 --> 00:36:10,917 I've never been there, but the brochures are compelling. 735 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,500 Streets lined with gold? 736 00:36:14,542 --> 00:36:16,667 That's pretty fantastic. 737 00:36:16,750 --> 00:36:19,667 You have so much extra gold you pave with it? 738 00:36:19,750 --> 00:36:23,083 That's pretty fantastic. 739 00:36:23,167 --> 00:36:27,792 So Jesus was and is eternally God, living in heaven, 740 00:36:27,833 --> 00:36:30,083 surrounded in riches. 741 00:36:30,167 --> 00:36:32,958 And the Bible says, Paul says to the Corinthians, "For our sake, 742 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,333 though he was rich, he became," what? 743 00:36:35,375 --> 00:36:38,000 "Poor." 744 00:36:38,042 --> 00:36:40,333 So he's born in a barn. 745 00:36:40,375 --> 00:36:44,667 He's laid in a manger. 746 00:36:44,708 --> 00:36:47,917 He's raised by a blue-collar construction worker dad 747 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,917 who's working-class poor in a small town. 748 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:55,000 Their home was probably about the same size as a parking stall 749 00:36:55,042 --> 00:36:57,917 where we place a vehicle. 750 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,417 His mom was a teenager. 751 00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:03,333 He worked with his dad as a carpenter. 752 00:37:03,375 --> 00:37:05,958 He was poor. 753 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,292 During his earthly ministry, he was couch surfing at 754 00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:12,625 friends' houses and he didn't have a regular income 755 00:37:12,667 --> 00:37:18,167 and he missed a few meals and he was broke. 756 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:19,917 He went to the cross. 757 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,833 He died in our place for our sins as our savior. 758 00:37:22,875 --> 00:37:26,083 He canceled, paid our debt to God. 759 00:37:26,167 --> 00:37:32,750 Our entire spiritual debt is paid in total by Jesus Christ. 760 00:37:32,833 --> 00:37:36,083 He rose from death, he ascended back into heaven. 761 00:37:36,167 --> 00:37:39,167 And right now? 762 00:37:39,208 --> 00:37:42,417 It's pretty fantastic. 763 00:37:42,500 --> 00:37:45,958 He's in his heavenly kingdom. 764 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:50,000 All right, I mean, heaven makes Dubai look like Detroit. 765 00:37:50,042 --> 00:37:52,417 That's my big idea. 766 00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:54,792 It's really nice. 767 00:37:54,833 --> 00:37:58,917 So Jesus was both rich and poor, so it can't be that poor 768 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,083 is better than rich or rich is better than poor. 769 00:38:02,167 --> 00:38:04,917 Shrewd stewardship on behalf of the rich and poor 770 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,500 is what God requires. 771 00:38:06,542 --> 00:38:08,750 Because you can be a bad steward and poor. 772 00:38:08,833 --> 00:38:10,792 I grew up in a poor neighborhood. 773 00:38:10,833 --> 00:38:15,250 People going to payday loan companies and getting exorbitant 774 00:38:15,333 --> 00:38:19,167 interest, buying all their furniture at a crazy monthly 775 00:38:19,208 --> 00:38:25,083 rate from some scam outfit, people getting into debt 776 00:38:25,167 --> 00:38:27,917 on credit cards and not understanding 777 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:29,917 their escalating rates, right? 778 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,917 You can be a poor college kid and not a shrewd steward. 779 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:34,292 What's the first thing that happens? 780 00:38:34,333 --> 00:38:36,750 You're on a college campus, you're walking to class, 781 00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:38,458 they've got a big booth out. 782 00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:40,958 Somebody cute is there and they ask you, 783 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,000 "Hey, do you want a Frisbee?" 784 00:38:43,042 --> 00:38:46,167 "Yes, I would love a Frisbee! 785 00:38:46,208 --> 00:38:50,125 "I went to college so I could throw a Frisbee around. 786 00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:51,958 How much does the Frisbee cost?" 787 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,167 "It's free!" 788 00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:55,750 "You're kidding, it's free?" 789 00:38:55,833 --> 00:38:59,833 If you read the fine print, it's not free. 790 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,917 It's a billion-dollar Frisbee because as soon as you buy 791 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:08,792 pizza, it's 20,000% interest and if you miss a payment 792 00:39:08,833 --> 00:39:11,167 they quadruple it. 793 00:39:11,208 --> 00:39:14,792 And if you miss another payment, they come and take your liver. 794 00:39:14,833 --> 00:39:18,917 That's what it all says in the fine print. 795 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,792 You're like, "Oh, I'd love a Frisbee!" 796 00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:27,083 You can not be a shrewd steward and be poor. 797 00:39:27,167 --> 00:39:30,583 You can be a bad steward and rich. 798 00:39:30,667 --> 00:39:32,417 You can blow your money. 799 00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:34,000 You can be upside down. 800 00:39:34,042 --> 00:39:36,917 You can be extended beyond your means. 