giv 2024 Week Three
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
If this is your first time with us want to welcome you my name is Isaac I'm one of the pastors here at mil City we're glad that you decided to join us this morning uh as Chad mentioned at the beginning in the announcements we are in what we call our give series um the every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas when uh the consumerism in our culture has taken it up three levels that we want to um not be conformed to this world.
But be transformed by the renewal of our mind and so we go to the Scriptures to see what does Jesus have to say about where we can find life even in the way that we approach our money and our stuff and so this morning as we start off what I want to do is I've got a couple quotes that I want to read from uh for you from some authors who have been reflecting on um our cultural moment and our approach what our money what our stuff is and seemingly what it has been doing to us.
And so this first quote it comes from an author named John Steinbeck this was found in a letter that he wrote he writes this a strange species we are we can stand anything God and nature throw at us except only plenty if I wanted to destroy a nation I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees miserable greedy and sick this next quote comes from Thomas Soul he was College economics professor he writes this the fact is is that the average person in the United States.
Today lives better than royalty did in past centuries kings and queens of past eras lived in smaller less comfortable homes without many of the conveniences that people today take for granted the average person in the United States has access to Modern Transportation Healthcare and technology that even the richest people of earliest centuries could not have imagined this final quote comes from a writer named Arthur Brooks he says this in many ways there has never been a better time to be alive fewer Among Us are poor fewer are hungry fewer children are dying and more men and women can read than ever before how strange.
Then to see such anger and great discontent in some of the world's richest nations in the United States Britain and across the European continent people report great une easiness about their own Futures that seems to border on hopelessness wow these are some startling quotes some startling thoughts when you begin to contemplate and realize that they're talking about the daytoday world that you and I live in that we have seemingly in this cultural moment built up such Prosperity but where has it gotten us have you not felt the anger have you not felt the discontent have you not felt the anxiety maybe you feel hopeless we need a different way to approach our money.
And so that's why we go to the Scriptures so a couple weeks ago Spencer taught on financial wisdom for eternity that we are forever creatures and so we want to approach our finances in light of such then we talked about financial wisdom for the future that we don't just live today there are days ahead and what we're going to do this morning is we're going to look at Financial wisdom for today that we do live in today so how do we approach our finances and our stuff in light of what the Scriptures teach.
So let me pray and then we will Dive In Father we thank you very much for your word in the way that it reveals who you are and what you're doing because left to ourselves we can't figure it out that we turn to silly things like money and trinkets and stuff to try to solve our problem but we need something bigger we need something better so would you reveal to us what that is this morning Jesus name amen so if this is where we are at.
If any amount of what these authors have reflected on written on is anything true then we need some kind of different approach to the way that we handle our money and our stuff in our everyday life and so let's turn to Luke 12 you can open your Bible and turn there we're going to start in verse 15 uh Spencer he preached on this two weeks ago and he was looking at it mainly from the perspective of Eternity we're going to go back through.
Look at this teaching of Jesus again and consider how does this apply to my everyday life so Luke 12 starting in verse 15 Jesus he's responding to a guy who shouted out from the crowd asking if he can solve some dispute between he and his brother and he says take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produced plentifully does that sound familiar and he thought to himself what shall I do.
For I have nowhere to store my crops and he said I will do this I will tear down my Barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul soul you have ample Goods laid up for many years relax eat drink be merry but God said to him fool this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared whose will they be so is the one who lays up treasure.
For himself and is not rich toward God so Jesus interjects into this man's question and he has this Punchy statement where he says be on guard against covetousness because life isn't found in the abundance of your possessions and then he tells this Parable uh to highlight this idea that there isn't life in all the stuff that we have and this idea of covetousness that Jesus is talking about here it's not anything new this wasn't the first time that this idea of covetousness has come up as a matter of fact this idea of covetousness this drive within us this inner desire to take what isn't ours and try to make it fulfill our deep inner longings.
