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Well, howdy Mars Hill.

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We today start a 3-week-series
in Luke 12,

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where Jesus deals with
the issues of money and wealth

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and possessions and worship.

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And so I brought along my good
friend Pastor Jamie Munson,

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who runs everything
administratively

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and organizationally here
at Mars Hill, to share with you

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a resource that he's put
together and a free gift

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that he's given to you
and how this'll work

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through your community groups

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and help set up what we like
to finish every year with,

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that is something called
the Generous Campaign, so--

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That's good.
Thank you, Pastor Mark.

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You all got this
on your way in?

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Yeah?
Good, good.

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I'm really excited
to roll this out.

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It's been a collection of
thoughts over the years as I've

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studied the concept of money,
looked at it biblically,

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looked at it practically.

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I wanted to get you a tool that
helps define what Scripture

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says, how we're to treat our
money, how we're to spend it,

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how we're to earn it, how we're
to live on mission with it.

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But I also wanted
it to be practical,

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as money is such a practical
topic that we deal

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with on a daily basis.

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And so this is yours.

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We're going to be going through
this the next couple weeks

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as Pastor Mark said.

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The big idea is that money
can either be your god

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or you can use it to worship
your God.

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For me, money was my god.

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I got my first credit card
at the age of 18.

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I got my credit card
and it took me exactly 1 hour

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to max it out completely.
One hour.

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Turned 18, got it in the
mail, called up, I activated.

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Within an hour, I was at
the stereo store getting

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a ten-disc CD changer
put in my truck.

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The stereo was probably worth
more than the truck

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at that time.

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Had it, a week later
it gets stolen.

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I was so bummed.
I was depressed.

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I lost my stereo.

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And then about a month later,
the bill actually comes

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in the mail and I was floored.

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I didn't know what this was.

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My family called them
free money cards.

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That was what
I thought it was.

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You just give this cute little
plastic card to a person

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and you get your goods
in return and that was it.

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It was magical.
I was so stoked.

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And then I get the bill and I'm
bummed that I'm paying off some

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stereo that some thug has who
has stolen it out of my car.

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Totally bummed.

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But I met Jesus at the age
of 19 and God changed my heart.

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My money was no longer god,
but it was him

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and so I started to learn
and study and grow.

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How do we use the resources
that he has given us?

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How do we use them
to worship him, to love him,

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to serve other people,
and to be a part of the church

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and be on mission?

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So that's the big idea
of the book.

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Real excited for you
to go through it.

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A couple weeks again,
as we study through Luke 12,

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in God's providence the timing
was perfect with these sermons

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to roll it out.

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And I'm really hoping it's a
good resource for us as a church

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and all of us can be
on mission with our money.

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So grab some, go through it
with your community group,

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go through it with your
friends, your family.

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We'll have them available
at some point on Amazon.com.

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You can get them
and order them

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for people that aren't
in the area.

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But do take a bunch,
give them away.

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We're excited
to give that as a gift.

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Actually, it was paid for by a
number of members in the church.

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So a generous gift
by a bunch of members

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that wanted to bless you all.

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I'm not taking any
profit or royalties

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or any income from the book.

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It's all just a gift.
So I hope you enjoy it.

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I hope it's helpful for you.

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I hope it draws you
closer to Jesus.

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A couple other things
I wanted to hit,

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part of my job at Mars Hill is
to make sure all of our money,

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all of our resources that we
have collectively as a church,

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that we're stewarding them
as effectively as possible,

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that we're getting the most
return on our investment

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in terms of gospel fruit,
people meeting Jesus,

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our mission of making disciples
and planting churches

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is going forward.

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A couple of things in how
that works at Mars Hill.

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We have nine campuses,
but we have one family budget.

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That means all of us are giving
and we're sharing

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a lot of resources
across all of our campus.

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One of those is Pastor Mark's
preaching, technology,

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a lot of our back-end services,
things that we don't want

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the campuses to have to repeat

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because it's just a waste
of money and time.

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We want them to focus
on their mission,

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and so we share a lot of these
resources across the church.

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But then each campus is
also self-sufficient.

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We want them to meet their own
needs, pay their own bills.

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That includes their facilities,
their programs, their staff,

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the mission locally
that God's called them to.

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So it's this beautiful thing
that we get to share

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the resources as one big church
but then each campus

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also has its local mission.

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How it works is about 50% of the
budget goes to the global things

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and 50% of them
go to the local campuses.

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It's a good partnership
as we're in this together,

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trying to see as many people
meet Jesus as possible.

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A couple of other things.

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We have a professional--a couple
professional CPA's on staff,

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a couple of MBA's on staff.

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We want to have a very competent
financial staff

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so that all of our money
is spent well

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and we have good professionals
looking at it.

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In addition, we have two outside
CPA firms that do reviews

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and audits of our books.

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So every year we submit
ourselves to an annual audit

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where an outside firm
comes in and looks at how

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we're spending our money,
what we're doing with it.

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Is there fraud?
Is there abuse?

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Is there any of those systems?

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And up until this point, I'm
happy to report that every time

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we've done that we've had
a perfect mark with it.

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And so God's been
gracious to us.

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And we're trying to do
as much as we can

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to steward the resources wisely.

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Included in that is we put
together an annual report.

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If you've been around for
a few years you've seen this.

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We try and give away as much
financial information

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as possible because we
have nothing to hide.

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Again, we're not
perfect as a church,

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but we want to walk above
reproach and give you a snapshot

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into how we're stewarding
those resources.

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That'll be out in January.

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As you know, 2010, 2009, we've
been in the middle of this

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economic recession that
people are calling it.

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We've scaled back
significantly as a church.

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We wanted to be really wise and
not live outside of our means,

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but live within our means.

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That includes laying off a bunch
of staff over this last year,

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tough cuts that we've had to
make so that we're appropriate,

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we're wise with the money,
and not stretching ourselves

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and not running ourselves
into debt.

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A bunch of the senior leaders
as well have foregone raises

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over the last couple of years.

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We just want to do as
much as we can to, again,

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steward the resources wisely and
not get out ahead of where God

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is at and the resources we have,
which means we head into the end

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of the year and we're teeing
up our Generous Campaign.

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We need to finish
the year strong.

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There's a ton of opportunities
that God has given us

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to plant campuses.

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Mark's going to talk about
that vision a little bit

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later in the sermon.
Lots of things.

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Lots of opportunities that
God has given us to preach

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the gospel and see
people meet Jesus.

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So as you go into the year-end,
we ask you to continue to give

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regularly, give faithfully, and
then consider how to give a gift

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above and beyond so that
we can reach a goal.

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Our hope would be to see
a million dollars

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over our normal budget come
in in the end of this year,

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so as we plan to launch
campuses in different areas,

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as we plan to shore
up some ministries,

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we could do so in such
a way that opens the door

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for more people to meet Jesus.

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So that's what we're about,
that's what our money's about,

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that's what the book is about.

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I do hope it's helpful for you.
Excited to roll it out there.

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Send us feedback,
be in prayer,

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discuss it in your community
groups, and that's it.

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Cool.
Thank you buddy.

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Love you man,
I appreciate you.

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My good friend Pastor Jamie.

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[applauding]

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We're just going
through Luke's gospel

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and in the providence of God
Jesus is talking about money

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as we look at the parable
of the rich fool

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in Luke 12:13-21,

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so open your Bible or your app
and we'll study it together.

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I'll pray.

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Father God, I do thank you that
you speak in the Scriptures

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about the practical stuff
of life like money,

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wealth, and possessions.

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And God, we sometimes gravitate
toward subjects that we find

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most interesting,
most fascinating, but God,

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you continually bring us back
to certain issues that perhaps

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we don't want to look
at but those are the ones

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we need to look
at most fervently.

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So help me to teach well.

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Help us to learn well.

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And Lord Jesus, it is our prayer
by the power of the Holy Spirit

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that we would worship
you with our wealth

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and that we would not worship
our wealth.

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Amen.

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In the 3-week miniseries
here in the middle of Luke,

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we're going to look at
Jesus' teaching about money.

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And some of you
may ask, "Why now?"

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Well, first of all, not everyone
is struggling financially.

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Some people are doing well.

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Secondly, some people
are struggling,

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but it's because of foolishness.

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And perhaps what you
don't need is more wealth.

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Instead, you need more wisdom.

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If it was foolishness
who got you,

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or if it is rather foolishness
that aided you in your debt,

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your struggles, your poverty,
just getting more money without

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more wisdom won't cure
your problem

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because you'll continue
the same errors.

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And so it's a good time
while we're humble,

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it's a good time while
we're in a recession,

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it's a good time when many
are struggling to gain wisdom

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and how to learn to live humbly,
contentedly, within our means,

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so that if and when there is
an economic turnaround we don't

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conduct ourselves the way we did
in the years preceding

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the pain point that we find
ourselves in.

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And so when I talk
about money and wealth,

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I'm doing so in an aggregate
and collective way.

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I'm talking about your
credit cards, your debit cards.

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I'm talking about your cash.

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I'm talking about your job,
your income, your inheritance,

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your housing, your vehicle,
all of your stuff.

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Your collective wealth
is what I'm referring to.

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And this is a big mega
theme of the Bible,

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this issue of wealth
and possessions.

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The Old and New Testament
combined

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have about 800 passages
on wealth.

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This includes saving,
spending, investing, tithing,

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running a business,
running a family budget.

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Jesus speaks
of wealth a lot as well.

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About 25% of the time,
he is teaching about money,

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wealth, and possessions.

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That includes this
section of Luke.

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And as we examine the Bible, we
see that the Bible treats wealth

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and possessions differently
than our culture does,

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in a couple of ways.

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Number one, the Bible is
going to deal with our heart and

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our spending and our motives,
whereas in the culture it tends

241
00:09:40,667 --> 00:09:43,125
to be less about personal
accountability

242
00:09:43,208 --> 00:09:46,000
and more about shifting
of blame.

243
00:09:46,083 --> 00:09:49,167
So right now we're in an
economic downturn and if you

244
00:09:49,250 --> 00:09:52,458
listen to the chatter
and banter in the culture,

245
00:09:52,542 --> 00:09:55,417
the rich will blame the poor,
the poor will blame the rich.

246
00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:58,208
The rich will say, "Well,
the poor are killing us because

247
00:09:58,292 --> 00:10:01,333
"they're all fat and obese and
they all want free health care

248
00:10:01,417 --> 00:10:03,458
"and they're just taking
all of our money

249
00:10:03,542 --> 00:10:05,083
so we can't run our businesses."

250
00:10:05,167 --> 00:10:08,083
And the poor will say, "Well,
you rich, you rip us off.

251
00:10:08,167 --> 00:10:09,500
It's corporate fraud and greed."

252
00:10:09,583 --> 00:10:11,500
The problem is
the rich and the poor.

253
00:10:11,583 --> 00:10:14,667
And every election year we also
get the added bonus of the fact

254
00:10:14,750 --> 00:10:18,250
that the problem is either the
Democrats or the Republicans.

255
00:10:18,333 --> 00:10:20,583
And sometimes we all come
together and say,

256
00:10:20,667 --> 00:10:22,375
"No, it's the terrorists."

257
00:10:22,458 --> 00:10:24,792
That's how we all unify,
"It's the terrorists.

258
00:10:24,875 --> 00:10:26,542
"That's why we're having
economic troubles.

259
00:10:26,625 --> 00:10:28,042
It's the terrorists."

260
00:10:28,125 --> 00:10:30,292
Well, as far I can tell,
it's the responsibility

261
00:10:30,375 --> 00:10:33,583
of the rich and the poor and the
Republicans and the Democrats

262
00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:35,375
and the Americans
and the terrorists.

263
00:10:35,458 --> 00:10:36,833
That's the problem.

264
00:10:36,917 --> 00:10:38,542
Pretty much everybody.

265
00:10:38,625 --> 00:10:40,958
And the Bible brings us
to look at ourselves,

266
00:10:41,042 --> 00:10:44,500
not just blame everyone else,
but look at our own sin and

267
00:10:44,583 --> 00:10:48,583
folly and rebellion in regards
to finances and wealth.

268
00:10:48,667 --> 00:10:51,958
Additionally, what happens then
when the issue is reduced

269
00:10:52,042 --> 00:10:57,042
to riches and poverty, we end
up with prosperity theology

270
00:10:57,125 --> 00:10:59,208
and poverty theology.

271
00:10:59,292 --> 00:11:02,250
Prosperity theology will take
a few verses from the Bible

272
00:11:02,333 --> 00:11:04,750
and say, "If you love God
you should be rich."

273
00:11:04,833 --> 00:11:07,292
And poverty theology will take
other verses from the Bible

274
00:11:07,375 --> 00:11:10,042
and say, "If you love God
you should be poor."

275
00:11:10,125 --> 00:11:12,458
And then there's even a fighting
over whether or not

276
00:11:12,542 --> 00:11:14,583
God wants us to be rich or poor.

277
00:11:14,667 --> 00:11:16,833
That is thinking
in a way that is worldly,

278
00:11:16,917 --> 00:11:18,583
not in a way that is wise.

279
00:11:18,667 --> 00:11:21,750
The Bible actually gives us
four categories in regards

280
00:11:21,833 --> 00:11:24,792
to riches, wealth,
and possessions.

281
00:11:24,875 --> 00:11:27,125
We'll investigate each of them
over the course

282
00:11:27,208 --> 00:11:28,583
of this three weeks.

283
00:11:28,667 --> 00:11:32,542
This week we will look at the
righteous and unrighteous rich.

284
00:11:32,625 --> 00:11:35,083
And here are actually the
four categories in your Bible

285
00:11:35,167 --> 00:11:36,542
when it comes to wealth.

286
00:11:36,625 --> 00:11:39,750
There are the righteous rich,
meaning the way they obtain

287
00:11:39,833 --> 00:11:42,250
their wealth is righteous.