801 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,917 It's not about rich and poor. 802 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,667 It's about shrewd stewardship. 803 00:39:41,708 --> 00:39:43,500 And here's what happens in our world. 804 00:39:43,542 --> 00:39:47,583 The poor blame the rich and the rich blame the poor. 805 00:39:47,667 --> 00:39:50,625 So today the poor will say, "It's corporate greed. 806 00:39:50,667 --> 00:39:52,417 "It's all the guys in suits. 807 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:54,125 "It's the crooked accounting. 808 00:39:54,167 --> 00:39:55,917 "It's the trickle-down economics. 809 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,833 "It's all the fat cats. 810 00:39:57,875 --> 00:40:00,500 They ruined everything." 811 00:40:00,542 --> 00:40:03,917 And then the rich say, "The poor are lazy. 812 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:05,958 "They keep having babies out of wedlock. 813 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,625 "They didn't read books. 814 00:40:07,667 --> 00:40:11,083 "They don't read, they don't learn, they didn't study. 815 00:40:11,167 --> 00:40:14,250 "They don't have a plan and they're just killing us with all 816 00:40:14,333 --> 00:40:20,167 the welfare and social services and us having to carry them." 817 00:40:20,250 --> 00:40:22,917 And depending upon what political talk radio station 818 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:25,917 you tune into, these are your options. 819 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,583 The rich blame the poor. 820 00:40:27,667 --> 00:40:29,083 The poor blame the rich. 821 00:40:29,167 --> 00:40:31,667 Nobody calls in and says, "It's my fault. 822 00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:34,833 "I apologize. 823 00:40:34,875 --> 00:40:38,417 "I was not a shrewd steward. 824 00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:41,583 "I bought stuff I couldn't afford. 825 00:40:41,667 --> 00:40:43,917 "I didn't work hard at my job. 826 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:45,833 "I didn't give to the poor. 827 00:40:45,875 --> 00:40:47,292 "I didn't give to God. 828 00:40:47,333 --> 00:40:48,917 "I didn't save for a rainy day. 829 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,750 "It's my fault. 830 00:40:50,833 --> 00:40:53,083 I ask you all to forgive me." 831 00:40:53,167 --> 00:40:56,000 Nobody says that. 832 00:40:56,042 --> 00:40:57,292 It's not about the poor. 833 00:40:57,333 --> 00:40:58,833 It's not about the rich. 834 00:40:58,875 --> 00:41:00,917 It's about being a shrewd steward 835 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,958 whether you are rich or poor. 836 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:09,417 And the key is to worship God, not money. 837 00:41:09,500 --> 00:41:11,667 That's Jesus' big idea. 838 00:41:11,708 --> 00:41:16,125 To be a shrewd steward, you worship God, not money. 839 00:41:16,167 --> 00:41:18,125 So you don't worship money as a god, 840 00:41:18,167 --> 00:41:21,667 you worship God with your money. 841 00:41:21,750 --> 00:41:24,417 So here's what we're going to do. 842 00:41:24,500 --> 00:41:26,583 I'm going to ask you some questions. 843 00:41:26,667 --> 00:41:28,583 You can think about these, pray about these, 844 00:41:28,667 --> 00:41:30,000 talk about these with one another, 845 00:41:30,042 --> 00:41:32,917 your family or community group. 846 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:36,000 And since Jesus says to worship God, not money, 847 00:41:36,042 --> 00:41:39,417 and he uses the word “serve” as the word for worship, 848 00:41:39,500 --> 00:41:40,917 here's a question. 849 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:42,958 Do you serve or worship God or money? 850 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:45,458 So here's my first question. 851 00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:50,083 Who do you compare yourself to financially? 852 00:41:50,167 --> 00:41:53,833 This is important stuff. 853 00:41:53,875 --> 00:41:59,833 The Bible says godliness with contentment is great gain. 854 00:41:59,875 --> 00:42:04,667 The Bible says do not covet your neighbor's stuff. 855 00:42:04,708 --> 00:42:07,083 The truth is, your neighbor's probably in massive debt 856 00:42:07,167 --> 00:42:10,917 for the car they drive, so don't covet their car. 857 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:15,500 Pray for them and they're probably in trouble. 858 00:42:15,542 --> 00:42:17,500 Who do you compare yourself to? 859 00:42:17,542 --> 00:42:23,833 See, only recently are we able to see the lifestyles 860 00:42:23,875 --> 00:42:26,458 of the most wealthy. 861 00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:30,917 So how many of you have seen "MTV Cribs”? 862 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,583 It's crazy, right? 863 00:42:33,667 --> 00:42:36,000 I mean, it's insane. 864 00:42:36,042 --> 00:42:39,250 It's like, "That guy has a pool in his closet," all right? 865 00:42:39,333 --> 00:42:42,083 That's amazing, right? 866 00:42:42,167 --> 00:42:45,417 All right, I saw this when I was on my way to Haiti. 867 00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:47,833 There was this private gated community. 868 00:42:47,875 --> 00:42:49,833 We stopped in Orlando, that's where I was, 869 00:42:49,875 --> 00:42:52,417 and then we were going to catch a flight to Haiti 870 00:42:52,500 --> 00:42:53,917 for the one-year anniversary. 871 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,500 And somebody picked us up and took us out for dinner 872 00:42:56,542 --> 00:42:58,000 in their gated community. 