It's been around since day one of sin right look back at Eve and the way that she took the fruit of the tree was it not born out of her seeing something that wasn't hers and she desired to have it well if we're honest Eve she had one tree that wasn't hers the rest of the garden was hers and Adams to tend to and take care of it was just one tree that she wasn't supposed to have that didn't belonged to her how many things have you scrolled past driven by walk down the aisle of watch some advertisement.
For that wasn't yours now I'm not making a one toone comparison between the fruit from the tree and the twinkie that's on the Walmart shelf no I'm making a onetoone comparison to that feeling that desire that began to swell up in Eve that is also within us and we are a thousand times more in a day inundated with things that are not ours that would pull our attention this is deep Heart level stuff Jesus is talking about real issues of belief on the line here and how easily do we just hit the buy.
Now with one click on Amazon when your friend comes walking in Rocking those new Nikes and you think oo those are shiny bright got to get me a pair of those how easy after uh your coworker comes walking in holding the latest iteration of the iPhone all of a sudden your phone's not good enough you got to reason 20 things long as the why it's the worst thing you've ever owned ever for those of you that know me you know I'm a I like tools I'm a tool guy I like to build things I like to uh fix things make things new and uh you got to have.
Well you don't have to have tools but tools are super handy when it comes to fixing things and uh uh if you're like me and you like tools maybe you found yourself watching some videos of some other guys that whether they be reviewing tools or maybe they're building a thing and inevitably if you're like that you'll come across some video and you'll see some tool that isn't in your toolbx and boy oh boy when that comes up you start to think wow that's a that's a cool tool and it's got you.
See that it's got that new design on there man that thing can you imagine what I could do with that I mean I'm not building a 10,000 ft house but if I were that tool would be great and then all of a sudden and me even just watching a simple video my heart is drawn trying to take a thing that's just a thing and trying to make it something that it's not because the tricky thing about it is that inherently there's nothing wrong with clicking the button on Amazon there's nothing inherently wrong with a pair of Nikes there's nothing inherently wrong with a new tool or a new phone.
So what's the problem the problem is us the problem is in my heart the way that I'm approaching all of this stuff we're we're so easily driven by making decisions out of covetousness it is our base mode of operation ation that we're so often not purchasing from a place of contentment but we actually believe we need this stuff let for a moment just to have a thought exercise I want you to ask yourself the question do I really need the stuff I buy.
So often I'm not talking about the groceries you have to buy so you can eat I'm not talking about the bills you have to pay you know what I'm talking about do you need the stuff you buy so often and if you answer no then what I would argue is that there's a follow-up question that you also must ask why do I buy this stuff I don't need so often and if you come to the conclusion well it's because I want to I would say you haven't gone deep enough search deeper in your heart ask the spirit of.
God to reveal your heart to you and what I would venture to guess is that what you will begin to find at the core is what Jesus calls covetousness what you will find in the depths of your heart what we so often find in the depths of our heart is that we're trying to find life in the abundance of our possessions but Jesus said it doesn't work that way and he doesn't stop there in his teaching he continues on and this honest reflection of our hearts and what we truly need.
So let's pick back up in verse 22 and he said to his disciples therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life what you will eat nor about your body what you will put on for life is more than food and the body more than clothing so Jesus he comes in and he gives a command that's directly born out of what he's just said that's what the therefor is is that he's tying what he has just said with what he is about to say.
So this idea that life doesn't come from the abundance of possessions is informing this command that he's giving of do not be anxious now if you're in the room this morning and you struggle with anxiety especially when it comes to your finances when you think about your bills then you might be thinking thanks I hadn't thought about that and you feel like I don't have control over my anxiety it's ruling over me it's the one in the driver seat Well Jesus he gives the command he only gives commands that are good that are lovely and true and he's going to help us out here he's going to start to give us reasons why this command.