288
00:11:42,333 --> 00:11:43,750
They work hard.

289
00:11:43,833 --> 00:11:45,208
They invest smart.

290
00:11:45,292 --> 00:11:48,125
God blesses them
and things go well.

291
00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:51,917
Additionally, what they do
with their riches is righteous.

292
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:53,583
They give to God.

293
00:11:53,667 --> 00:11:54,958
They give to the poor.

294
00:11:55,042 --> 00:11:57,458
They take care of their family.
They pay their bills.

295
00:11:57,542 --> 00:11:58,958
If you run a company,

296
00:11:59,042 --> 00:12:01,042
this is taking good care
of your employees.

297
00:12:01,125 --> 00:12:02,792
You can be righteous and rich.

298
00:12:02,875 --> 00:12:05,250
Additionally, you can be
unrighteous and rich.

299
00:12:05,333 --> 00:12:08,750
You can get your money in a way
that is very dishonoring to God.

300
00:12:08,833 --> 00:12:10,583
Ripping people
off, being crooked,

301
00:12:10,667 --> 00:12:14,333
conducting yourself in
unacceptable business practices,

302
00:12:14,417 --> 00:12:17,333
and/or getting your money
and then hoarding it,

303
00:12:17,417 --> 00:12:20,250
keeping it all to yourself,
spending it frivolously,

304
00:12:20,333 --> 00:12:22,417
not giving to God,
not helping the poor,

305
00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:24,583
being very, very, very selfish.

306
00:12:24,667 --> 00:12:27,917
Who we will examine today is
a man who is a called

307
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,833
a rich fool and he would
fit under the category

308
00:12:30,917 --> 00:12:33,375
of the unrighteous and rich.

309
00:12:33,458 --> 00:12:35,083
Number three,
there are also people

310
00:12:35,167 --> 00:12:36,750
who are both righteous and poor.

311
00:12:36,833 --> 00:12:39,583
The way they get their money
is through honest means,

312
00:12:39,667 --> 00:12:41,583
but they don't have very much.

313
00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:43,167
They're just poor.

314
00:12:43,250 --> 00:12:44,625
They're just poor.

315
00:12:44,708 --> 00:12:48,958
And the way they steward
their resources is righteous.

316
00:12:49,042 --> 00:12:51,417
They give to God.
They give to others in need.

317
00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:52,833
They pay their bills.

318
00:12:52,917 --> 00:12:54,250
They're generous
with their family.

319
00:12:54,333 --> 00:12:57,417
They don't have much, but what
they do have they tend to be

320
00:12:57,500 --> 00:12:58,792
very gracious and godly with.

321
00:12:58,875 --> 00:13:01,875
There's going to be a woman
in the Bible who's a widow

322
00:13:01,958 --> 00:13:04,375
and she doesn't have much,
but she gives very generously

323
00:13:04,458 --> 00:13:05,875
to the cause of the gospel.

324
00:13:05,958 --> 00:13:09,417
Well, Jesus says that she's
an exceedingly righteous woman

325
00:13:09,500 --> 00:13:12,042
in the way she conducts herself.

326
00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:15,750
Additionally, there are people
who are unrighteous and poor.

327
00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:17,417
They don't work hard.

328
00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:18,875
They don't work smart.

329
00:13:18,958 --> 00:13:20,542
They don't invest.
They don't save.

330
00:13:20,625 --> 00:13:21,958
They don't have retirement.

331
00:13:22,042 --> 00:13:23,417
They don't have
life insurance.

332
00:13:23,500 --> 00:13:25,000
They're not really
thinking about it.

333
00:13:25,083 --> 00:13:26,458
They're just kind of frivolous

334
00:13:26,542 --> 00:13:28,333
and they don't conduct
themselves very well.

335
00:13:28,417 --> 00:13:30,292
And if and when
they do get money,

336
00:13:30,375 --> 00:13:32,625
they don't really change
insofar as wisdom is concerned.

337
00:13:32,708 --> 00:13:35,958
They just use it to pay off
their credit card debt and then

338
00:13:36,042 --> 00:13:38,458
go right back to the way
they were living before.

339
00:13:38,542 --> 00:13:40,208
And they're in a cycle of folly.

340
00:13:40,292 --> 00:13:43,250
And what can happen is if you
only think in worldly categories

341
00:13:43,333 --> 00:13:46,417
and not theological categories,
you could think in terms of rich

342
00:13:46,500 --> 00:13:49,333
and poor and it's not that easy,
because there are poor people

343
00:13:49,417 --> 00:13:51,375
who are unrighteous.

344
00:13:51,458 --> 00:13:53,167
There are poor people
who are unrighteous.

345
00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:55,417
Proverbs talks a lot about
people who don't work,

346
00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:58,542
who chase fantasies, who
try "get rich quick" schemes.

347
00:13:58,625 --> 00:14:01,375
This would be the person who
doesn't work very much

348
00:14:01,458 --> 00:14:04,208
or goes to the casino
or blows it or spends it

349
00:14:04,292 --> 00:14:06,708
haphazardly and frivolously.

350
00:14:06,792 --> 00:14:10,083
This would be the guy on the side
of the road that I saw recently.

351
00:14:10,167 --> 00:14:13,250
He had a sign, he said, "I'm
not going to lie to you.

352
00:14:13,333 --> 00:14:14,833
I just want money for beer."

353
00:14:14,917 --> 00:14:18,083
You can't say, "Oh, he's
poor, just like Jesus."

354
00:14:18,167 --> 00:14:21,167
He's not poor
just like Jesus.

355
00:14:21,250 --> 00:14:23,083
Jesus was righteous
and poor.

356
00:14:23,167 --> 00:14:25,042
Jesus was righteous
and rich.

357
00:14:25,125 --> 00:14:26,833
Did you know that?

358
00:14:26,917 --> 00:14:28,917
It's not whether
you're rich or poor.

359
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,667
It's whether you're
righteous or unrighteous

360
00:14:30,750 --> 00:14:32,750
and Jesus was both rich
and poor.

361
00:14:32,833 --> 00:14:35,208
In heaven,
was he rich or poor?

362
00:14:35,292 --> 00:14:37,583
Rich.
Heaven's a nice neighborhood.

363
00:14:37,667 --> 00:14:40,667
Right?
It's really nice.

364
00:14:40,750 --> 00:14:43,458
And it says in Corinthians
that though he was rich,

365
00:14:43,542 --> 00:14:47,250
for our sake he came
to the earth and became poor.

366
00:14:47,333 --> 00:14:49,083
So you can be
righteous and rich.

367
00:14:49,167 --> 00:14:50,500
Jesus was and is.

368
00:14:50,583 --> 00:14:52,000
You can be righteous
and poor.

369
00:14:52,083 --> 00:14:53,417
On the earth, Jesus was.

370
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:55,583
The issue is not are
you rich or poor.

371
00:14:55,667 --> 00:14:58,750
The issue is are you righteous
or unrighteous in how you obtain

372
00:14:58,833 --> 00:15:02,750
and steward the resources
that God has entrusted to you.

373
00:15:02,833 --> 00:15:07,333
That being said, Jesus
is now going to talk to us

374
00:15:07,417 --> 00:15:09,500
about our riches.

375
00:15:09,583 --> 00:15:14,750
And the first question he has
for us, in Luke 12, is this:

376
00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:17,958
Are we coveting or content?

377
00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:19,750
That's the first question.

378
00:15:19,833 --> 00:15:21,708
Are we coveting or content?

379
00:15:21,792 --> 00:15:24,542
He says it this
way, Luke 12:13-15,

380
00:15:24,625 --> 00:15:26,667
"Someone in the crowd
said to him, 'Teacher,

381
00:15:26,750 --> 00:15:28,958
"'tell my brother to divide
the inheritance with me.'

382
00:15:29,042 --> 00:15:31,792
"But he said to him,
'Man, who made me a judge

383
00:15:31,875 --> 00:15:33,708
"'or arbitrator over you?'

384
00:15:33,792 --> 00:15:36,708
"And he said to them, 'Take
care, and be on your guard

385
00:15:36,792 --> 00:15:39,208
"'against all covetousness,
for one's life does not consist

386
00:15:39,292 --> 00:15:42,625
in the abundance
of his possessions.'"

387
00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:47,250
Now, we looked in last week's
sermon that the context is that

388
00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:49,750
thousands of people are coming
out to hear Jesus preach.

389
00:15:49,833 --> 00:15:52,917
He's essentially quickly
assembled a megachurch.

390
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,500
And it says that people are
trampling over one another

391
00:15:55,583 --> 00:15:57,042
to hear him preach and teach.

392
00:15:57,125 --> 00:15:59,250
And apparently one man has
gotten near the front

393
00:15:59,333 --> 00:16:01,833
and he's got access to Jesus
and Jesus just finished

394
00:16:01,917 --> 00:16:05,250
teaching about hell,
saying scary things like,

395
00:16:05,333 --> 00:16:07,417
"Don't fear those who can just
kill the body.

396
00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:10,750
Fear those who can kill the
body and throw it into hell."

397
00:16:10,833 --> 00:16:12,750
That's scary.

398
00:16:12,833 --> 00:16:15,083
And this guy raises his hand
and apparently says,

399
00:16:15,167 --> 00:16:17,083
"Yeah, that whole hell
thing, that was cute.

400
00:16:17,167 --> 00:16:19,083
"Here's what I'd like
to talk about, Jesus.

401
00:16:19,167 --> 00:16:20,583
"I have something
more important.

402
00:16:20,667 --> 00:16:23,875
How do I get more money?"

403
00:16:23,958 --> 00:16:27,792
This guy has one shot
to talk to Jesus.

404
00:16:27,875 --> 00:16:29,583
And what does he pick?

405
00:16:29,667 --> 00:16:31,583
Money.

406
00:16:31,667 --> 00:16:35,833
And how many of us have
that same proclivity?

407
00:16:35,917 --> 00:16:38,542
What's on the front
of our mind is finances,

408
00:16:38,625 --> 00:16:41,083
wealth, possessions.

409
00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:43,333
That's what we're thinking
about most of the time.

410
00:16:43,417 --> 00:16:47,292
That's what we're talking
about to God a lot of the time.

411
00:16:47,375 --> 00:16:49,875
And what Jesus says
is this, basically,

412
00:16:49,958 --> 00:16:51,917
"I don't care.

413
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,250
It matters far more
to you than it does to me."

414
00:16:55,333 --> 00:16:57,750
Some of you would be
very hurt to hear that.

415
00:16:57,833 --> 00:17:01,542
"Are you telling me that Jesus
doesn't care about my wealth?"

416
00:17:01,625 --> 00:17:04,083
Well, he does care,
but he cares more

417
00:17:04,167 --> 00:17:06,583
about your relationship
with him.

418
00:17:06,667 --> 00:17:10,167
He cares more about
your eternal destiny.

419
00:17:10,250 --> 00:17:12,792
And sometimes what happens
when you come to church

420
00:17:12,875 --> 00:17:15,208
or community group,
you only care about what

421
00:17:15,292 --> 00:17:17,792
you care about and you miss
everything that's being taught

422
00:17:17,875 --> 00:17:20,292
or discussed because you are
obsessed with one issue

423
00:17:20,375 --> 00:17:21,958
that God doesn't care about,

424
00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:24,625
at that time, nearly
as much as you.

425
00:17:24,708 --> 00:17:27,875
And that's this man's situation.

426
00:17:27,958 --> 00:17:30,583
And what happens is this.

427
00:17:30,667 --> 00:17:33,250
He is consumed with coveting.

428
00:17:33,333 --> 00:17:36,750
Apparently, perhaps,
his father has died

429
00:17:36,833 --> 00:17:39,958
and now they're splitting
up the family inheritance.

430
00:17:40,042 --> 00:17:42,250
And he's worried that his
brother's going to get

431
00:17:42,333 --> 00:17:43,917
more than him.

432
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,750
How many of you have seen
coveting destroy a family?

433
00:17:48,833 --> 00:17:51,250
How many of you have seen
coveting destroy a family

434
00:17:51,333 --> 00:17:54,208
when someone dies?

435
00:17:54,292 --> 00:17:56,625
All of a sudden what looks
like a functional family,

436
00:17:56,708 --> 00:17:59,417
someone dies,
and there's an inheritance.

437
00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:03,792
There's possessions,
wealth, life insurance,

438
00:18:03,875 --> 00:18:08,500
and now everyone in the
family is jockeying, arguing,

439
00:18:08,583 --> 00:18:12,708
seeking to get what they want.

440
00:18:12,792 --> 00:18:17,875
And it becomes adversarial
and contentious.

441
00:18:17,958 --> 00:18:20,583
This is where
the heart is exposed.

442
00:18:20,667 --> 00:18:23,458
This is where brothers
should be grieving together,

443
00:18:23,542 --> 00:18:25,708
mourning together.

444
00:18:25,792 --> 00:18:28,917
They should be lamenting
the loss of their father.

445
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,750
They should be
working things out.

446
00:18:30,833 --> 00:18:33,625
Instead, they're basically
looking for attorneys

447
00:18:33,708 --> 00:18:36,417
and they're going to make this
litigious and contentious.

448
00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:39,083
How many of you have seen
this in your own family?

449
00:18:39,167 --> 00:18:40,875
It's horrifying.
It's embarrassing.

450
00:18:40,958 --> 00:18:43,542
We had a situation not unlike
this many years ago

451
00:18:43,625 --> 00:18:46,208
in my own family
when I was a teenage boy

452
00:18:46,292 --> 00:18:48,375
and it made an indelible mark
on me.

453
00:18:48,458 --> 00:18:50,708
Like, "Why are we fighting
over the possessions?

454
00:18:50,792 --> 00:18:54,167
"Why has this gotten so
adversarial and acrimonious?

455
00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:57,000
Oh, there's coveting."

456
00:18:57,083 --> 00:18:58,417
There's coveting.