873 00:42:58,042 --> 00:43:00,667 And it happened to be where Tiger Woods and Shaquille O'Neal 874 00:43:00,708 --> 00:43:02,583 and some other guys live. 875 00:43:02,667 --> 00:43:05,917 So we drove by the tree where Tiger Woods backed his car 876 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:10,458 into and I said, "Can I--" I just met this guy. 877 00:43:10,500 --> 00:43:13,667 "Can I please get out and just take a quick photo next to 878 00:43:13,708 --> 00:43:16,083 the tree for Facebook because that'd be awesome?" 879 00:43:16,167 --> 00:43:17,958 He's like, "No, you can't, there's rules." 880 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,667 "Okay, sorry." 881 00:43:20,708 --> 00:43:23,083 And we drove by Shaquille O'Neal's house 882 00:43:23,167 --> 00:43:26,083 and we through like half a tank of gas just driving by 883 00:43:26,167 --> 00:43:27,333 Shaquille O'Neal's house. 884 00:43:27,375 --> 00:43:29,333 This thing was big. 885 00:43:29,375 --> 00:43:33,917 Sixty-four thousand square foot house. 886 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,125 Sixty-four thousand square feet! 887 00:43:36,167 --> 00:43:39,083 That's as big as Mars Hill Ballard and Mars Hill UW 888 00:43:39,167 --> 00:43:40,625 buildings combined. 889 00:43:40,667 --> 00:43:44,083 We were talking about it earlier today and one of the guys said, 890 00:43:44,167 --> 00:43:45,292 "Well, he's big." 891 00:43:45,333 --> 00:43:49,917 He's not that big. He's not that big. 892 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,125 You know, you can live in a house and then when you see 893 00:43:53,167 --> 00:43:55,917 someone else's house, all of a sudden where you 894 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,458 used to be content, now you're discontented. 895 00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:01,583 And it was a parallel universe when I got on a plane 896 00:44:01,667 --> 00:44:03,792 and a few hours later I landed in Haiti. 897 00:44:03,833 --> 00:44:06,167 There's 50,000 people homeless, living in the park 898 00:44:06,250 --> 00:44:09,083 underneath a tent, singing songs to Jesus at night 899 00:44:09,167 --> 00:44:10,333 because he's all they have. 900 00:44:10,375 --> 00:44:12,667 For the handful whose houses are still intact, 901 00:44:12,750 --> 00:44:15,625 it's cinder block walls, a couple hundred square feet, 902 00:44:15,667 --> 00:44:19,000 one room. 903 00:44:19,042 --> 00:44:21,917 So here's what can happen. 904 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:25,833 You and I can totally lose perspective. 905 00:44:25,875 --> 00:44:28,417 Because see, when we watch "MTV Cribs," 906 00:44:28,500 --> 00:44:30,167 we then read the Bible and say, 907 00:44:30,250 --> 00:44:31,917 "Yeah, when it's talking about the rich, 908 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:33,417 "it's talking about those guys. 909 00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:36,083 When it's talking about the poor, it's talking about me." 910 00:44:36,167 --> 00:44:39,083 And then if we look globally and historically on how most people 911 00:44:39,167 --> 00:44:42,083 live and how they have lived, we read the Bible differently. 912 00:44:42,167 --> 00:44:45,167 We say, "Oh, when it talks about the rich, it's talking about me. 913 00:44:45,250 --> 00:44:47,833 When it's talking about the poor, it's talking about them." 914 00:44:47,875 --> 00:44:52,625 It changes our perspective, allows us to use money 915 00:44:52,667 --> 00:44:53,958 and not worship money. 916 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,125 It allows us to be generous and not greedy. 917 00:44:58,167 --> 00:45:00,083 I'll tell you something 918 00:45:00,167 --> 00:45:01,917 that was a life-changing experience for me. 919 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:05,292 It happened last November with my dad. 920 00:45:05,333 --> 00:45:07,083 It's the coolest thing in the world 921 00:45:07,167 --> 00:45:08,833 seeing your dad become a Christian. 922 00:45:08,875 --> 00:45:11,000 I became a Christian, my dad became a Christian. 923 00:45:11,042 --> 00:45:13,833 I got to baptize my dad in the Jordan River. 924 00:45:13,875 --> 00:45:15,083 He goes to Mars Hill. 925 00:45:15,167 --> 00:45:16,917 It's really cool, I'm a Christian son 926 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,917 and now I got a Christian dad. 927 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:20,667 That's how good God is to me. 928 00:45:20,750 --> 00:45:21,958 And so we're Irish. 929 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:23,958 We were O'Driscoll until we dropped the O. 930 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,958 And I had an opportunity to go preach in Dublin and Belfast 931 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:28,583 in Ireland. 932 00:45:28,667 --> 00:45:31,583 So I said, "Hey, Dad, do you want to go with me? 933 00:45:31,667 --> 00:45:34,167 "Kind of a father-son trip, go back to the home country 934 00:45:34,208 --> 00:45:35,833 and see what we can learn." 935 00:45:35,875 --> 00:45:37,250 So it was great. 936 00:45:37,333 --> 00:45:41,167 So I took my dad and we went to Ireland and we traced, as much as 937 00:45:41,208 --> 00:45:43,167 we were able, our family history and story. 938 00:45:43,208 --> 00:45:46,167 I'll share it with you. It was a revelation in my life. 939 00:45:46,208 --> 00:45:48,792 It's really been clarifying. 940 00:45:48,833 --> 00:45:50,917 We are a people, the O'Driscolls, 941 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,167 who came from County Cork in southern Ireland 942 00:45:53,208 --> 00:45:55,458 near the Harbor of Baltimore. 