Is good good and I think through it we'll begin to see and learn that maybe we have a little bit more say over this anxiousness in our hearts than we think we do Jesus continues on he says consider the Ravens they neither sow nor reap they have neither Storehouse nor barn and yet God feeds them so Jesus he's talking to this crowd I'm sure there are many among in the crowd that are maybe a little bit worried about what money looks like things are tight Maybe some of them are worried about what food is going to be at the table that night.
Jesus says don't be anxious have you thought about birds and I think that can be our response we laugh what what are you do what are you talking about Jesus but let's be honest here Jesus he's a wise guy so let's consider what he has to say have you considered the birds have you thought about that little chicky that's perched on the tree branch outside your kitchen window as you do the dishes when that Cardinal comes and lands on the rose bush right outside your living room as you sit down have you contemplated that bird it's life do you know that it doesn't work it makes no paycheck do you know that it doesn't have.
A savings account for some bird emergency that might come up do you know that there's no health insurance for when that little Bird's Wing breaks and yet what does Jesus say God feeds them God cares so much for that little bird that you just saw and contemplated that as it's fluttering about not even worrying about working and toiling trying to get a paycheck month to month God feeds them he cares for the birds now get this Jesus says of how much more value are you than the birds this is.
So simple yet it's so profound we know it in our heads and it's even easy to say out loud with our mouths I am more valuable than a bird try it try saying it simple isn't it but how does it show up in the way that we are worrying about our finances has this truth really sunk into our hearts that our father cares for us that he loves us so deeply he loves us and cares for us more than the birds that he feeds every day.
Jesus continues and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his lifespan we don't even have the ability to add time to our days I'm sure there's some study out there that talks about being anxious actually makes you live less but if then you are not able to do a small a thing as that why are you anxious about the rest how great is it that Jesus considers out adding an hour of life just a small thing this is another Tuesday he he thinks he sees.
So far beyond what you and I do and he takes that lens for how to look at life and then he comes at us and he asks the question why would you worry you're not in control of all of this why when you open the Bank app on your phone three times a day does your blood pressure shoot through the roof don't you know that I provide for you when it's three days out from your next paycheck why do you frantically reconsider every life decision that you've ever made don't you know that I care.
For you do you know that the father cares for you deeply he loves you deeply and he tends to every need that you have Jesus he has one last picture to paint for us to help this sink in he says this consider the lies how they grow so we've thought about Birds now let's think about flowers they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not a raid like one of these but if God.
So clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven how much more will he clothe you now I think this reference to Solomon is maybe a little bit lost on us because we're so far removed from the time uh but Solomon he was king of Israel when it was at the height of its economic Prosperity it was a great nation you know it had a lot of wealth and Solomon he would have been one of.
If not the richest man that ever lived in all of Israelite history now I'm not going to try I'm not going to embarrass myself by trying to name some pop icons here in front of you but whatever movie star or music legend or somehow now on the list Tik Tock star that you can consider that has the most elegant of apparel it doesn't even compare to a lily a simple flower that our God cared so much that he would clothe a plant in such beauty do you not know that he cares.
For you our father he loves us he cares deeply for us he's providing for us this is why there is no need to be anxious Jesus continues oh you of little faith ouch that stings if we're being honest where was all this talk of him caring for us but I think it stings because Jesus has now gotten to the heart of the issue the word of Jesus it's just cut through flesh and Bone and what has it exposed it's exposed that we're placing our faith we're putting our trust in something other than the one that cares.
For us that's what you and I at our base nature do we put our trust in something that does not care for us don't you know that life isn't found in the abundance of your possessions that don't have a mind enough to even consider you as a thing we've been living our lives with this idea that maybe some of this stuff in the world out there it can it can maybe resurrect what's dead inside of me we've been spending our money day in and day out thinking that there's life in the abundance of our possessions we've mistaken that high that we get.
When we receive a package with the Amazon logo as true Eternal Kingdom Life this isn't it and we need to know where to find this kind of life that Jesus is talking about well he's not done talking so let's keep reading verse 29 and do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink nor be worried for all the nations of the world seek after these things and your father knows that you need him he says don't go there stop buying things like that stop spending your money that way everybody's tried it it it never works stop instead seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you fear not.