457
00:18:58,500 --> 00:19:01,375
And the heart is exposed
in moments of opportunity.

458
00:19:01,458 --> 00:19:07,208
And so Jesus says, "Guard
against all covetousness."

459
00:19:07,292 --> 00:19:09,042
What is coveting?

460
00:19:09,125 --> 00:19:11,625
Coveting is not just
the having of possessions.

461
00:19:11,708 --> 00:19:14,917
It is the loving of possessions
which results

462
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,958
in the hoarding of possessions.

463
00:19:18,042 --> 00:19:20,875
Loving meaning you can't
stop thinking about it.

464
00:19:20,958 --> 00:19:22,417
You can't live without it.

465
00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:24,750
You absolutely have
to have it.

466
00:19:24,833 --> 00:19:26,750
And even if you
don't have the money,

467
00:19:26,833 --> 00:19:28,583
you're still going to go
get it.

468
00:19:28,667 --> 00:19:30,583
We call that debt.

469
00:19:30,667 --> 00:19:32,708
The average American
has over $7,000

470
00:19:32,792 --> 00:19:35,375
on a credit card right now.

471
00:19:35,458 --> 00:19:38,833
The most likely person to be
in credit card debt is a young,

472
00:19:38,917 --> 00:19:42,917
single woman, apparently out
buying clothes to look nice

473
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,417
to attract a man who likes
to pay off credit card debt.

474
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:50,292
That's kind of the--that's
the shell game.

475
00:19:50,375 --> 00:19:53,958
And what happens is then if
you're coveting something,

476
00:19:54,042 --> 00:19:58,500
you're lusting for something,
you have to have something,

477
00:19:58,583 --> 00:20:02,250
you put your hands through the
shackles to buy it and now you

478
00:20:02,333 --> 00:20:07,000
are indebted to the credit
company because the borrower

479
00:20:07,083 --> 00:20:09,042
is slave to the lender.

480
00:20:09,125 --> 00:20:10,708
That's the trick of coveting.

481
00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:13,167
Coveting ends in slavery.

482
00:20:13,250 --> 00:20:16,250
Someone owns your dollars,
someone owns your days because

483
00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:19,000
you worship someone or
something other than God.

484
00:20:19,083 --> 00:20:22,500
So coveting is a horrendous
sin, but we don't believe this.

485
00:20:22,583 --> 00:20:28,375
We do not believe this because
we call it advertising.

486
00:20:28,458 --> 00:20:30,500
We don't use the word coveting.

487
00:20:30,583 --> 00:20:33,417
We use the word advertising
or PR or marketing.

488
00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:37,417
The whole point of advertising
is to get you to covet,

489
00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:40,667
to get you to be discontented
because you either have

490
00:20:40,750 --> 00:20:42,667
contentment or covetousness.

491
00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:45,042
If you're content, you're
glad for what you have.

492
00:20:45,125 --> 00:20:47,917
If somebody else has something,
you're glad for them,

493
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,750
but you don't have to have it.

494
00:20:49,833 --> 00:20:52,250
You're not jealous about it.
You're not obsessing over it.

495
00:20:52,333 --> 00:20:54,750
You're not going into
debt to keep up with them.

496
00:20:54,833 --> 00:20:56,167
You're okay with it.

497
00:20:56,250 --> 00:20:58,083
But if you're coveting,
everything changes.

498
00:20:58,167 --> 00:21:03,000
Advertising exists to create in
you a sense of discontentedness.

499
00:21:03,083 --> 00:21:05,958
Things you didn't
even know you needed.

500
00:21:06,042 --> 00:21:09,208
And the truth is you
don't really need them.

501
00:21:09,292 --> 00:21:13,375
Have you just watched
a car commercial lately?

502
00:21:13,458 --> 00:21:15,833
"Oh, it's a new car.
I have an old car.

503
00:21:15,917 --> 00:21:19,000
"My car does not have
all of those speakers.

504
00:21:19,083 --> 00:21:20,750
"Those are amazing.

505
00:21:20,833 --> 00:21:23,333
"Oh! Heated seats.

506
00:21:23,417 --> 00:21:29,083
"I--oh.
My bum is cold.

507
00:21:29,167 --> 00:21:31,917
I don't have heated seats.
I need heated seats."

508
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,917
All of a sudden
you're discontented.

509
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
"I need heated seats.

510
00:21:36,083 --> 00:21:38,917
"I need one for my bum
and one to warm a muffin

511
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,167
"on the way to work
for my breakfast.

512
00:21:42,250 --> 00:21:45,333
That's what I need,
heated seats."

513
00:21:45,417 --> 00:21:47,417
All of a sudden you start
coveting things

514
00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:50,792
that you didn't
even know existed.

515
00:21:50,875 --> 00:21:54,583
And so what you do is you lust
and you covet and you obsess and

516
00:21:54,667 --> 00:21:58,083
then you go into debt and you
go get it and then 6 months,

517
00:21:58,167 --> 00:22:00,125
12 months later you
know what they do?

518
00:22:00,208 --> 00:22:02,125
They come out with
a new improved version.

519
00:22:02,208 --> 00:22:04,292
This is technology.
This is transportation.

520
00:22:04,375 --> 00:22:06,000
This is fashion.

521
00:22:06,083 --> 00:22:10,583
Everything keeps changing
so that you remain without

522
00:22:10,667 --> 00:22:14,917
contentment and you're
filled with covetousness.

523
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,917
Coveting, coveting, coveting.

524
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,667
See, Americans don't see
coveting as a sin, but it is.

525
00:22:20,750 --> 00:22:22,583
It's actually one
of the Ten Commandments.

526
00:22:22,667 --> 00:22:24,333
God wrote a list,
Ten Commandments.

527
00:22:24,417 --> 00:22:26,417
Number ten, no coveting.

528
00:22:26,500 --> 00:22:29,250
It actually made the list.

529
00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:33,042
Here's how he says it,
God does, in Exodus 20:17,

530
00:22:33,125 --> 00:22:35,542
the tenth commandment, "You
shall not covet your neighbor's

531
00:22:35,625 --> 00:22:38,750
house, or covet your neighbor's
wife, or his servant,

532
00:22:38,833 --> 00:22:41,750
his male servant,
his female servant, his ox."

533
00:22:41,833 --> 00:22:44,500
All right, that would
be his tools, his truck.

534
00:22:44,583 --> 00:22:47,542
"His donkey," that would
be his car, his Jeep,

535
00:22:47,625 --> 00:22:51,250
"or anything that is your
neighbor's," including his TV,

536
00:22:51,333 --> 00:22:54,083
the huge one you can see when
you're walking your dog

537
00:22:54,167 --> 00:22:57,083
and you look through the window
and you see the big TV

538
00:22:57,167 --> 00:22:59,167
and you stop to covet.

539
00:22:59,250 --> 00:23:00,833
"Oh, look at that TV.

540
00:23:00,917 --> 00:23:03,333
"That's so big I can
see it from the street.

541
00:23:03,417 --> 00:23:06,000
I need me one of those TVs."

542
00:23:06,083 --> 00:23:08,333
The whole point
of the mall is window coveting.

543
00:23:08,417 --> 00:23:10,875
Why do you think they put
all the stores together?

544
00:23:10,958 --> 00:23:13,375
So when it's raining you can
walk around and go,

545
00:23:13,458 --> 00:23:14,875
"I need that.
I need that.

546
00:23:14,958 --> 00:23:16,208
"I need two of those.

547
00:23:16,292 --> 00:23:17,917
"I don't even know what that is.

548
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,333
I better go in and find out
just in case I need it too."

549
00:23:21,417 --> 00:23:23,167
The whole point is coveting
and discontentedness.

550
00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:26,167
And covetousness, here we see,
it is an attitude of the heart

551
00:23:26,250 --> 00:23:27,583
that consumes everything.

552
00:23:27,667 --> 00:23:30,417
You're not just content in one
area and coveting in another.

553
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:33,083
You're either content in all
areas or coveting in all areas.

554
00:23:33,167 --> 00:23:35,458
And it can be your neighbor's
house, their spouse,

555
00:23:35,542 --> 00:23:37,125
it can be all of it.

556
00:23:37,208 --> 00:23:39,625
And I think it's interesting
that he starts with coveting

557
00:23:39,708 --> 00:23:41,042
your neighbor's house.

558
00:23:41,125 --> 00:23:43,042
How many of you covet
your neighbor's house?

559
00:23:43,125 --> 00:23:45,542
Condo, dorm,
apartment, whatever.

560
00:23:45,625 --> 00:23:47,750
Their dwelling you want.

561
00:23:47,833 --> 00:23:49,750
"They have more
square footage than me.

562
00:23:49,833 --> 00:23:51,917
This is very frustrating."

563
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,250
How many of you watch
those shows on TV

564
00:23:54,333 --> 00:23:55,667
and you start coveting?

565
00:23:55,750 --> 00:23:58,000
You watch MTV "Cribs"
or a show like that?

566
00:23:58,083 --> 00:24:00,750
Like, "Oh my gosh, they have
a basketball court

567
00:24:00,833 --> 00:24:05,250
"in their bathroom.

568
00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:07,583
"I need a basketball
court in my bathroom.

569
00:24:07,667 --> 00:24:10,375
"Now, I used to be
happy with my bathroom.

570
00:24:10,458 --> 00:24:13,333
But now it seems so small."

571
00:24:13,417 --> 00:24:17,083
You just start coveting
over their house.

572
00:24:17,167 --> 00:24:18,583
"Oh, they have a theater room.

573
00:24:18,667 --> 00:24:19,958
"They have a game room.

574
00:24:20,042 --> 00:24:23,125
They have a poker room.
Oh man."

575
00:24:23,208 --> 00:24:27,167
Or we watch those shows that
are home improvement shows.

576
00:24:27,250 --> 00:24:29,542
Add a wing to your house,
upgrade your bathroom,

577
00:24:29,625 --> 00:24:32,208
fix your kitchen,
do it yourself.

578
00:24:32,292 --> 00:24:33,792
But it's coveting.

579
00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:36,250
It's, "Oh my gosh, they
have granite countertops.

580
00:24:36,333 --> 00:24:39,750
"We don't have
granite countertops.

581
00:24:39,833 --> 00:24:42,667
"I'm sure when Jesus rose from
death he didn't mean for us

582
00:24:42,750 --> 00:24:45,333
"to have non-granite
countertops.

583
00:24:45,417 --> 00:24:47,667
That couldn't be what
the Lord had in mind."

584
00:24:47,750 --> 00:24:49,583
All of a sudden
you're coveting.

585
00:24:49,667 --> 00:24:52,750
This is why if a house goes
for sale in your neighborhood,

586
00:24:52,833 --> 00:24:55,250
the first people to go
in for the open house

587
00:24:55,333 --> 00:24:57,417
are all the neighbors.

588
00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:00,583
All a bunch
of coveters walking around,

589
00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:03,250
trying to figure out, "Well, do
they have more square footage?

590
00:25:03,333 --> 00:25:04,792
"Is their house nicer than ours?

591
00:25:04,875 --> 00:25:07,000
How do we stack up?"

592
00:25:07,083 --> 00:25:09,583
It's coveting.
It's coveting.

593
00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:11,542
It's the American way.

594
00:25:11,625 --> 00:25:13,417
Jesus says guard your
heart against coveting.

595
00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:15,083
It's a real problem.

596
00:25:15,167 --> 00:25:17,417
And the way you guard your heart
against coveting

597
00:25:17,500 --> 00:25:19,083
is you worship God.

598
00:25:19,167 --> 00:25:22,250
Because, see, coveting is
the worship of an idol.

599
00:25:22,333 --> 00:25:27,083
An idol can be some created
thing that you love too much

600
00:25:27,167 --> 00:25:31,833
or you long for too much
or you lust after too much.

601
00:25:31,917 --> 00:25:36,458
And so the way we combat
coveting is through worshiping.

602
00:25:36,542 --> 00:25:39,708
That's why the first two of the
Ten Commandments are number one,

603
00:25:39,792 --> 00:25:41,042
there's only one God.

604
00:25:41,125 --> 00:25:43,042
Number two,
you worship him alone.

605
00:25:43,125 --> 00:25:45,708
And if you worship God alone,
you won't break the rest

606
00:25:45,792 --> 00:25:47,417
of the commandments,
Martin Luther says.

607
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:49,083
You won't murder somebody.

608
00:25:49,167 --> 00:25:50,875
You won't commit adultery.

609
00:25:50,958 --> 00:25:53,750
You won't lie and you won't
steal and you won't covet.

610
00:25:53,833 --> 00:25:55,750
Because if you're
worshiping God,

611
00:25:55,833 --> 00:25:58,167
you'll be content
with your spouse.

612
00:25:58,250 --> 00:26:00,083
You'll be content
with your house.

613
00:26:00,167 --> 00:26:03,042
You'll be content with all
that God has given you

614
00:26:03,125 --> 00:26:04,750
and you won't be coveting.

615
00:26:04,833 --> 00:26:06,792
You won't be sinning.

616
00:26:06,875 --> 00:26:09,375
You'll be worshiping.

617
00:26:09,458 --> 00:26:11,917
Do you believe that?

618
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,958
Most of us don't.

619
00:26:14,042 --> 00:26:16,750
Here's how it is declared
in Colossians 3:5,

620
00:26:16,833 --> 00:26:20,167
"Greed is idolatry."

621
00:26:20,250 --> 00:26:22,250
Is that clear?

622
00:26:22,333 --> 00:26:23,750
Greed is idolatry.

623
00:26:23,833 --> 00:26:25,750
And see, a lot
of people right now,

624
00:26:25,833 --> 00:26:27,500
they've not dealt
with a greed problem.

625
00:26:27,583 --> 00:26:28,917
That's why they're grieving.

626
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:33,500
See, we worship as a collective
people, the god mammon.

627
00:26:33,583 --> 00:26:36,000
Jesus calls money
"mammon", a false god.