943 00:45:55,500 --> 00:45:57,458 For hundreds of years that we could tell, 944 00:45:57,500 --> 00:46:02,083 we ruled as warrior kings, which is awesome. 945 00:46:02,167 --> 00:46:05,958 And we had--I can find, at least at this point, 946 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,750 a dozen different castles, fortified homes that we held. 947 00:46:10,833 --> 00:46:13,625 There's still one there near Baltimore, 948 00:46:13,667 --> 00:46:15,167 the O'Driscoll castle. 949 00:46:15,250 --> 00:46:17,000 We went there and saw it 950 00:46:17,042 --> 00:46:18,958 and they got the little plaque out front. 951 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,583 And across the street's the O'Driscoll restaurant and then 952 00:46:21,667 --> 00:46:25,917 down the street's the O'Driscoll real estate company and this guy 953 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:28,500 drives by in a van that was O'Driscoll repairs. 954 00:46:28,542 --> 00:46:30,750 I was like, "This is all us right here. 955 00:46:30,833 --> 00:46:33,167 Here's where we are." 956 00:46:33,250 --> 00:46:35,917 And what would happen is, if the Catholics were in power, 957 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,083 they would forbid the Protestants from owning land 958 00:46:38,167 --> 00:46:40,458 and basically having children. 959 00:46:40,500 --> 00:46:42,083 And then when the Protestants took over, 960 00:46:42,167 --> 00:46:44,292 they did the same things to the Catholics. 961 00:46:44,333 --> 00:46:47,125 So the blowup in Belfast and the conflict and the troubles 962 00:46:47,167 --> 00:46:50,958 and all of that had been going on for a long time. 963 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:54,333 So we ruled for a long time and then a new government came in 964 00:46:54,375 --> 00:46:56,958 and we were immediately thrown into poverty and made peasants. 965 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:58,667 We lost our land. 966 00:46:58,750 --> 00:47:01,083 We could no longer own land or a home. 967 00:47:01,167 --> 00:47:02,833 It was bad, we were flat broke. 968 00:47:02,875 --> 00:47:04,625 We had to decide what to do. 969 00:47:04,667 --> 00:47:09,542 Somehow we decided to become-- I'm not making this up--pirates. 970 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:15,667 I don't know if we, like a committee came together, 971 00:47:15,708 --> 00:47:18,583 "Hmm, dairy farmer? 972 00:47:18,667 --> 00:47:20,167 I motion we become pirates!" 973 00:47:20,250 --> 00:47:21,917 "I second the motion!" 974 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:23,958 You know, like--and we became pirates. 975 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,667 So then when ships would pass through Baltimore Harbor, 976 00:47:28,750 --> 00:47:32,083 we would row out and take them. 977 00:47:32,167 --> 00:47:34,083 That was our thing. 978 00:47:34,167 --> 00:47:37,083 See some of you--some of you think, "He's rough." 979 00:47:37,167 --> 00:47:41,500 Look at all the sanctification that's happened in my life. 980 00:47:41,542 --> 00:47:45,917 We were especially good at robbing ships 981 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:47,458 filled with liquor. 982 00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:49,250 That was our specialty. 983 00:47:49,333 --> 00:47:50,917 This is true. 984 00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:53,083 I can document all this historically. 985 00:47:53,167 --> 00:47:56,583 So we would row out and seize whole ships filled with liquor. 986 00:47:56,667 --> 00:47:59,833 We robbed one whole ship filled with wine 987 00:47:59,875 --> 00:48:02,667 and it touched off a bit of an international incident. 988 00:48:02,750 --> 00:48:06,167 That country that had sent it actually then sent militia to 989 00:48:06,250 --> 00:48:10,292 take Irish men and enslave them as punitive damages for 990 00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:14,833 the O'Driscolls stealing all their wine, all right? 991 00:48:14,875 --> 00:48:16,583 Ahh! 992 00:48:16,667 --> 00:48:20,333 The kids are like, "Dad, tell us about our family!" 993 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,500 "Uh, all right, go get an eye patch 994 00:48:24,542 --> 00:48:27,333 and I'll explain this." You know? 995 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:34,917 So this continues until the famine that lasted 996 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:39,083 from about 1845 to about 1850. 997 00:48:39,167 --> 00:48:42,083 And at that time, the population of Ireland was 998 00:48:42,167 --> 00:48:44,458 about 8 million people. 999 00:48:44,500 --> 00:48:49,500 And during the great famine, 1.25 million people died, 1000 00:48:51,042 --> 00:48:54,583 and 1.5 million people left. 1001 00:48:54,667 --> 00:48:56,750 The country has never recovered. 1002 00:48:56,833 --> 00:49:02,083 Today, the population is still lower than it was 1003 00:49:02,167 --> 00:49:04,958 at the end of the famine. 1004 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,000 So there are more of us Irishmen living outside of Ireland 1005 00:49:08,042 --> 00:49:11,292 than in Ireland by a lot. 1006 00:49:11,333 --> 00:49:15,958 At this time, people were so destitute, poor, 1007 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,958 and desperate that they would actually commit crimes to get 1008 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:22,167 arrested, to be put in jail, to have a roof over their head 1009 00:49:22,250 --> 00:49:23,833 and food in their stomach. 1010 00:49:23,875 --> 00:49:27,917 We visited these prisons in Dublin. 