Little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give give you the kingdom our heavenly father knows what we need he knows what you need it is his pleasure God finds so much joy in giving you his kingdom he's aware that you need to eat to have strength for the day he knows that he knows you need lunch after this he knows that you need clothes on your back to protect you as these days get oh so cold he knows that I need a massive jacket.
Because I can't take it he knows about that water bill that you have he knows about that rent check that's due at the end of this month after you've spent your money on presents and secret Santas and white elephants and stocking stuffers he knows about that $50,000 of student debt that you'd have and you don't know how you're going to make this next payment he knows do you know that he cares do you know that it is his pleasure to give you his kingdom that is his desire he loves you more than lies and more than Ravens he loves you.
So much that he gave you his own son he gave you his own life real true life that's what he's given us and so while we continue to look for the for look for life and the abundance of our possessions Jesus comes and he says hey it's not there life isn't there I know where life is it's found in me and the father loves and cares for you so deeply that he's tending to your every need and this is a beautiful wonderful encouragement who would not want to live in light of this truth.
But there's a question now that we have to ask what does this mean for me in my every day it's beautiful news that the father cares for us he's tending to us he loves us us but what does that mean for me and the way that I live out every day in approach to my money and my stuff surely it's got to mean something cuz all we've talked about so far is that you and I our Baseline Drive is toward covetousness and fear.
When it comes to our money and our stuff the things that most often rule our heart is covetousness and fear well we know there's no life there I know you felt the anger and the discontent and the anxiety and the hopelessness surely it's not where we've been looking for life so what we're going to do with the rest of our time is that first I want to walk through some practices some ways that we can participate in this life that Jesus is offering us.
And then we'll look at one final principle that Jesus closes with In this passage so practical thing number one for us in Hebrews chapter 13 the author writes this keep your life free from Love of Money and be content with what you have for he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper I will not fear what can man do to me so the author here he writes that the love of money is combed by being being content and the practical application that comes out of this I think is a little expli uh implicit rather than explicit he doesn't immediately come out.
Say what it is because if I were to tell you go be content you'd be like thanks but what does that look like what does that mean and there are two things that we do according to this passage we be content and then what's the other thing we can confidently say the Lord is my helper so the thing that we can do that we can engage in in a practical day-to-day basis to not put our hope our life in the abundance of possessions.
Because it doesn't come there is to rehearse the truth that the Lord is my helper that if you want to work to combat the covetousness in your own heart every day you get to rehearse this simple truth you ready for it Jesus is better than everything else assuming it won't be too hard for you to remember that cuz we say it enough times on a Sunday morning but it's a simple truth that we get to rehearse and as we sit in that remembrance that.
Jesus really is better and he's given us himself he's given us his life we begin to be washed with contentment and there's real life there so that's practical step number one that daily we get to rehearse the truth that the Lord is my hel that Jesus really is better than everything else number two now this one might sound a little outlandish stop buying things that you don't need to scratch and itch stop buying things that you don't need to scratch and itch how many of you have ever had poison ivy or maybe poison oak poison sumac I mean.
Look it can be any rash of any kind if you're not raising your hand you're lying everybody's had a rash what's the thing they tell you not to do when you get poison ivy or whatever asash don't scratch it oh but what do you want to do oh you just want to get in there you want to scratch it some of us we try to play it off you know I'm just just with my palm just a little bit with my palm.
But we want to scratch it the very thing that seems so right that we just want to do is the thing that is making it worse that's why they say don't do it and when it comes to the way that we buy stuff if we don't stop engaging in the things that drive us to covet why do we think that anything will change 100% rehearse the truth but if you just keep go going and buying everything that you can get your hands on to don't you know that you're scratching your itch don't you know that you're making it worse.