628
00:26:36,083 --> 00:26:38,083
We worship mammon.

629
00:26:38,167 --> 00:26:40,417
Now mammon has died.

630
00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:42,958
And people are grieving,
"Our god died.

631
00:26:43,042 --> 00:26:45,708
"I lost my equity,
my retirement's down.

632
00:26:45,792 --> 00:26:48,750
"My portfolio is not as
good as it used to be.

633
00:26:48,833 --> 00:26:51,708
"I'm getting ready to graduate
and I can't make as much money

634
00:26:51,792 --> 00:26:53,417
"as I would have 5 years ago.

635
00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:56,583
"I can't even find a job that
is what I was hoping for.

636
00:26:56,667 --> 00:26:57,917
"Argh!
I'm so grieved!

637
00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,333
My god has died!"

638
00:26:59,417 --> 00:27:01,500
And everyone is secretly
waiting for a resurrection.

639
00:27:01,583 --> 00:27:05,708
"When will our god be back?
When will our god be back?

640
00:27:05,792 --> 00:27:07,875
"Are home prices on the rise?

641
00:27:07,958 --> 00:27:09,792
"Is unemployment down?

642
00:27:09,875 --> 00:27:13,500
Is our god stirring yet?"

643
00:27:13,583 --> 00:27:15,917
Greed is idolatry.

644
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,583
You don't need more wealth.

645
00:27:18,667 --> 00:27:21,250
You need more wisdom.

646
00:27:21,333 --> 00:27:23,917
You don't need your idol
to come back from death.

647
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,542
You need God to be
the object of your affections.

648
00:27:27,625 --> 00:27:30,625
Now in saying this, I want
to delineate two things.

649
00:27:30,708 --> 00:27:35,125
Tim Keller is very wonderfully
gifted as a Bible teacher

650
00:27:35,208 --> 00:27:37,625
and he's been a friend
to us for many years,

651
00:27:37,708 --> 00:27:40,542
and he distinguishes between
a surface idol and a deep idol.

652
00:27:40,625 --> 00:27:43,583
When it comes to issues of
money, I think this is helpful.

653
00:27:43,667 --> 00:27:47,583
So for some, if not all,
the surface idol is wealth,

654
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:50,125
status, possessions, riches.

655
00:27:50,208 --> 00:27:53,167
But sometimes there's
a deeper idol under it.

656
00:27:53,250 --> 00:27:55,208
I'll give you some examples.

657
00:27:55,292 --> 00:28:01,417
For some people, the surface
idol, the one we see is riches.

658
00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:04,042
But the deep idol's status.

659
00:28:04,125 --> 00:28:06,458
What they really care about is
an identity not rooted

660
00:28:06,542 --> 00:28:09,500
in the grace of God through
the person and work of Jesus,

661
00:28:09,583 --> 00:28:11,583
but I'm defined
by the car I drive.

662
00:28:11,667 --> 00:28:14,083
I'm defined by
the neighborhood I live in.

663
00:28:14,167 --> 00:28:17,750
I'm defined by whose
name is on my underwear.

664
00:28:17,833 --> 00:28:21,292
That determines my status.

665
00:28:21,375 --> 00:28:23,875
That gives me access
to certain social groups

666
00:28:23,958 --> 00:28:26,583
and that puts me
in a certain class.

667
00:28:26,667 --> 00:28:29,333
So the deep idol can be status.

668
00:28:29,417 --> 00:28:31,917
For others,
the deep idol is security.

669
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,042
Have you ever read a story
about a miser who collected

670
00:28:35,125 --> 00:28:37,083
a massive fortune?

671
00:28:37,167 --> 00:28:40,042
Wore old clothes
and drove a beater car

672
00:28:40,125 --> 00:28:43,250
and lived in a simple house
and never spent any of it.

673
00:28:43,333 --> 00:28:45,625
And then died to leave
a massive fortune.

674
00:28:45,708 --> 00:28:47,833
You ever wondered what
motivates those people?

675
00:28:47,917 --> 00:28:51,875
The surface idol is wealth,
but the deep idol is security.

676
00:28:51,958 --> 00:28:54,583
They're not trusting God
to take care of them.

677
00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:57,708
They are thinking, "If I have
enough money stowed and stashed

678
00:28:57,792 --> 00:29:01,708
"away, whatever happens I'll be
okay because I can pay for

679
00:29:01,792 --> 00:29:08,708
a doctor bill, I can pay for a
surgery, I can cover my needs."

680
00:29:08,792 --> 00:29:11,625
So they don't spend any money
because their idol is security.

681
00:29:11,708 --> 00:29:13,292
For some it's comfort.

682
00:29:13,375 --> 00:29:15,583
The surface idol is,
"Why did you buy that?

683
00:29:15,667 --> 00:29:18,792
"Why are you in debt?
"Why are you spending all this money?

684
00:29:18,875 --> 00:29:22,250
"Why are you getting all these toys?
Why do you have so many hobbies?"

685
00:29:22,333 --> 00:29:25,083
It's comfort, ease, pleasure.
That's the deep idol.

686
00:29:25,167 --> 00:29:26,583
"I just want to be happy.

687
00:29:26,667 --> 00:29:29,667
I want to have junk.
I want to have stuff."

688
00:29:29,750 --> 00:29:35,792
Now the question
is are you content?

689
00:29:35,875 --> 00:29:39,250
If you're not content,
you'll be coveting.

690
00:29:39,333 --> 00:29:44,125
And so Jesus says to be
on guard against covetousness.

691
00:29:44,208 --> 00:29:47,250
Number two, then, he goes
on to ask us whether or not

692
00:29:47,333 --> 00:29:50,250
we will be foolish or faithful
when it comes to our finances.

693
00:29:50,333 --> 00:29:52,583
Luke 12:16-20,
"And he told them a parable."

694
00:29:52,667 --> 00:29:55,292
This is an illustrative saying.

695
00:29:55,375 --> 00:29:57,292
"'The land of a rich man
produced plentifully,

696
00:29:57,375 --> 00:29:59,583
"'and he thought to himself,
"What shall I do,

697
00:29:59,667 --> 00:30:01,583
"'"for I have nowhere
to store my crops?"

698
00:30:01,667 --> 00:30:04,750
"'And he said, "I will do this:
I will tear down my barns

699
00:30:04,833 --> 00:30:07,083
"'"and build larger ones,
and there I will store

700
00:30:07,167 --> 00:30:08,583
"'"all my grain and my goods.

701
00:30:08,667 --> 00:30:11,583
"'"And I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have ample goods

702
00:30:11,667 --> 00:30:14,042
"'"laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry."

703
00:30:14,125 --> 00:30:16,708
"'But God said to him, "Fool!"

704
00:30:16,792 --> 00:30:18,625
Idiot!

705
00:30:18,708 --> 00:30:20,750
"'"This night your soul
is required of you,

706
00:30:20,833 --> 00:30:23,583
and the things you have
prepared, whose will they be?"'"

707
00:30:23,667 --> 00:30:26,292
Well, what
happened to this man?

708
00:30:26,375 --> 00:30:29,917
He obtained great wealth.

709
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,250
He did so, apparently,
in a way that is not sinful.

710
00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:38,250
He had a business
and his business flourished.

711
00:30:38,333 --> 00:30:41,958
Is it a sin to have a business
that flourishes, yes or no?

712
00:30:42,042 --> 00:30:44,417
It's not a sin to have
a business that flourishes.

713
00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:50,458
You--many of you should pursue
a business that flourishes.

714
00:30:50,542 --> 00:30:52,083
You should try to make money.

715
00:30:52,167 --> 00:30:56,250
If you're good at it, do it.

716
00:30:56,333 --> 00:31:00,417
So his sin was not
becoming wealthy.

717
00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:04,083
The sin was that he didn't
worship God with his wealth,

718
00:31:04,167 --> 00:31:06,292
he worshiped his wealth.

719
00:31:06,375 --> 00:31:07,750
He was foolish.

720
00:31:07,833 --> 00:31:09,250
So what does he do?

721
00:31:09,333 --> 00:31:11,583
He realizes, "I
have more grain,"

722
00:31:11,667 --> 00:31:16,125
which in that day is how
you would trade commercially,

723
00:31:16,208 --> 00:31:20,417
an agrarian society, and
he's got a barn to put it in,

724
00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:23,375
but he doesn't even
have room in his barn.

725
00:31:23,458 --> 00:31:24,958
All right?
It's overflowing.

726
00:31:25,042 --> 00:31:27,417
He has way more than
he needs, right?

727
00:31:27,500 --> 00:31:29,500
He's got his bills paid.

728
00:31:29,583 --> 00:31:31,750
He's got his retirement
account knocked out.

729
00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:34,083
He's got his life
insurance covered.

730
00:31:34,167 --> 00:31:38,375
He's got all of his requirements
for faithful stewardship

731
00:31:38,458 --> 00:31:41,250
covered, and beyond that
he's got a ton of loot.

732
00:31:41,333 --> 00:31:43,958
He's doing fine.

733
00:31:44,042 --> 00:31:47,292
And what he does is he decides,
"I'm going to build more barns

734
00:31:47,375 --> 00:31:49,083
to hold more grain
and more goods,"

735
00:31:49,167 --> 00:31:51,750
meaning all my money
and all my possessions.

736
00:31:51,833 --> 00:31:54,583
What does God call him?

737
00:31:54,667 --> 00:31:56,083
A fool.

738
00:31:56,167 --> 00:31:58,792
This is the only express text
in the Bible that deals

739
00:31:58,875 --> 00:32:00,583
with the issue of retirement.

740
00:32:00,667 --> 00:32:02,417
And it doesn't do
so very positively.

741
00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:04,250
"You fool."

742
00:32:04,333 --> 00:32:06,875
Does that mean everyone
who retires is a fool?

743
00:32:06,958 --> 00:32:08,417
No.

744
00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:11,083
But the driving motivation
of retirement leads to a lot

745
00:32:11,167 --> 00:32:14,667
of trouble and it led to a lot
of trouble in the last decade

746
00:32:14,750 --> 00:32:18,917
in this nation, where people are
getting into high-risk loans and

747
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,375
homes and flipping and trying to
get rich and trying to retire.

748
00:32:23,458 --> 00:32:25,917
And the whole goal is,
"I don't want to work

749
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,708
for the rest of my life."

750
00:32:27,792 --> 00:32:30,583
If you do that, you'll fall
into all kinds of trouble.

751
00:32:30,667 --> 00:32:33,000
It's a trap.
It's a trap.

752
00:32:33,083 --> 00:32:35,583
And everybody thinks they'll be
the exception to the rule

753
00:32:35,667 --> 00:32:37,750
and we've now learned
that's not true.

754
00:32:37,833 --> 00:32:40,375
We've learned it painfully.

755
00:32:40,458 --> 00:32:43,917
Our goal is not to retire
because even if you retire

756
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,292
from work, you don't
retire from Christ.

757
00:32:48,375 --> 00:32:51,417
Okay, it's not a sin if you make
enough money that someday

758
00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:54,375
you don't have to get up
and go to work every day.

759
00:32:54,458 --> 00:32:57,375
But that doesn't mean that your
whole goal is to just eat

760
00:32:57,458 --> 00:33:00,250
and drink and play shuffleboard
and wear flip-flops and live

761
00:33:00,333 --> 00:33:03,583
somewhere where the sun shines
and you hang out with a bunch of

762
00:33:03,667 --> 00:33:06,917
other people who wear, you know,
therapeutic cream for their

763
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,250
aching joints and talk about
their most recent surgery

764
00:33:10,333 --> 00:33:13,375
while sipping drinks with
umbrellas in them, right?

765
00:33:13,458 --> 00:33:16,750
That's not the goal of life.

766
00:33:16,833 --> 00:33:20,750
The American dream,
he says, is foolish.

767
00:33:20,833 --> 00:33:23,583
And this is this perennial
crisis we're having

768
00:33:23,667 --> 00:33:26,250
in the church where Christians
just want to retire

769
00:33:26,333 --> 00:33:27,750
and go to somewhere sunny.

770
00:33:27,833 --> 00:33:29,750
They don't want to invest
in their kids,

771
00:33:29,833 --> 00:33:31,167
their grandkids, their church.

772
00:33:31,250 --> 00:33:33,167
They don't want to lead
a community group.

773
00:33:33,250 --> 00:33:35,667
They don't want to teach
or train anyone in anything.

774
00:33:35,750 --> 00:33:38,667
The whole point is, "I just want
to sit around and pretend

775
00:33:38,750 --> 00:33:40,667
"like I'm in heaven already,
find an idyllic,

776
00:33:40,750 --> 00:33:42,500
"perfect place where
the sun always shines,

777
00:33:42,583 --> 00:33:44,333
and pay somebody
to rub my back."

778
00:33:44,417 --> 00:33:48,125
And Jesus says,
"That's a dumb idea."

779
00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:50,625
That's a dumb idea.

780
00:33:50,708 --> 00:33:56,000
Now, you're not as
happy as you should be.

781
00:33:56,083 --> 00:34:00,208
This is a fantastic
sermon, okay?

782
00:34:00,292 --> 00:34:02,417
You should be happier.

783
00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:05,792
Let me see if I can help you
get a little bit happier.

784
00:34:05,875 --> 00:34:11,000
Now what this guy decides
is, "I need a bigger barn."

785
00:34:11,083 --> 00:34:13,000
We just did this.

786
00:34:13,083 --> 00:34:15,958
Americans, we just did this.

787
00:34:16,042 --> 00:34:20,250
We had years where there
was a lot of grain

788
00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:22,917
and everybody went out
and got a bigger barn,

789
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,083
a house, to hold
all their junk.

790
00:34:26,167 --> 00:34:28,500
Now we can't afford our barn.

791
00:34:28,583 --> 00:34:33,000
I'll show this to you
in hopes that it is helpful.