1011 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:32,083 Some people would seek boarding in these large safe homes, 1012 00:49:32,167 --> 00:49:35,667 the equivalent of kind of first- generation homeless shelters. 1013 00:49:35,750 --> 00:49:37,917 And typhoid spread like crazy 1014 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:39,583 and people died in great numbers. 1015 00:49:39,667 --> 00:49:42,583 One of the people who died--now you can't get all the records 1016 00:49:42,667 --> 00:49:45,583 for this because in Dublin there was a riot and they burned 1017 00:49:45,667 --> 00:49:48,000 the building down years ago and the records were destroyed. 1018 00:49:48,042 --> 00:49:52,125 But insofar as we can ascertain, my great-great-grandmother 1019 00:49:52,167 --> 00:49:55,917 starved to death, okay? 1020 00:49:56,000 --> 00:50:00,625 So I'm sitting in Ireland with my dad, 1021 00:50:00,667 --> 00:50:04,333 realizing that the reason in the providence of God I planted 1022 00:50:04,375 --> 00:50:07,292 a church in Seattle instead of Dublin is because 1023 00:50:07,333 --> 00:50:11,417 my great-great-grandmother starved to death. 1024 00:50:11,500 --> 00:50:13,583 And so my great-great-grandfather, James, 1025 00:50:13,667 --> 00:50:19,083 at the age of 45, around 1849 or 1850, he made a long walk, 1026 00:50:19,167 --> 00:50:22,917 it probably took a long time, up to a port which eventually was 1027 00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:26,083 the last port of call for the Titanic and he got on something 1028 00:50:26,167 --> 00:50:27,833 called a coffin ship. 1029 00:50:27,875 --> 00:50:30,250 They called it a coffin ship because everybody died 1030 00:50:30,333 --> 00:50:31,833 on these ships. 1031 00:50:31,875 --> 00:50:35,292 These were ships built for cargo, not for people. 1032 00:50:35,333 --> 00:50:39,583 There was no bathrooms, no fresh air, no sleeping quarters, 1033 00:50:39,667 --> 00:50:41,917 no food, water, nothing. 1034 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,500 People packed into the hull of a ship built for cargo. 1035 00:50:44,542 --> 00:50:46,500 It was all they could afford. 1036 00:50:46,542 --> 00:50:49,500 And they would get sick and they would die en-route and many 1037 00:50:49,542 --> 00:50:54,167 died because it was a 7-week sailing in a coffin ship 1038 00:50:54,208 --> 00:50:57,833 to get to Manhattan. 1039 00:50:57,875 --> 00:51:01,167 So my great-great-grandfather, James, he sailed 1040 00:51:01,208 --> 00:51:04,292 with his son, Dennis, and his brother for 7 weeks. 1041 00:51:04,333 --> 00:51:06,458 He left everything behind after he buried my 1042 00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:08,083 great-great-grandmother. 1043 00:51:08,167 --> 00:51:11,083 He landed in New York, somehow got separated from his brother, 1044 00:51:11,167 --> 00:51:12,917 never saw him again. 1045 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:16,125 He had a hard time finding work, destitute poor, 1046 00:51:16,167 --> 00:51:18,667 starting over at age 45. 1047 00:51:18,750 --> 00:51:20,917 That's how we got to the U.S. 1048 00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:24,417 He heard that there was land up in Ontario, Canada, 1049 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:25,917 and it was basically free 1050 00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:27,917 if you could get there and homestead it, 1051 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:31,083 so he and his son Dennis ventured up to Ontario, Canada. 1052 00:51:31,167 --> 00:51:34,083 It wasn't a great piece of land, but they clearcut it, 1053 00:51:34,167 --> 00:51:37,000 built a house, started farming, raising cattle, 1054 00:51:37,042 --> 00:51:39,417 doing dairy, starting over. 1055 00:51:39,500 --> 00:51:42,083 He married a woman considerably younger than he. 1056 00:51:42,167 --> 00:51:46,917 They went on to have five sons and adopted one daughter. 1057 00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:48,917 At the age of 70, 1058 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,000 my great-great-grandfather, James, he and his wife, 1059 00:51:52,042 --> 00:51:53,917 because she didn't want to live there anymore, 1060 00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,958 they moved down to Grand Forks, North Dakota 1061 00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:59,417 at the age of 70. 1062 00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:03,083 He clearcut another piece of land, built a home, 1063 00:52:03,167 --> 00:52:08,083 created a farm at 70. 1064 00:52:08,167 --> 00:52:10,917 That's where my dad was born. 1065 00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:14,792 That's where I was born. 1066 00:52:14,833 --> 00:52:18,458 The way we got to this country is my great-great-grandmother 1067 00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:21,458 starved to death. 1068 00:52:21,500 --> 00:52:24,083 I was sitting in Ireland with my dad, 1069 00:52:24,167 --> 00:52:26,625 looking at the grace of God on our life. 1070 00:52:26,667 --> 00:52:29,625 And the way we got to Seattle was my mom and dad 1071 00:52:29,667 --> 00:52:31,167 married young, got pregnant with me. 1072 00:52:31,250 --> 00:52:35,750 There wasn't work in town and so they came to Seattle because 1073 00:52:35,833 --> 00:52:38,917 my dad needed a laborer's job. 1074 00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:41,333 And like I told you, he hung sheetrock 1075 00:52:41,375 --> 00:52:44,125 till he broke his back. 1076 00:52:44,167 --> 00:52:47,125 And I tell this story to you, and I've told this story 1077 00:52:47,167 --> 00:52:49,750 to my kids and I tell this story to myself, 1078 00:52:49,833 --> 00:52:53,750 to remind myself of the grace of God in my life. 1079 00:52:53,833 --> 00:52:56,292 If I compare myself to "MTV Cribs," 1080 00:52:56,333 --> 00:52:59,083 I'll be very discontented. 