Jesus said that if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out and if your hand causes you to sin cut it off what do you need to get rid of to help you be content that's the opposite way of what we think we think what do I need to get to be content what do you need to get rid of to be content do you need to delete the Amazon app from your phone do you need to get rid of your Amazon account completely you'd be like one in a million do you need to be like me and you got to be careful what kind of entertainment you consume what kind of videos you.
Watch cuz it'll just drive you to covet you'll just want more of what's not yours and you'll think there's life there do you need to stop going to a particular store because there's literally not a single thing there that you need I I don't know what it is for you but if we can see this in terms of Heart level unbelief My Hope Is that the spirit would Empower us to take actual steps toward freedom in our life actual steps toward freedom from coveting.
And then we would sit in the freedom and the joy of contentment that's practical step number two stop buying stuff we don't need to scratch and itch number three in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus he's teaching on the model prayer the model prayer starts off by saying Our Father in heaven so first of all we're addressing the father who cares for us deeply and in the middle of the prayer Jesus says give us this day our daily bread so every day Jesus wants us to go before the.
Father the one who cares for us immensely and to ask him to provide for our needs now notice that Jesus didn't qualify it with whether you're rich or you're poor he doesn't qualify it with whether you're pantry is full or empty he doesn't qualify it with whether there's one pair of jeans or tin in your dresser it doesn't matter that every day we are to go before the Lord and say father would you take care of me today would you put food on my table.
Today would you put clothes on my back today that every day we can rehearse this truth over and over that we can go before the Lord and pray asking that he would tend to us now you take this teaching from Jesus on prayer and you combine it with what Paul says in Philippians chapter 4 he says don't be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving make your requests known to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.
Jesus that if you're here this morning and you are anxious about your money that you are worried about the bills that you have due go before the Lord and pray and everything will work out for you no beyond your understanding beyond my understanding because maybe our situation won't change a lick the peace of God will become ours that is this third daily practice in the way that we can find Life as we approach our money and stuff is that we can pray to our.
Father asking that he would tend to us because he cares practical step number four for us in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 the author writes this everyone also to whom God has given given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil this is the gift of God everyone here has stuff H maybe you got more maybe you got less but the wisdom from the author here is that we should accept what we have.
Because it's a gift it's given to us from God we should rejoice and be thankful for what God has given us because every good and perfect gift that exists in your life has come from him that's what the Scripture teaches us that whatever it might be for you a house a car meals vacations job random knick-knacks whatever it is the day-to-day wisdom of how to approach this is to be thankful to go to God and thanks for what he has given this and it's also beautiful here.
Because I think we can maybe begin to be driven by guilt as we consider all this stuff but the author says that we can enjoy it because it's come from him we're coming up on Christmas you know all the little kids that get gifts and they're just full of joy that Mom and Dad have given them something you can't help but just play with it and it brings you such Joy it brings joy to our father that we would enjoy the things that he has given us.
But the heart posture is one of thanks recognizing that it's come from him not because we've managed to work enough to get it so with these four practices that we've talked about we rehearse the truth that Jesus is better than everything else that we stop buying things we don't need to scratch and itch that we go before the Lord in prayer asking that he would tend to us and that we we give thanks for the things that he has given us to enjoy there's one final principle that we have that.
Jesus talks about In this passage in Luke so let's go back to Luke chapter 12 pick back up in verse 33 this is right after Jesus has just said that it is the Father's good pleasure to give you his kingdom so what does he say after that sell your possessions and give to the needy provide yourself with money bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fade where no Thief approaches and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is there will your heart be also when we live in such a way that our treasure is bound up in our possessions when we're living selfishly we're living in greed we think it's about us but what does Jesus offer instead he says give to the needy Jesus says that participating in true life is participating in generosity that's where true life can be found this is how Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 6 he writes as for the rich in this present age which what I've learned up to this point is that's me as.
For the rich in this present age charge them not to be huy nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy they are to do good to be rich in Good Works to be generous and ready to share thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life did you see it Paul just told us where we can find True Life where we can take a hold of true life and it's not through the Amazon button or the stuff that we've managed to jam into our closets it's in.