792
00:34:33,083 --> 00:34:37,542
This is a house
in South Africa.

793
00:34:37,625 --> 00:34:40,542
A house.

794
00:34:40,625 --> 00:34:42,917
It's in a township
where there are

795
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,583
a few hundred thousand people.

796
00:34:44,667 --> 00:34:47,167
If you saw "District 9," that
was actually pretty accurate.

797
00:34:47,250 --> 00:34:50,625
This is actually a really nice
house because not only does it

798
00:34:50,708 --> 00:34:57,708
have tin siding on the top, it
has tin siding on the walls.

799
00:34:59,417 --> 00:35:01,875
It's a couple
hundred square feet.

800
00:35:01,958 --> 00:35:04,583
As I said, in this township
maybe 300,000 people live,

801
00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:08,250
there's one not too far away
where a million people live.

802
00:35:08,333 --> 00:35:09,750
It's one room.

803
00:35:09,833 --> 00:35:12,917
The family will roll out a mat
and sleep on it at night

804
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,875
and roll the mat
up in the morning.

805
00:35:14,958 --> 00:35:17,083
There is no toilet indoors
because there's no plumbing.

806
00:35:17,167 --> 00:35:18,958
There's no central heating.

807
00:35:19,042 --> 00:35:21,792
There's no central electricity.

808
00:35:21,875 --> 00:35:25,167
It's stacked cinderblocks,
dirt floor, tin roof,

809
00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:27,250
a couple hundred square feet.

810
00:35:27,333 --> 00:35:30,167
Most of our neighborhoods would
not allow us to put our

811
00:35:30,250 --> 00:35:33,083
lawn mower in one of these
because it wouldn't meet code

812
00:35:33,167 --> 00:35:35,083
for our backyard.

813
00:35:35,167 --> 00:35:37,750
I saw the same thing
when I went to Haiti.

814
00:35:37,833 --> 00:35:39,250
Here's my point.

815
00:35:39,333 --> 00:35:41,583
When we hear the story
about the rich fool,

816
00:35:41,667 --> 00:35:44,542
what invariably happens is
we think, "Yes, rich people,

817
00:35:44,625 --> 00:35:46,875
we don't like them."

818
00:35:46,958 --> 00:35:49,875
You, friends, are the rich.

819
00:35:49,958 --> 00:35:51,708
You're the rich.

820
00:35:51,792 --> 00:35:55,250
This guy's goal, his hope, was
to get to a standard of living

821
00:35:55,333 --> 00:35:57,875
that you already enjoy.

822
00:35:57,958 --> 00:36:00,250
You have a toilet.

823
00:36:00,333 --> 00:36:02,250
All right, you
already have a throne,

824
00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:04,583
literally a throne in your home
you sit on

825
00:36:04,667 --> 00:36:07,250
like a king and a queen.

826
00:36:07,333 --> 00:36:10,250
And just with one magic lever,
everything unpleasant

827
00:36:10,333 --> 00:36:12,208
departs from you.

828
00:36:12,292 --> 00:36:15,250
You are--you're
like a little god.

829
00:36:15,333 --> 00:36:18,333
Most of the world doesn't
have a throne like that.

830
00:36:18,417 --> 00:36:21,583
There's a hole somewhere else,
you got to walk to it.

831
00:36:21,667 --> 00:36:24,083
All right, if you have central
heating, you have electricity,

832
00:36:24,167 --> 00:36:27,083
you have a bed to sleep--you're
like, "I sleep on a futon."

833
00:36:27,167 --> 00:36:28,750
Well, blessed are you
who are persecuted

834
00:36:28,833 --> 00:36:30,708
for righteousness' sake, right?

835
00:36:30,792 --> 00:36:33,125
You're fine.
It's okey-dokey.

836
00:36:33,208 --> 00:36:34,708
It's all right.

837
00:36:34,792 --> 00:36:36,417
We have refrigerators.
Why?

838
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:39,083
We have more food than
we know what to do with,

839
00:36:39,167 --> 00:36:41,417
so we have cupboards
and we have a refrigerator.

840
00:36:41,500 --> 00:36:43,583
Most people in the world,
that's not the case.

841
00:36:43,667 --> 00:36:46,250
When I was in Haiti, all
the homes looked like this

842
00:36:46,333 --> 00:36:48,458
and if you walk around
with one of these,

843
00:36:48,542 --> 00:36:50,958
someone's gonna kill you
because this is a big deal,

844
00:36:51,042 --> 00:36:52,375
a bottle of clean water.

845
00:36:52,458 --> 00:36:55,458
Oh, you must be very rich.

846
00:36:55,542 --> 00:36:58,958
See, Mars Hill, you need to know
that historically and globally,

847
00:36:59,042 --> 00:37:00,750
we're the rich.

848
00:37:00,833 --> 00:37:04,042
And what tends to happen is we
always look at someone who's

849
00:37:04,125 --> 00:37:07,375
one rung above us
on the class ladder and say,

850
00:37:07,458 --> 00:37:09,000
"When Jesus thinks
about the rich,

851
00:37:09,083 --> 00:37:10,500
he's thinking about those guys."

852
00:37:10,583 --> 00:37:13,250
No, he's thinking about us,
those of us with vehicles

853
00:37:13,333 --> 00:37:15,375
and places to sleep
and electricity.

854
00:37:15,458 --> 00:37:17,792
Some of you say,
"I only have 2G.

855
00:37:17,875 --> 00:37:20,625
I only have 2G
Internet on my phone."

856
00:37:20,708 --> 00:37:22,375
Oh, I know.

857
00:37:22,458 --> 00:37:24,125
I know, I know, I know.

858
00:37:24,208 --> 00:37:26,375
We're all praying for you.
Hang in there.

859
00:37:26,458 --> 00:37:28,208
Perseverance produces character.

860
00:37:28,292 --> 00:37:29,667
Character, hope.

861
00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:31,417
Just wait for that app to open.

862
00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:33,333
It'll come around eventually,
right?

863
00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:35,333
But this is
the world we live in.

864
00:37:35,417 --> 00:37:36,917
It's ridiculous.

865
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,333
And I've had the pleasure
of traveling and it gives you

866
00:37:40,417 --> 00:37:42,125
a little perspective.

867
00:37:42,208 --> 00:37:45,000
I mean, this is the average home

868
00:37:45,083 --> 00:37:48,167
for millions of people,
families.

869
00:37:48,250 --> 00:37:51,042
Now let's compare that
to the average home in America

870
00:37:51,125 --> 00:37:52,458
over the last 50 years.

871
00:37:52,542 --> 00:37:55,917
In 1950, the average home was
1,000 square feet;

872
00:37:56,000 --> 00:38:01,917
1970, 1,500 square feet; the
year 2000, 2,200 square feet.

873
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,083
In the last 30 years,
family size is down 25%.

874
00:38:06,167 --> 00:38:09,250
House sizes are up 50%.

875
00:38:09,333 --> 00:38:12,583
Bigger barns.

876
00:38:12,667 --> 00:38:14,917
Is it a sin to have
a bigger house?

877
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,417
Not necessarily, if you're a good
steward with your resources and

878
00:38:18,500 --> 00:38:21,958
you're doing the things with it
that God entrusts for you to do

879
00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:24,792
as first priority and if
you can actually afford it.

880
00:38:24,875 --> 00:38:28,083
But many of us got bigger barns
and we didn't have the grain

881
00:38:28,167 --> 00:38:29,750
to fill it up.

882
00:38:29,833 --> 00:38:33,208
Now some of us as well, we got
a bigger house, a bigger barn,

883
00:38:33,292 --> 00:38:34,667
and that wasn't enough.

884
00:38:34,750 --> 00:38:37,208
Even though we have closet
organizers and storage space

885
00:38:37,292 --> 00:38:40,250
and we have a garage, that
wasn't enough, so Americans,

886
00:38:40,333 --> 00:38:45,375
we invented something else
called the storage facility.

887
00:38:45,458 --> 00:38:48,917
This is a barn in addition
to our bigger barn.

888
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,417
The U.S. now has five times more

889
00:38:51,500 --> 00:38:55,583
storage facilities
than Starbucks.

890
00:38:55,667 --> 00:38:58,333
You think Starbucks
are everywhere?

891
00:38:58,417 --> 00:39:02,417
There are five personal storage
facilities for every Starbucks.

892
00:39:02,500 --> 00:39:05,250
Now truth be told, there are
some legitimate uses

893
00:39:05,333 --> 00:39:07,917
for a storage facility.

894
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,417
I mean, you got a business
and you're storing product

895
00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:11,792
or something, I understand that.

896
00:39:11,875 --> 00:39:13,292
But for most people, this is,

897
00:39:13,375 --> 00:39:15,292
"There is so much junk
in our house.

898
00:39:15,375 --> 00:39:18,292
"We need another place to hold
the junk that we don't need.

899
00:39:18,375 --> 00:39:20,042
So let's go get
a storage facility."

900
00:39:20,125 --> 00:39:22,750
What's curious is a lot of the
storage facilities are about

901
00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:25,875
the same size as the average
home around the world,

902
00:39:25,958 --> 00:39:30,500
made out of about the same
materials, cinderblock and tin.

903
00:39:30,583 --> 00:39:32,917
And they don't have a toilet.

904
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,125
They don't have central
heating, plumbing,

905
00:39:35,208 --> 00:39:37,250
or oftentimes electrical.

906
00:39:37,333 --> 00:39:40,208
So where we put the junk
that we don't even want,

907
00:39:40,292 --> 00:39:43,000
that's where the average
person puts their family.

908
00:39:43,083 --> 00:39:45,292
We're the rich.

909
00:39:45,375 --> 00:39:48,250
We are the rich.

910
00:39:48,333 --> 00:39:51,125
What does Jesus say?

911
00:39:51,208 --> 00:39:53,625
"You fool."

912
00:39:53,708 --> 00:39:55,083
You fool.

913
00:39:55,167 --> 00:39:57,083
Is it a sin to make money?
No.

914
00:39:57,167 --> 00:39:59,250
Is it a sin to have nice stuff?
No.

915
00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:01,750
Is it a sin to live
in a decent house?

916
00:40:01,833 --> 00:40:03,167
No.

917
00:40:03,250 --> 00:40:05,167
But here's the real
issue for this guy.

918
00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:06,583
Listen to what he says.

919
00:40:06,667 --> 00:40:11,208
He himself, I, I, my, he,
I, I, my, I, my, my, my.

920
00:40:11,292 --> 00:40:13,750
He worships a trinity.

921
00:40:13,833 --> 00:40:15,375
He, my, and I.

922
00:40:15,458 --> 00:40:16,917
That's his trinity.

923
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:18,917
He, my, and I.

924
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,083
And see, for us,
the question is, is that it?

925
00:40:22,167 --> 00:40:24,083
Are we the center of our life?

926
00:40:24,167 --> 00:40:26,917
All of our possessions
are for our consumption?

927
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,000
That's it?
Nothing toward God?

928
00:40:29,083 --> 00:40:32,667
Nothing toward the poor?
Nothing toward anyone?

929
00:40:32,750 --> 00:40:35,542
Jesus says that's foolish.

930
00:40:35,625 --> 00:40:40,083
And so what God does
in the parable for this man

931
00:40:40,167 --> 00:40:42,708
is he kills him.

932
00:40:42,792 --> 00:40:46,375
And he calls his account due
and he has to stand before God.

933
00:40:46,458 --> 00:40:51,125
Imagine this guy on judgment
day, standing before Jesus,

934
00:40:51,208 --> 00:40:54,833
all right, with like zinc on his
nose and flip-flops

935
00:40:54,917 --> 00:41:00,417
and holding a fruity drink with
an umbrella and a party favor.

936
00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:02,417
"Hi Jesus.

937
00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:04,708
Why am I here so fast?"

938
00:41:04,792 --> 00:41:06,417
"Well, I got sick of you."

939
00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:07,875
"Oh.

940
00:41:07,958 --> 00:41:09,375
Why'd you get sick of me?"

941
00:41:09,458 --> 00:41:12,042
"Well, what'd you do with
all that loot I gave you?"

942
00:41:12,125 --> 00:41:15,417
"Well, let's see, I put rims on
my camel and I started dating

943
00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:20,833
"women younger than my
granddaughters and yeah,

944
00:41:20,917 --> 00:41:24,208
"I got a house, I got another
house, I got a vacation house,

945
00:41:24,292 --> 00:41:27,125
"I got a--that's probably not
what you were looking for,

946
00:41:27,208 --> 00:41:28,542
huh Jesus?"

947
00:41:28,625 --> 00:41:29,917
"No, not really."

948
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:31,417
"I'm really good
at shuffleboard."

949
00:41:31,500 --> 00:41:35,000
"Oh, well, congratulations."

950
00:41:42,167 --> 00:41:46,917
See, the American dream
is God's nightmare.

951
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:48,583
So God kills the guy.

952
00:41:48,667 --> 00:41:50,500
He stands before God.

953
00:41:50,583 --> 00:41:53,625
He's got to give an account,
"What have I done?

954
00:41:53,708 --> 00:41:56,917
"I bought a lot of toys.
I had a lot of fun.

955
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,375
"I didn't really give
generously to the cause of God.

956
00:41:59,458 --> 00:42:01,042
"I didn't help the poor.

957
00:42:01,125 --> 00:42:03,708
"I didn't--I didn't even buy
groceries for a single mom.

958
00:42:03,792 --> 00:42:05,417
"I didn't do anything.

959
00:42:05,500 --> 00:42:11,917
I just blew it on my
trinity of me, my, and I."

960
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,792
Some of you say,
"Yeah, that's right.

961
00:42:13,875 --> 00:42:15,792
"If God gave me a lot of money,

962
00:42:15,875 --> 00:42:17,542
I would totally
be generous with it."

963
00:42:17,625 --> 00:42:18,917
Let me say this.