1081 00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:01,500 If I compare myself to my great-great-grandfather, 1082 00:53:01,542 --> 00:53:04,958 I'll be filled with thankfulness. 1083 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:09,417 I would encourage you to possibly even trace the history 1084 00:53:09,500 --> 00:53:10,917 of your own family. 1085 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,917 Most of us are immigrants and we got here because 1086 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:15,625 of similar circumstance. 1087 00:53:15,667 --> 00:53:18,083 Some of us are only a few generations removed 1088 00:53:18,167 --> 00:53:19,750 from starvation. 1089 00:53:19,833 --> 00:53:25,250 And now the biggest problem we have is obesity. 1090 00:53:25,333 --> 00:53:30,083 First question, to whom do you compare yourself financially? 1091 00:53:30,167 --> 00:53:32,250 Number two, do you worship your money or worship 1092 00:53:32,333 --> 00:53:34,083 with your money? 1093 00:53:34,167 --> 00:53:36,667 If you worship your money, you're going to be greedy, 1094 00:53:36,708 --> 00:53:39,667 you're going to be stingy, you're not going to be generous. 1095 00:53:39,708 --> 00:53:43,083 If you worship with your money, you're going to seek to be 1096 00:53:43,167 --> 00:53:47,625 a shrewd steward and a generous giver. 1097 00:53:47,667 --> 00:53:50,958 Number three, how do you worship or serve money in a sinful way? 1098 00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:52,417 When Jesus uses the word "serve," 1099 00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:53,917 that's the word for worship. 1100 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:55,333 Some of you work too much. 1101 00:53:55,375 --> 00:53:58,250 You know why? You worship money. 1102 00:53:58,333 --> 00:54:00,750 Some of you take all your work on vacation. 1103 00:54:00,833 --> 00:54:02,958 You know why? You worship money. 1104 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:06,625 Some of you ignore your family on your day off 1105 00:54:06,667 --> 00:54:09,167 because you worship money. 1106 00:54:09,250 --> 00:54:11,000 It's not a sin to make money. 1107 00:54:11,042 --> 00:54:12,958 It's not a sin to invest money. 1108 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:15,917 It's not a sin to steward money. It's a sin to worship money. 1109 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,917 It's a heart issue. 1110 00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:24,750 How are you serving money as if it were a god? 1111 00:54:24,833 --> 00:54:27,917 Number four, what deep idols fuel your worship of money? 1112 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:31,000 Tim Keller, who's a very helpful Bible teacher 1113 00:54:31,042 --> 00:54:35,917 and a really good guy, he's helped me a lot over the years. 1114 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:38,958 In a book, he talks about surface idols and deep idols, 1115 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:41,167 and we see the surface idol like money, 1116 00:54:41,250 --> 00:54:43,833 but under that there's usually a deep idol. 1117 00:54:43,875 --> 00:54:46,083 So to just go at you and say, "Hey, 1118 00:54:46,167 --> 00:54:48,917 get rid of your surface idol," if we don't deal with 1119 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:51,917 the deep idol, we're not really pulling it up by the root. 1120 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:54,333 Some deep idols include status. 1121 00:54:54,375 --> 00:54:57,292 It looks like you worship money, but some of you worship status. 1122 00:54:57,333 --> 00:54:59,125 You have to live in that neighborhood. 1123 00:54:59,167 --> 00:55:01,458 You have to have a certain kind of house. 1124 00:55:01,500 --> 00:55:03,667 You have to drive a certain kind of car. 1125 00:55:03,750 --> 00:55:05,667 You need to wear a certain kind of clothes. 1126 00:55:05,750 --> 00:55:07,958 You need to have somebody's name on your underwear. 1127 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:09,958 It then shows the world, "I'm significant. 1128 00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:11,333 "I'm accomplished. 1129 00:55:11,375 --> 00:55:12,917 I'm achieved." 1130 00:55:13,000 --> 00:55:15,083 It's not a sin to have nice things. 1131 00:55:15,167 --> 00:55:17,458 But if the underlying root motivation of the heart is 1132 00:55:17,500 --> 00:55:21,083 status rather than that you're saved by the grace of God, 1133 00:55:21,167 --> 00:55:23,250 you're made in the image and likeness of God, 1134 00:55:23,333 --> 00:55:26,083 and your dignity, value, and worth comes from the grace 1135 00:55:26,167 --> 00:55:29,583 of God, then you have an idol. 1136 00:55:29,667 --> 00:55:30,917 As well, comfort. 1137 00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:32,667 Some of you worship comfort. 1138 00:55:32,750 --> 00:55:34,667 And it looks like you worship money, 1139 00:55:34,750 --> 00:55:35,958 but you really worship comfort. 1140 00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:37,917 You want your life to be easy. 1141 00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:39,917 You want to be able to kick back. 1142 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:43,458 You don't want to be inconvenienced. 1143 00:55:43,500 --> 00:55:48,083 And if you make enough money, your life can be comfortable. 1144 00:55:48,167 --> 00:55:51,083 But when Jesus says to pick up our cross and follow him, 1145 00:55:51,167 --> 00:55:55,958 he's not saying it's gonna be comfortable. 1146 00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,417 To be a disciple of Jesus includes being uncomfortable 1147 00:55:59,500 --> 00:56:02,083 and inconvenienced. 1148 00:56:02,167 --> 00:56:03,625 For some, it is security. 1149 00:56:03,667 --> 00:56:06,833 Have you ever heard of someone, and these stories pop up on the 1150 00:56:06,875 --> 00:56:09,417 news occasionally, they lived a miser's life and then they left 1151 00:56:09,500 --> 00:56:11,500 millions of dollars upon their death. 1152 00:56:11,542 --> 00:56:12,917 And people are just floored. 1153 00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:14,292 Why would they do that? 1154 00:56:14,333 --> 00:56:17,083 Why would they drive a beater car and wear threadbare clothes 1155 00:56:17,167 --> 00:56:20,667 and eat a simple diet and then leave millions of dollars? 1156 00:56:20,750 --> 00:56:23,250 Because they worship security. 1157 00:56:23,333 --> 00:56:25,583 For them, money serves the deep idol. 1158 00:56:25,667 --> 00:56:28,083 “If hard times come, I could pay for it. 1159 00:56:28,167 --> 00:56:30,167 “If I get sick, I could pay for it. 1160 00:56:30,208 --> 00:56:33,917 If my family disowns me, I could take care of myself.” 1161 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:37,000 The deep idol's security. 1162 00:56:37,042 --> 00:56:39,083 For some, it's fame. 1163 00:56:39,167 --> 00:56:43,000 Everyone knows you, everyone loves you, you're glorified, 1164 00:56:43,042 --> 00:56:47,417 and the money allows you to hold a certain status, 1165 00:56:47,500 --> 00:56:50,917 to be a part of this club, that group, access to these events, 1166 00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:52,917 your name included among these people. 1167 00:56:53,000 --> 00:56:57,458 This is what fuels our entire celebrity culture. 1168 00:56:57,500 --> 00:57:01,792 And lastly, beauty is one other of many potential 1169 00:57:01,833 --> 00:57:04,667 deep idol examples. 1170 00:57:04,708 --> 00:57:08,500 You ever wonder why a young woman marries a dirty, old man? 1171 00:57:08,542 --> 00:57:11,792 Her root idol is beauty. 1172 00:57:11,833 --> 00:57:14,417 "Well, if I marry him, I can get my hair done. 1173 00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:16,167 "I can go to cosmetic surgery. 1174 00:57:16,250 --> 00:57:18,083 "I can get a wardrobe stylist. 1175 00:57:18,167 --> 00:57:19,292 "I can wear designer gowns. 1176 00:57:19,333 --> 00:57:21,250 "I can hire a personal trainer. 1177 00:57:21,333 --> 00:57:25,417 "I can be beautiful. 1178 00:57:25,500 --> 00:57:27,958 “And I worship beauty. 1179 00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:32,917 And so money becomes the means by which I feed my deep idol.” 1180 00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:34,917 It's not a sin to be beautiful. 1181 00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:38,083 The Bible says that Sarah was beautiful. 1182 00:57:38,167 --> 00:57:40,083 But when it's the deep idol, 1183 00:57:40,167 --> 00:57:44,000 we then use money to worship our idol. 1184 00:57:44,042 --> 00:57:46,583 And that's where it becomes a sin. 1185 00:57:46,667 --> 00:57:51,417 And Jesus says you can only worship God or money. 1186 00:57:51,500 --> 00:57:53,000 Last few questions. 1187 00:57:53,042 --> 00:57:55,083 Number five, how do you define yourself 1188 00:57:55,167 --> 00:57:57,083 by what you have and consume? 1189 00:57:57,167 --> 00:57:59,833 See, and this is where having the right car and wearing 1190 00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:02,417 the right clothes and presenting yourself in the right way, 1191 00:58:02,500 --> 00:58:04,417 it's very important. 1192 00:58:04,500 --> 00:58:06,792 It's not a sin to drive a nice car. 1193 00:58:06,833 --> 00:58:08,792 It's not a sin to wear good clothes. 1194 00:58:08,833 --> 00:58:10,167 But here's the big idea. 1195 00:58:10,250 --> 00:58:13,083 Your identity is that God made you and he redeemed you 1196 00:58:13,167 --> 00:58:15,292 and he saved you and he loved you. 1197 00:58:15,333 --> 00:58:18,083 And if you're trying to create for yourself an identity that 1198 00:58:18,167 --> 00:58:22,083 you purchased, it's a false identity that doesn't go with 1199 00:58:22,167 --> 00:58:25,333 you on the end of this life. 1200 00:58:25,375 --> 00:58:27,833 You are more than what you wear. 1201 00:58:27,875 --> 00:58:29,667 You are more than what you eat. 1202 00:58:29,750 --> 00:58:31,333 You are more than what you drive. 1203 00:58:31,375 --> 00:58:34,958 You are more than where you live. 1204 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:38,083 Number six, how has money enslaved you? 1205 00:58:38,167 --> 00:58:41,458 The Bible says that the borrower is slave to the lender. 1206 00:58:41,500 --> 00:58:43,958 How many of you are in slavery right now? 1207 00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:45,917 You can't quit your job, get another job, 1208 00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,917 go on a mission trip, give generously to God's purposes, 1209 00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:51,667 bring your wife home from work to start a family, 1210 00:58:51,708 --> 00:58:53,167 send your kids to private school. 