964
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,917
If you're not generous now,
God's probably never

965
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,333
gonna give you money.

966
00:42:22,417 --> 00:42:24,833
The Bible says he who is
entrusted with a little

967
00:42:24,917 --> 00:42:26,250
can be trusted with much.

968
00:42:26,333 --> 00:42:27,708
The context is finances.

969
00:42:27,792 --> 00:42:30,500
He who is trustworthy
with a little bit of resources

970
00:42:30,583 --> 00:42:32,625
can be entrusted
with more resources.

971
00:42:32,708 --> 00:42:35,125
If you can't handle what
God has given you now,

972
00:42:35,208 --> 00:42:37,333
why in the world would
he give you more?

973
00:42:37,417 --> 00:42:40,000
And I'm not saying that
we give in order to get,

974
00:42:40,083 --> 00:42:43,417
but we want to be good stewards
and good stewards are most

975
00:42:43,500 --> 00:42:46,083
likely to have God entrust
more to their stewardship.

976
00:42:46,167 --> 00:42:48,833
It's not how much you get.
It's how much you keep.

977
00:42:48,917 --> 00:42:51,708
It's what you do with what
you get and what your

978
00:42:51,792 --> 00:42:54,417
heart's motivation is with
your consumption.

979
00:42:54,500 --> 00:42:56,333
Now what should he have done?

980
00:42:56,417 --> 00:43:00,042
Well, he should have spent some
money to pay his bills and it's

981
00:43:00,125 --> 00:43:03,167
okay to take care of himself,
but he should have been generous

982
00:43:03,250 --> 00:43:04,750
toward God and others.

983
00:43:04,833 --> 00:43:08,583
I'll give you a converse
story from Pastor Rick Warren,

984
00:43:08,667 --> 00:43:10,625
who is a nice guy, loves Jesus,

985
00:43:10,708 --> 00:43:12,333
and I've enjoyed
some time with him.

986
00:43:12,417 --> 00:43:14,583
I get to talk
to him now and then.

987
00:43:14,667 --> 00:43:16,125
He wrote the best-selling
English book

988
00:43:16,208 --> 00:43:18,417
in the history of the world
after the Bible.

989
00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:20,667
It's a total win.
Did a good job.

990
00:43:20,750 --> 00:43:24,417
And he got a lot of grain.

991
00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:26,250
What did he do with it?

992
00:43:26,333 --> 00:43:28,750
He paid back I think it was
like 25 years

993
00:43:28,833 --> 00:43:30,167
of salary to his church.

994
00:43:30,250 --> 00:43:31,583
"I don't need it.

995
00:43:31,667 --> 00:43:33,583
Let me pay back everything
I've ever made."

996
00:43:33,667 --> 00:43:35,125
That's pretty great.

997
00:43:35,208 --> 00:43:37,750
And then he started
reverse tithing.

998
00:43:37,833 --> 00:43:43,208
He gives away 90% of his
income and he lives off of 10%.

999
00:43:43,292 --> 00:43:45,333
That's amazingly generous.

1000
00:43:45,417 --> 00:43:46,792
I think that's fantastic.

1001
00:43:46,875 --> 00:43:49,958
Now if he lives in a nice
house, which I'm sure he does,

1002
00:43:50,042 --> 00:43:53,458
and if he sits in a comfortable
chair and maybe even if he's got

1003
00:43:53,542 --> 00:43:55,625
heated seats in his
car, do you think Jesus

1004
00:43:55,708 --> 00:43:57,375
is gonna be really upset
with him?

1005
00:43:57,458 --> 00:43:59,542
No, 'cause his heart
is he loves God.

1006
00:43:59,625 --> 00:44:02,208
He's not working for free
and he's giving away 90%.

1007
00:44:02,292 --> 00:44:04,208
Whatever.
Get a heated seat.

1008
00:44:04,292 --> 00:44:06,000
I don't really care.

1009
00:44:06,083 --> 00:44:09,083
That would be my perspective.

1010
00:44:12,208 --> 00:44:15,542
This guy had that opportunity.

1011
00:44:15,625 --> 00:44:17,583
Now we have
the same opportunity,

1012
00:44:17,667 --> 00:44:23,292
maybe with less zeros,
but the same opportunity.

1013
00:44:23,375 --> 00:44:29,750
So then the final question is,
is our wealth our God

1014
00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:31,708
or a gift from our God?

1015
00:44:31,792 --> 00:44:35,375
Luke 12:21,
he says it this way.

1016
00:44:35,458 --> 00:44:37,833
"So is the one who lays up
treasure for himself

1017
00:44:37,917 --> 00:44:40,125
and is not rich toward God."

1018
00:44:40,208 --> 00:44:41,917
Here's the real problem.

1019
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,917
For himself.

1020
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,917
That's the problem.

1021
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:51,417
You can be spiritually
poor toward God,

1022
00:44:51,500 --> 00:44:53,583
though financially rich.

1023
00:44:53,667 --> 00:44:55,375
That's what Jesus is saying.

1024
00:44:55,458 --> 00:44:57,083
How do you be poor toward God?

1025
00:44:57,167 --> 00:45:02,292
Well, you could be poor
toward God spiritually.

1026
00:45:02,375 --> 00:45:05,292
See, when we sin against
God, we accrue a debt.

1027
00:45:05,375 --> 00:45:08,250
That's why Jesus prays,
"Forgive us our debts."

1028
00:45:08,333 --> 00:45:11,833
Every time we sin,
we accrue a debt to God.

1029
00:45:11,917 --> 00:45:14,458
So imagine if every
month--I've said this before,

1030
00:45:14,542 --> 00:45:16,167
but I think it bears repeating.

1031
00:45:16,250 --> 00:45:18,750
Imagine if every month God
sent us a bill like

1032
00:45:18,833 --> 00:45:22,458
the utility company, or like
the credit card company.

1033
00:45:22,542 --> 00:45:25,125
And there was a column, okay,
here's all your thoughts

1034
00:45:25,208 --> 00:45:26,583
that were unacceptable.

1035
00:45:26,667 --> 00:45:27,917
"Oh boy.

1036
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,583
"You were paying
attention to that?

1037
00:45:29,667 --> 00:45:31,417
You're up that late?
Oh no."

1038
00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:33,000
Here's all your words.

1039
00:45:33,083 --> 00:45:34,542
Here's everything you said.

1040
00:45:34,625 --> 00:45:35,958
"Oh boy, yeah, oops."

1041
00:45:36,042 --> 00:45:38,292
Here's all your deeds,
the bad stuff you did.

1042
00:45:38,375 --> 00:45:39,708
"Oh man."

1043
00:45:39,792 --> 00:45:41,083
Here's all the misdeeds,

1044
00:45:41,167 --> 00:45:43,917
the things you were supposed
to do but you didn't do.

1045
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,333
"Oh, you're kidding me."

1046
00:45:45,417 --> 00:45:47,042
Sins of omission, commission,
thought, word, deed.

1047
00:45:47,125 --> 00:45:49,458
And here's your list of
motives for everything you did.

1048
00:45:49,542 --> 00:45:51,083
"Oh, you're kidding me."

1049
00:45:51,167 --> 00:45:53,625
Imagine getting that
bill every month.

1050
00:45:53,708 --> 00:45:57,750
And at the bottom, it just
said, "Equals hell to pay."

1051
00:45:57,833 --> 00:45:59,750
You're like, "Ahhh!

1052
00:45:59,833 --> 00:46:02,333
Man, this is stressful."

1053
00:46:02,417 --> 00:46:04,417
And every month,
the bill just got bigger.

1054
00:46:04,500 --> 00:46:06,750
"Past due.
Late notice.

1055
00:46:06,833 --> 00:46:08,583
Accrued interest."

1056
00:46:08,667 --> 00:46:11,583
"Ahh!"

1057
00:46:11,667 --> 00:46:14,083
And then one month,
you get a bill that says,

1058
00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:17,833
"Paid in full, including
all future debts."

1059
00:46:17,917 --> 00:46:19,625
Yay.

1060
00:46:19,708 --> 00:46:21,958
"Love, Jesus."

1061
00:46:22,042 --> 00:46:23,917
See, Jesus is God
become a man.

1062
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,083
Though rich, for our
sake he became poor.

1063
00:46:26,167 --> 00:46:28,375
He lived without sin.
He went to the cross.

1064
00:46:28,458 --> 00:46:30,500
He died in our
place for our sins.

1065
00:46:30,583 --> 00:46:33,542
The Bible says he
made himself a ransom.

1066
00:46:33,625 --> 00:46:35,625
That's paying the debt.

1067
00:46:35,708 --> 00:46:40,042
Our sin debt to God is
paid by Jesus, a ransom.

1068
00:46:40,125 --> 00:46:43,250
Now, if you don't know Jesus,
you don't belong to Jesus,

1069
00:46:43,333 --> 00:46:47,125
you're not a Christian,
you're poor toward God.

1070
00:46:47,208 --> 00:46:48,750
You're in debt to God.

1071
00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:52,792
You literally have hell to pay.

1072
00:46:52,875 --> 00:46:56,083
But if you come to faith
in Jesus, as he says here,

1073
00:46:56,167 --> 00:46:57,792
you're rich toward God.

1074
00:46:57,875 --> 00:47:02,333
All your debt is paid and all
of his righteousness is given

1075
00:47:02,417 --> 00:47:04,667
and you're rich toward God.

1076
00:47:04,750 --> 00:47:06,750
That's a wonderful
thing, spiritually.

1077
00:47:06,833 --> 00:47:09,458
In addition to being rich
toward God spiritually,

1078
00:47:09,542 --> 00:47:12,417
we can be rich toward
God financially,

1079
00:47:12,500 --> 00:47:14,667
meaning whatever God gives us--

1080
00:47:14,750 --> 00:47:17,375
it's not prosperity theology,
we want to be rich.

1081
00:47:17,458 --> 00:47:19,625
It's not poverty theology,
we're scared of money,

1082
00:47:19,708 --> 00:47:22,583
we don't want to make money, we
don't want to transact business.

1083
00:47:22,667 --> 00:47:24,792
It's generosity theology.

1084
00:47:24,875 --> 00:47:26,583
We want to be a good steward.

1085
00:47:26,667 --> 00:47:28,875
I want to invest and work well.

1086
00:47:28,958 --> 00:47:32,083
I want to take whatever
I'm able to get in a way

1087
00:47:32,167 --> 00:47:33,583
that is honoring to God.

1088
00:47:33,667 --> 00:47:36,250
I want to pay my bills,
take care of my family,

1089
00:47:36,333 --> 00:47:39,292
look after our church, give to
the poor, help those in need,

1090
00:47:39,375 --> 00:47:43,250
leave a legacy, make a
difference, stand before Jesus,

1091
00:47:43,333 --> 00:47:46,750
and have him say, "Well done,
good and faithful servant.

1092
00:47:46,833 --> 00:47:48,417
"You didn't worship your wealth.

1093
00:47:48,500 --> 00:47:50,250
"You worshiped with your wealth.

1094
00:47:50,333 --> 00:47:52,500
Thank you."

1095
00:47:52,583 --> 00:47:55,833
It's a huge opportunity that
God has entrusted to us.

1096
00:47:55,917 --> 00:47:59,000
Now that being said, I know that
many of you at this point

1097
00:47:59,083 --> 00:48:03,375
will have a list of questions about what
does it mean to be rich toward God.

1098
00:48:03,458 --> 00:48:06,417
And I'll try and answer
those in succession briefly.

1099
00:48:06,500 --> 00:48:08,750
This is all in light
of what we're calling

1100
00:48:08,833 --> 00:48:10,417
the Generous Campaign.

1101
00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:12,958
In God's providence, this
is where we're at in Luke.

1102
00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:15,292
And we like to end
the year strong.

1103
00:48:15,375 --> 00:48:17,583
One, for stability to make
budget, pay down debt.

1104
00:48:17,667 --> 00:48:19,167
Number two, expansion.

1105
00:48:19,250 --> 00:48:21,875
Bellevue's opening a second campus.
They've outgrown it.

1106
00:48:21,958 --> 00:48:23,583
They're also opening a bigger
Bellevue building

1107
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:25,500
at the John Danz Theatre
in downtown Bellevue.

1108
00:48:25,583 --> 00:48:27,333
Shoreline has outgrown
their building,

1109
00:48:27,417 --> 00:48:29,250
but they've obtained a newer,
bigger building

1110
00:48:29,333 --> 00:48:31,875
with 24/7 use for less money.

1111
00:48:31,958 --> 00:48:34,125
And so that's a great
stewardship move for us.

1112
00:48:34,208 --> 00:48:36,792
That'll afford them additional
income to then start

1113
00:48:36,875 --> 00:48:39,125
the Everett campus next year.

1114
00:48:39,208 --> 00:48:41,417
This will also allow us
to officially launch

1115
00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:44,042
Mars Hill Portland
with Pastor Tim Smith,

1116
00:48:44,125 --> 00:48:46,792
our longstanding worship pastor,
and then look toward

1117
00:48:46,875 --> 00:48:49,458
Southern California
around Orange County.

1118
00:48:49,542 --> 00:48:52,417
We also want, in light of
the fact we have 1600 Sunday

1119
00:48:52,500 --> 00:48:55,583
services a year, improved
children's ministry, curriculum,

1120
00:48:55,667 --> 00:48:58,417
kid's worship music, kid's
Bible, student ministry,

1121
00:48:58,500 --> 00:49:01,000
and help develop more
bands to lead more people

1122
00:49:01,083 --> 00:49:02,583
in the worship of Jesus.

1123
00:49:02,667 --> 00:49:04,208
That's the big idea.
Okay?

1124
00:49:04,292 --> 00:49:07,083
So we want to end the year
strong and then we want

1125
00:49:07,167 --> 00:49:08,583
to position ourselves
for next year.

1126
00:49:08,667 --> 00:49:11,083
And it comes at a good time,
this series does.

1127
00:49:11,167 --> 00:49:13,583
Giving-wise, we're not
an F, we're not an A.

1128
00:49:13,667 --> 00:49:15,917
We're not getting killed,
we're not killing it.

1129
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:17,500
We're a C student right now.

1130
00:49:17,583 --> 00:49:19,542
It's not awesome.
It's not awful.

1131
00:49:19,625 --> 00:49:22,375
We're not in crisis, but we want
to prepare ourselves

1132
00:49:22,458 --> 00:49:24,375
for a good future.

1133
00:49:24,458 --> 00:49:28,375
Additionally, part of the
paying down of debt is this,

1134
00:49:28,458 --> 00:49:31,333
that if you take all of our
collective real estate--we rent

1135
00:49:31,417 --> 00:49:34,208
a lot of properties, but we
also own a few properties.

1136
00:49:34,292 --> 00:49:37,458
Some have been gifted to us,
some reduced real estate.

1137
00:49:37,542 --> 00:49:41,000
We've been trying to be good
stewards with the real estate.

1138
00:49:41,083 --> 00:49:43,875
And even though we've taken
major real estate hits in the

1139
00:49:43,958 --> 00:49:48,208
last few years, we all have,
our total real estate portfolio

1140
00:49:48,292 --> 00:49:51,083
right now is about 50% equity.

1141
00:49:51,167 --> 00:49:53,917
So if you take all of our
properties and put them

1142
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:59,625
together, if we sold them we
would make about 50% profit.

1143
00:49:59,708 --> 00:50:03,417
So we're actually in a pretty good position,
all things considered.

1144
00:50:03,500 --> 00:50:04,792
Better than most of you.

1145
00:50:04,875 --> 00:50:07,792
How many of you would love
to be at a 50% equity

1146
00:50:07,875 --> 00:50:10,542
right now on your house?
Many of you are upside down.

1147
00:50:10,625 --> 00:50:14,042
And so for us, we want to pay
down debt because in part we

1148
00:50:14,125 --> 00:50:17,042
want to negotiate with the bank
a better loan because right now

1149
00:50:17,125 --> 00:50:18,750
they're really keen to
negotiate better rates,

1150
00:50:18,833 --> 00:50:20,292
which is good for our future.

1151
00:50:20,375 --> 00:50:23,292
That will also allow us in the
future to open more campuses.

1152
00:50:23,375 --> 00:50:25,792
Right now, banks won't lend more
money to churches 'cause

1153
00:50:25,875 --> 00:50:28,792
the last thing they want to do
is foreclose on a church.

1154
00:50:28,875 --> 00:50:31,792
It's really bad PR when grandmas
with Bibles are on the news

1155
00:50:31,875 --> 00:50:33,292
crying at their locked-up church

1156
00:50:33,375 --> 00:50:35,458
that has a foreclosure sign
on it, all right?

1157
00:50:35,542 --> 00:50:38,208
So banks are very timid
and tepid to loan to churches,

1158
00:50:38,292 --> 00:50:41,583
so we want to keep our debt
very low and we want to then

1159
00:50:41,667 --> 00:50:44,083
aggressively expand because now
is actually a really wise time

1160
00:50:44,167 --> 00:50:47,083
to buy real estate if we're
able to and to open these

1161
00:50:47,167 --> 00:50:48,583
new campuses as God enables us.

1162
00:50:48,667 --> 00:50:50,083
Who gives at Mars Hill?

1163
00:50:50,167 --> 00:50:51,750
Well, there's about
10,000 households--

1164
00:50:51,833 --> 00:50:53,917
Single people are one household.
Married people are another.

1165
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:55,417
Let me say this as well.

1166
00:50:55,500 --> 00:50:58,792
You single people will have to constantly
fight the idol of selfishness.

1167
00:50:58,875 --> 00:51:01,542
You come and go as you
please, eat what you want,

1168
00:51:01,625 --> 00:51:03,792
do what you want, spend
your money on yourself.

1169
00:51:03,875 --> 00:51:07,250
Sometimes it is that season
of singleness where it is

1170
00:51:07,333 --> 00:51:09,708
the season of selfishness.

1171
00:51:09,792 --> 00:51:12,750
And so for us, a household
could be a single person

1172
00:51:12,833 --> 00:51:14,292
or a married couple.

1173
00:51:14,375 --> 00:51:16,875
Out of about 10,000 households
that call Mars Hill home

1174
00:51:16,958 --> 00:51:19,083
and attend at least
a few times a month,

1175
00:51:19,167 --> 00:51:21,583
about three-quarters of them,
it's got it listed there,

1176
00:51:21,667 --> 00:51:25,083
about 7,600 in the past year
gave anything at any time.

1177
00:51:25,167 --> 00:51:28,250
This can be $1 on 1 day,
up to those who regularly

1178
00:51:28,333 --> 00:51:31,167
and faithfully
and generously give.

1179
00:51:31,250 --> 00:51:33,500
Additionally,
I wanted to see this.

1180
00:51:33,583 --> 00:51:35,917
Before I talked to you
about being faithful,

1181
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:38,500
I wanted to see how we
were being faithful.

1182
00:51:38,583 --> 00:51:40,917
The average adult
at Mars Hill,

1183
00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:43,458
household gives
about $1,800 a year.

1184
00:51:43,542 --> 00:51:46,000
The average deacon, and most
of them are unpaid

1185
00:51:46,083 --> 00:51:48,208
and they're volunteers
and community group leaders,

1186
00:51:48,292 --> 00:51:51,417
gives about 3 times what
the average person does,

1187
00:51:51,500 --> 00:51:53,792
almost $5,300 a year.

1188
00:51:53,875 --> 00:51:55,750
And then the elders,
the pastors,

1189
00:51:55,833 --> 00:51:58,417
the 40-plus men in that
office, many of whom are unpaid

1190
00:51:58,500 --> 00:52:02,042
volunteers with outside job,
though some of us are on staff,

1191
00:52:02,125 --> 00:52:06,750
give almost $9,000 a year,
or about 5 times the average

1192
00:52:06,833 --> 00:52:09,167
of the regular person
who attends.

1193
00:52:09,250 --> 00:52:10,917
Now here's why
I tell you that.

1194
00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:12,750
Before I talk to
you about giving,

1195
00:52:12,833 --> 00:52:14,750
I wanted to see, do
our leaders give?

1196
00:52:14,833 --> 00:52:16,750
If not, we're all
a bunch of hypocrites.

1197
00:52:16,833 --> 00:52:18,250
Why should I talk to you?

1198
00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:20,083
First I'd need
to talk to them.

1199
00:52:20,167 --> 00:52:21,458
Here's the good news.

1200
00:52:21,542 --> 00:52:24,292
Hundreds of leaders,
no problems.

1201
00:52:24,375 --> 00:52:26,375
No problems.

1202
00:52:26,458 --> 00:52:29,250
Your deacons, your elders,
they're giving generously.

1203
00:52:29,333 --> 00:52:31,083
'Cause Jesus says,
"Where your treasure is,

1204
00:52:31,167 --> 00:52:32,750
that's where your heart is."

1205
00:52:32,833 --> 00:52:34,417
And they're all in.

1206
00:52:34,500 --> 00:52:37,083
So my good, glad report
to you is your leaders

1207
00:52:37,167 --> 00:52:38,792
are the most generous.

1208
00:52:38,875 --> 00:52:40,583
They love the church
the most

1209
00:52:40,667 --> 00:52:42,375
and they make
the biggest sacrifices.

1210
00:52:42,458 --> 00:52:45,292
That's wonderful.
That's really good news.

1211
00:52:45,375 --> 00:52:47,458
You should be
happier than you are.

1212
00:52:47,542 --> 00:52:49,375
I don't know
what is going on.

1213
00:52:49,458 --> 00:52:52,042
All right.
I was happy.

1214
00:52:52,125 --> 00:52:55,000
If it was like, "Hey, everybody
in your church is named Judas

1215
00:52:55,083 --> 00:52:56,417
that's in leadership."

1216
00:52:56,500 --> 00:52:58,750
Well, that's a bummer.

1217
00:52:58,833 --> 00:53:00,250
Should I tithe?

1218
00:53:00,333 --> 00:53:01,958
Some of you say,
"Should I tithe?"

1219
00:53:02,042 --> 00:53:03,375
You can.

1220
00:53:03,458 --> 00:53:05,125
It's more than 25%.

1221
00:53:05,208 --> 00:53:07,375
In fact,
that would be great.

1222
00:53:07,458 --> 00:53:09,708
Ha ha.
One guy laughed.

1223
00:53:09,792 --> 00:53:11,875
Okay.
Here's tithe.

1224
00:53:11,958 --> 00:53:13,833
Tithe literally means a tenth.

1225
00:53:13,917 --> 00:53:15,750
In the Old Testament,
the old covenant,

1226
00:53:15,833 --> 00:53:18,583
you would tithe 10%
of your first fruits.

1227
00:53:18,667 --> 00:53:20,750
This is your gross,
not your net.

1228
00:53:20,833 --> 00:53:24,500
You can't even give to God off
of your gross as first fruits

1229
00:53:24,583 --> 00:53:27,750
today 'cause the government
takes it before you do.

1230
00:53:27,833 --> 00:53:31,458
I learned this when I was a
teenager and I got my first job

1231
00:53:31,542 --> 00:53:35,375
and I calculated the amount and I
got my check and it was different.

1232
00:53:35,458 --> 00:53:38,292
The money was missing and
someone named FICA took it.

1233
00:53:38,375 --> 00:53:40,292
I was like, "That
is a new F-word.

1234
00:53:40,375 --> 00:53:44,292
Who is FICA and how
did he get my money?"

1235
00:53:44,375 --> 00:53:46,042
Right?

1236
00:53:46,125 --> 00:53:49,917
They would give off of
their gross, not their net,

1237
00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:53,417
10% for ministry, 10%
for feasts and festivals,

1238
00:53:53,500 --> 00:53:57,417
3.3% to help the poor,
and 2+% for miscellaneous

1239
00:53:57,500 --> 00:54:00,375
occasional offerings,
culminating in a total

1240
00:54:00,458 --> 00:54:04,417
of about 25+% of gross income.

1241
00:54:04,500 --> 00:54:06,333
Wow, that's a lot.

1242
00:54:06,417 --> 00:54:08,417
That's a lot.

1243
00:54:08,500 --> 00:54:10,292
So what should you give?

1244
00:54:10,375 --> 00:54:12,500
You move to the New Testament,
the new covenant.

1245
00:54:12,583 --> 00:54:15,500
You could study this and it'd be
good in your community group

1246
00:54:15,583 --> 00:54:19,083
to do so with the book that Pastor Jamie graciously gave you.

1247
00:54:19,167 --> 00:54:20,458
2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

1248
00:54:20,542 --> 00:54:22,667
He basically lays out that
giving should be regular.

1249
00:54:22,750 --> 00:54:24,875
That means if you get paid
weekly, weekly's good.

1250
00:54:24,958 --> 00:54:26,583
If you get paid biweekly,
biweekly's good.

1251
00:54:26,667 --> 00:54:29,083
If you're a salesperson who gets
paid quarterly or bimonthly,

1252
00:54:29,167 --> 00:54:31,167
that works too.
Whatever works for you.

1253
00:54:31,250 --> 00:54:33,917
Just regular, regular.

1254
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,250
Sacrificial meaning
whatever percentage

1255
00:54:36,333 --> 00:54:38,500
is sacrificial for you.

1256
00:54:38,583 --> 00:54:42,083
If you're a single mom who makes
nothing, anything is generous.

1257
00:54:42,167 --> 00:54:45,500
We're not expecting
you to carry the load.

1258
00:54:45,583 --> 00:54:48,708
In fact, the church and the
members and the community groups

1259
00:54:48,792 --> 00:54:51,792
need to lovingly
help and support you.

1260
00:54:51,875 --> 00:54:55,042
So what the percentage looks
like for let's say a retiree

1261
00:54:55,125 --> 00:54:57,958
on a fixed income or someone
who's working-class poor,

1262
00:54:58,042 --> 00:55:00,333
that number is going to
be a small percentage

1263
00:55:00,417 --> 00:55:02,250
and that'd be sacrificial.

1264
00:55:02,333 --> 00:55:06,292
For someone who's very wealthy
and affluent, 10% is nothing.

1265
00:55:06,375 --> 00:55:08,500
They wouldn't even feel it.

1266
00:55:08,583 --> 00:55:10,833
So they need to be
more sacrificial.

1267
00:55:10,917 --> 00:55:12,542
So it's not
an issue of percentage.

1268
00:55:12,625 --> 00:55:15,917
It's an issue of heart
and what is sacrificial.

1269
00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:18,083
There are people
in this church that 10%,

1270
00:55:18,167 --> 00:55:20,667
they wouldn't even feel it.

1271
00:55:20,750 --> 00:55:22,583
And it also needs
to be cheerful.

1272
00:55:22,667 --> 00:55:24,250
You'd be happy about this.

1273
00:55:24,333 --> 00:55:27,917
This is not, "Okay, so how much
of my money do I give to God?"

1274
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,333
This is, "How much of God's
money do I keep

1275
00:55:30,417 --> 00:55:33,083
and how much do I give away?"

1276
00:55:33,167 --> 00:55:35,750
This is a great thing.
I don't know about you.

1277
00:55:35,833 --> 00:55:38,042
Most of my bills
are not cheerful.

1278
00:55:38,125 --> 00:55:40,625
They're not cheerful.

1279
00:55:40,708 --> 00:55:43,583
But giving to God and to his
people and seeing people meet

1280
00:55:43,667 --> 00:55:47,417
Jesus and seeing lives changed
and seeing the opportunity

1281
00:55:47,500 --> 00:55:50,583
to make disciples and plant
churches, that's cheerful.

1282
00:55:50,667 --> 00:55:53,750
That's a good thing.
That's a kingdom investment.