1211 00:58:53,250 --> 00:58:54,625 Why? 1212 00:58:54,667 --> 00:58:57,458 Because you've got so much school debt, car debt, 1213 00:58:57,500 --> 00:59:01,667 credit card debt, upside-down- on-the-mortgage house debt, 1214 00:59:01,708 --> 00:59:03,292 you didn't have a plan, 1215 00:59:03,333 --> 00:59:05,083 you didn't have disability insurance, 1216 00:59:05,167 --> 00:59:08,333 you got sick, you weren't knowing what you were doing, 1217 00:59:08,375 --> 00:59:11,917 and all of a sudden now you are in shackles and years 1218 00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,583 of your life and thousands of hours of your existence 1219 00:59:15,667 --> 00:59:16,958 are not your own. 1220 00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:19,917 Somebody owns you. 1221 00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:22,000 Some of you say, "Well, what do I do?" 1222 00:59:22,042 --> 00:59:25,917 You need to get out and sometimes this takes a while. 1223 00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:28,000 This takes financial coaching. 1224 00:59:28,042 --> 00:59:30,000 This takes repentance. 1225 00:59:30,042 --> 00:59:32,917 This takes work. 1226 00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:37,167 Number seven, if Jesus set your budget, what would be different? 1227 00:59:37,250 --> 00:59:39,917 'Cause, see, again, if we're a steward, 1228 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:42,417 ultimately Jesus is the one who should set our budget. 1229 00:59:42,500 --> 00:59:43,917 It's his wealth. 1230 00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:45,917 It's our stewardship. Okay? 1231 00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:49,250 And I'll be honest with you, I hear that and I talked to Gracie 1232 00:59:49,333 --> 00:59:53,417 about it today, "Yes, if we actually let Jesus set our 1233 00:59:53,500 --> 00:59:57,000 "budget, some things would be different in our spending. 1234 00:59:57,042 --> 00:59:58,500 Absolutely.” 1235 00:59:58,542 --> 01:00:01,583 So we have corrections to make as well. 1236 01:00:01,667 --> 01:00:03,667 But if you say, "Hey, it's my money," 1237 01:00:03,750 --> 01:00:05,917 you're already in trouble. 1238 01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:09,500 You say, "It's his money, my stewardship. 1239 01:00:09,542 --> 01:00:12,083 Jesus, how do you want me to spend your money?" 1240 01:00:12,167 --> 01:00:14,667 That's a very different question, isn't it? 1241 01:00:14,708 --> 01:00:17,083 "Jesus, how do you want me to spend your money?" 1242 01:00:17,167 --> 01:00:18,917 That's a very different question than, 1243 01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:21,083 "What do I want to do with my money?" 1244 01:00:21,167 --> 01:00:24,458 And lastly, why is Jesus a better god than money? 1245 01:00:24,500 --> 01:00:27,083 And do you actually believe Jesus is a better god 1246 01:00:27,167 --> 01:00:28,833 than money? 1247 01:00:28,875 --> 01:00:31,292 See, in money we're looking for an identity. 1248 01:00:31,333 --> 01:00:33,083 Jesus gives us an identity. 1249 01:00:33,167 --> 01:00:34,333 We're looking for security. 1250 01:00:34,375 --> 01:00:37,333 I'll tell you this, Jesus is the only one that gives security. 1251 01:00:37,375 --> 01:00:39,417 He's particularly the only one who gives security 1252 01:00:39,500 --> 01:00:41,583 when this life ends. 1253 01:00:41,667 --> 01:00:42,958 Some of you want comfort. 1254 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:48,417 Jesus is the only one who truly comforts. 1255 01:00:48,500 --> 01:00:53,917 Jesus is a better god than money. 1256 01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:56,583 He's a God who's a giver, not a taker. 1257 01:00:56,667 --> 01:00:58,667 He's generous, not greedy. 1258 01:00:58,750 --> 01:01:03,417 He pays our debt to God, spiritually speaking, 1259 01:01:03,500 --> 01:01:07,000 and he's willing to work with us and love us and serve us and 1260 01:01:07,042 --> 01:01:11,167 forgive us, to even help us get out of our financial slavery 1261 01:01:11,208 --> 01:01:15,792 and to escape the twin traps of prosperity and poverty theology 1262 01:01:15,833 --> 01:01:19,333 and live as shrewd stewards who then also teach our children 1263 01:01:19,375 --> 01:01:22,417 and our children's children not to just get wealth, 1264 01:01:22,500 --> 01:01:25,917 but to get wisdom. 1265 01:01:26,000 --> 01:01:30,000 So do you know Jesus and has he paid your debt of sin? 1266 01:01:32,000 --> 01:01:34,417 Father God, I pray for us as a people, 1267 01:01:34,500 --> 01:01:37,917 individually and collectively. 1268 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:40,625 Lord Jesus, thank you that you talk about money a lot 1269 01:01:40,667 --> 01:01:44,083 because it's the source of a lot of our problems. 1270 01:01:44,167 --> 01:01:46,083 And Lord Jesus, we confess 1271 01:01:46,167 --> 01:01:48,625 that some of us have had a poverty theology, 1272 01:01:48,667 --> 01:01:51,292 some of us have had a prosperity theology. 1273 01:01:51,333 --> 01:01:55,167 Some of us have not been good stewards. 1274 01:01:55,250 --> 01:01:59,000 Some of us are learning the hard way. 1275 01:01:59,042 --> 01:02:04,417 Lord Jesus, thank you that you forgive us of our spiritual 1276 01:02:04,500 --> 01:02:07,958 debts and you give us wisdom and grace to work through 1277 01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:11,083 our financial debts. 1278 01:02:11,167 --> 01:02:14,625 And God, I do believe that in this church there will be people 1279 01:02:14,667 --> 01:02:16,917 who make a lot. 1280 01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:20,167 I pray that they would use it not to just increase their 1281 01:02:20,208 --> 01:02:24,792 standard of living, but their standard of giving, that God, 1282 01:02:24,833 --> 01:02:28,417 they would be shrewd stewards and generous givers 1283 01:02:28,500 --> 01:02:31,000 who worship you and not money. 1284 01:02:31,042 --> 01:02:33,208 In Jesus' name, amen.