1283
00:55:53,833 --> 00:55:57,625
These are people that are gonna be
with us forever in the presence of Jesus.

1284
00:55:57,708 --> 00:55:59,417
That's a great investment.

1285
00:55:59,500 --> 00:56:01,958
Additionally, how
is national giving?

1286
00:56:02,042 --> 00:56:06,083
Well, Protestants,
25% of us give jack squat.

1287
00:56:06,167 --> 00:56:07,958
Zero.

1288
00:56:08,042 --> 00:56:09,833
The average U.S. Protestant,

1289
00:56:09,917 --> 00:56:12,792
if you look at everyone,
gives about 2.6%.

1290
00:56:12,875 --> 00:56:14,792
And some of them
don't go to church,

1291
00:56:14,875 --> 00:56:17,375
so if you just look at the
regular Protestant churchgoer,

1292
00:56:17,458 --> 00:56:21,042
they give about 6% off of
their net, after-tax income.

1293
00:56:21,125 --> 00:56:24,125
That'll give you some
measurement and comparison.

1294
00:56:24,208 --> 00:56:25,958
How much will we give?

1295
00:56:26,042 --> 00:56:27,500
I wanted to know this too.

1296
00:56:27,583 --> 00:56:30,500
Well, if we're telling people
to give, how much do we give?

1297
00:56:30,583 --> 00:56:32,833
Mars Hill Church gives
away 16% of our income.

1298
00:56:32,917 --> 00:56:34,875
Sixteen percent of our
gross we give away.

1299
00:56:34,958 --> 00:56:39,833
We give away--this year, we've
given away already $2.2 million.

1300
00:56:39,917 --> 00:56:42,833
Now with some other things we
have teed up for the end

1301
00:56:42,917 --> 00:56:44,583
of the year
and Mercy Ministry partners,

1302
00:56:44,667 --> 00:56:47,708
that could go $2.4,
$2.5 million.

1303
00:56:47,792 --> 00:56:49,833
We give it away.

1304
00:56:49,917 --> 00:56:51,500
We like to give money away.

1305
00:56:51,583 --> 00:56:53,958
It's a good thing.

1306
00:56:54,042 --> 00:56:55,625
I'll give you one
simple example.

1307
00:56:55,708 --> 00:56:59,958
I was preaching at a pregnancy
resource center fundraiser,

1308
00:57:00,083 --> 00:57:03,167
where they have 4,000 young gals
who are pregnant and broke

1309
00:57:03,250 --> 00:57:06,083
come through the doors every
year, looking for help.

1310
00:57:06,167 --> 00:57:08,417
And this organization was
struggling and they asked me

1311
00:57:08,500 --> 00:57:10,417
to come out and do their
annual pitch

1312
00:57:10,500 --> 00:57:12,667
for their fundraising dinner.
I put a suit on.

1313
00:57:12,750 --> 00:57:14,833
I was trying to look official,
you know, like,

1314
00:57:14,917 --> 00:57:16,250
"Hey, please give generously."

1315
00:57:16,333 --> 00:57:19,083
And as I was teaching,
I felt the Holy Spirit say,

1316
00:57:19,167 --> 00:57:20,792
"Mars Hill needs to
give 'em $10,000,"

1317
00:57:20,875 --> 00:57:22,792
'cause it was in Everett,
we're gonna start

1318
00:57:22,875 --> 00:57:24,792
an Everett campus, it's
our community now too.

1319
00:57:24,875 --> 00:57:27,458
So I called Pastor Jamie,
or I texted him, I think.

1320
00:57:27,542 --> 00:57:29,208
I said, "Can we
give 'em $10,000?"

1321
00:57:29,292 --> 00:57:30,583
He's like, "Sure."

1322
00:57:30,667 --> 00:57:33,333
So you guys gave 'em $10,000
and they're thankful for that.

1323
00:57:33,417 --> 00:57:36,333
It's just nice to be in
a position that, as a church,

1324
00:57:36,417 --> 00:57:38,667
we can be generous.
We live within our means.

1325
00:57:38,750 --> 00:57:40,833
We try and live off
of a lean staff.

1326
00:57:40,917 --> 00:57:43,833
And as there are needs, we
like to be a generous church.

1327
00:57:43,917 --> 00:57:47,125
It's a good thing.
Actually, generous people are happy.

1328
00:57:47,208 --> 00:57:51,875
God so loved the world that he
gave and God invites us to give,

1329
00:57:51,958 --> 00:57:54,667
to share in his joy.

1330
00:57:54,750 --> 00:57:57,292
God just wants us
to share in his joy.

1331
00:57:57,375 --> 00:57:59,458
And we do that by
sharing in giving.

1332
00:57:59,542 --> 00:58:03,583
And this is what it looks like over the
last decade, money we've given away.

1333
00:58:03,667 --> 00:58:05,167
This is to help plant churches.

1334
00:58:05,250 --> 00:58:08,042
Three hundred and fifty churches
have been planted in the U.S.

1335
00:58:08,125 --> 00:58:10,000
We're also planting
in 13 other nations.

1336
00:58:10,083 --> 00:58:12,000
This is training pastors
through the Resurgence.

1337
00:58:12,083 --> 00:58:14,167
You guys gave almost
three-quarters of a million

1338
00:58:14,250 --> 00:58:15,958
dollars to relief
efforts in Haiti.

1339
00:58:16,042 --> 00:58:18,292
I'll be going back
down there in January.

1340
00:58:18,375 --> 00:58:20,500
Other churches followed
suit, took special offerings.

1341
00:58:20,583 --> 00:58:22,917
Almost $3 million was raised.

1342
00:58:23,000 --> 00:58:25,583
We've also received a few
million dollars of medical

1343
00:58:25,667 --> 00:58:27,875
supplies to furnish the clinics.

1344
00:58:27,958 --> 00:58:31,250
We're in process of building
and rebuilding upwards

1345
00:58:31,333 --> 00:58:34,917
of 80 church buildings in Haiti
for those who were devastated

1346
00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:36,583
by the earthquake.

1347
00:58:36,667 --> 00:58:38,083
It's really cool
what God's doing.

1348
00:58:38,167 --> 00:58:40,208
We're honored to
be a part of it.

1349
00:58:40,292 --> 00:58:42,250
This includes MicroMissions,
where hundreds of thousands

1350
00:58:42,333 --> 00:58:44,917
of dollars is earmarked so
the community groups can go out

1351
00:58:45,000 --> 00:58:48,375
and help the poor, those in their community,
those who are suffering.

1352
00:58:48,458 --> 00:58:50,167
There's ministry to
prostitutes on the street.

1353
00:58:50,250 --> 00:58:52,375
There are single moms who
are getting groceries.

1354
00:58:52,458 --> 00:58:54,375
This also includes
military ministry,

1355
00:58:54,458 --> 00:58:57,083
where we give books and
resources away to the tune of

1356
00:58:57,167 --> 00:59:01,500
tens of thousands of dollars to
soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq

1357
00:59:01,583 --> 00:59:04,083
and serve them as they're
defending freedom.

1358
00:59:04,167 --> 00:59:06,167
We like this.

1359
00:59:06,250 --> 00:59:08,750
It makes us happy.

1360
00:59:08,833 --> 00:59:10,667
It's great.

1361
00:59:10,750 --> 00:59:13,625
And I asked for that number to
share with you 'cause, again,

1362
00:59:13,708 --> 00:59:16,458
if your leaders aren't giving
and if your church isn't giving,

1363
00:59:16,542 --> 00:59:18,292
why in the world
should you give?

1364
00:59:18,375 --> 00:59:21,292
And I'm really happy to report
your leaders are giving and your

1365
00:59:21,375 --> 00:59:24,125
church is giving and we
rejoice in God's grace to us.

1366
00:59:24,208 --> 00:59:27,042
And can we do more?
Sure. Sure we can.

1367
00:59:27,125 --> 00:59:30,083
And we want to do more.
And by God's grace, we will.

1368
00:59:30,167 --> 00:59:32,917
How to give?
During the service, offering basket,

1369
00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:36,417
giving boxes in the foyer,
online, marshillchurch.org/give.

1370
00:59:36,500 --> 00:59:39,083
You can mail it into the office
and find the address

1371
00:59:39,167 --> 00:59:40,917
on the Web site.

1372
00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:43,083
Stock, real estate,
automatic withdrawal.

1373
00:59:43,167 --> 00:59:46,083
You can go ahead and find
that by sending an e-mail to

1374
00:59:46,167 --> 00:59:48,167
giving@marshillchurch.org.

1375
00:59:48,250 --> 00:59:51,000
And let me close with this
before we take our offering.

1376
00:59:51,083 --> 00:59:53,000
I'm gonna give you
a chance to respond.

1377
00:59:53,083 --> 00:59:55,292
But before we do, you
have in your seat

1378
00:59:55,375 --> 00:59:58,042
or somewhere near it
a Sharpie pen.

1379
00:59:58,125 --> 01:00:00,292
Now what is this for?
Okay.

1380
01:00:00,375 --> 01:00:04,583
What do you use for the
spending of most of your wealth?

1381
01:00:04,667 --> 01:00:07,500
Do you use a credit card,
a debit card, a checkbook?

1382
01:00:07,583 --> 01:00:10,875
Is it a wallet?
Please take it out now.

1383
01:00:10,958 --> 01:00:15,083
I'm not going to take it from you.
You can trust me.

1384
01:00:15,167 --> 01:00:18,875
Just take it out, grab your
Sharpie pen, and put on it this.

1385
01:00:18,958 --> 01:00:21,917
Luke 12:21 with a question mark.

1386
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:25,042
Put that on your debit card.
Put that on your credit card.

1387
01:00:25,125 --> 01:00:26,583
Put that on your wallet.

1388
01:00:26,667 --> 01:00:28,917
Put that on your checkbook--
just write it down.

1389
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:30,958
Luke 12:21 with a question mark.

1390
01:00:31,042 --> 01:00:33,833
And the question is, will
you be rich toward God?

1391
01:00:33,917 --> 01:00:36,500
The average American in their
lifetime will earn

1392
01:00:36,583 --> 01:00:38,792
about $2 million.

1393
01:00:38,875 --> 01:00:42,542
If you have a degree, live near a city,
you'll make more than that.

1394
01:00:42,625 --> 01:00:45,083
The average person at Mars Hill
will make let's say

1395
01:00:45,167 --> 01:00:46,750
$3 million.

1396
01:00:46,833 --> 01:00:49,583
If it's a two-income household,
you'll make $5 or $6 million

1397
01:00:49,667 --> 01:00:53,167
plus inheritance and whatever else
you get in today's dollars.

1398
01:00:53,250 --> 01:00:55,500
So passing through our hand
in the ensuing years

1399
01:00:55,583 --> 01:00:57,833
will be millions of dollars.

1400
01:00:57,917 --> 01:01:01,083
Just this year, if you take all
the people at Mars Hill and

1401
01:01:01,167 --> 01:01:04,458
a very conservative estimate of
what our total income revenue

1402
01:01:04,542 --> 01:01:08,250
will be as a church,
10,000 people,

1403
01:01:08,333 --> 01:01:13,708
it is the same as
the nation of Tonga.

1404
01:01:13,792 --> 01:01:18,333
Our gross domestic product is
the same as a small nation.

1405
01:01:18,417 --> 01:01:22,333
And every day, we're going
to vote one dollar at a time

1406
01:01:22,417 --> 01:01:26,042
as to whether or not we will
be faithful toward God.

1407
01:01:26,125 --> 01:01:29,792
So I want you to write on there
Luke 12:21 with a question mark.

1408
01:01:29,875 --> 01:01:33,083
And then when you go to spend
that money, just be asking,

1409
01:01:33,167 --> 01:01:37,083
"Am I being a fool or am
I being rich toward God?"

1410
01:01:37,167 --> 01:01:40,750
And we vote every day
with every dollar.

1411
01:01:40,833 --> 01:01:42,583
I'm gonna pray for us.

1412
01:01:42,667 --> 01:01:45,750
Father God, I pray for us that
we would be rich toward you

1413
01:01:45,833 --> 01:01:48,417
spiritually, having
faith in the Lord Jesus,

1414
01:01:48,500 --> 01:01:51,458
who is our ransom
and pays our debt,

1415
01:01:51,542 --> 01:01:54,667
that we would be rich toward
you, Lord God, financially,

1416
01:01:54,750 --> 01:01:58,000
that we would not be concerned
about being rich or poor,

1417
01:01:58,083 --> 01:02:01,875
but instead about being
righteous and unrighteous.

1418
01:02:01,958 --> 01:02:04,750
God, for those who are rich,
I pray that they

1419
01:02:04,833 --> 01:02:06,625
would be generous.

1420
01:02:06,708 --> 01:02:09,708
For those who are poor, I pray
that they would be generous.

1421
01:02:09,792 --> 01:02:11,917
And God, I pray for
those who are poor,

1422
01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:14,750
that as they are generous,
one day you could trust them

1423
01:02:14,833 --> 01:02:17,583
with riches, not so that
they could be rich,

1424
01:02:17,667 --> 01:02:21,792
but so that they could be good
worshipers and great stewards,

1425
01:02:21,875 --> 01:02:25,417
that they could generously
do more to help the poor,

1426
01:02:25,500 --> 01:02:29,208
that they could fund the work of the
gospel and the planting of churches.

1427
01:02:29,292 --> 01:02:31,333
God, we share in
your joy as we give,

1428
01:02:31,417 --> 01:02:34,958
so please bless our offering
and please bless our ensuing

1429
01:02:35,042 --> 01:02:39,125
decision-making as we have
some big decisions to make

1430
01:02:39,208 --> 01:02:41,708
as to whether or not
we will worship wealth

1431
01:02:41,792 --> 01:02:44,042
or worship with our wealth
in Jesus' name.

1432
01:02:44,125 --> 01:02:45,542
Amen.