Our generosity it's in the way that we would give and give and give so there are two final practical ways in which in our everyday life we can approach our money and our stuff in a way that actually produces life in US so using a language from this passage in 1 Timothy we are to be rich in good works that's another practical step for us and it's such a good play on words be rich in good works that desire in us that drives us to seek after wealth should be the same fervor that drives us to participate in good works that's what Paul says that's what it means to be rich in good works.
Now we don't have time this morning to talk about every way that you could participate in Good Works the Bible is full of them Paul writes all about them in his letters whether be hospitable helping the weak being patient helping the widows and orphans living peaceably with others forgiving one another bearing one another's burdens on and on and on the list can go you can go read it for yourself and I don't know what it would exactly look like for you.
Today tomorrow the next day for you to participate in one of these kinds of works that the father has laid before you in your day but you can participate in it and when you do you'll start to experience real life when it's no longer about me and about what I can get but about what I can give to help others to support others to build others up all of a sudden there's life there there and lastly we are to be generous Paul says we are to be ready to share this means that we should be people that give our money and our stuff away that should Mark our lives that we would give our money.
And give our stuff away if you want to come back that the greed that's buried in your heart cuz you've come to the realization that Jesus is right and there's no life there be generous give your money away somehow there is life there donate to the local Church donate to overseas missionary work like 1040 hope donate to relief organizations like Oliver Gospel Mission or to Providence home donate to our give project and help house a family donate to help widows or orphan care help pay the water bill of that person in your group that's been saying money is.
So tight right now give to your coworker who's worried about the amount of food that their children are going to have at the end of the week give and give and give and as you give experience the life that is found there that Jesus is giving to us because he has given us life in his generosity I'll close with this aw toer he writes this he says materialism has become the enemy of the spiritual life in craving what we do not have we lose sight of the.
God who provides for our deepest needs we don't live in a world that helps us to practice trust over anxiety we don't live in a world that helps us to practice contentment over covetousness and we don't live in a world that helps us practice General generosity over greed so we must be vigilant and recognizing our need for deep Heart level change and then when we see it begin to rear its ugly head that we would confess it that we would turn to.
Jesus and say would you forgive me at the cross you have given for given me yourself please forgive me and then we would get to actually walk in the new Resurrection Life that Jesus is giving us every single day as we approach our money and our stuff this new life that Jesus offers it's not theoretical it does not just exist in the way that we talk to each other it does not just exist and the way that words are coming out of my mouth right.
Now no this life exists in power for freedom to live apart from sin and as it relates to our money and our stuff well this power can show up in the three principles that we have talked about this morning that we can be content not Covetous that we can be faith filled not fearful and we can be generous not greedy and as the band comes up I would just remind us of the daytoday practices that we have talked about because it shows up in every day.
Remember it's not just ethereal it's real stuff it shows up in our actual lives that we can can give our money and our stuff away that we can stop buying so much stuff that we don't need to scratch an itch that we can participate in the good works that the father has laid before us and we can give thanks to God for how he has taken care of us and given us things to enjoy we can petition before the father every day.
Father would you take care of my needs today and we can rehearse the simple Gospel truth that Jesus really is better than anything else that this life has to offer because there's no life in this world apart from Jesus and when we do these things when we slowly begin to engage in this kind of Lifestyle we are participating in the Eternal Kingdom of life that Jesus has brought that's what it looks like so let's go before the Lord now and praise him and exalt him to rehearse the truth and to go before him and ask would you take care of me.
Today.
giv 2024 Week Two
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
But that forms the basis for our approach to money but the Bible also has very practical things to say about how to think about tomorrow throughout the Proverbs throughout the Scriptures there's different passages that help us see how to think about tomorrow in light of Eternity and that's important uh because a lot of times we don't think about that and there are consequences for that I heard a story recently uh about a couple that was meeting with uh Financial planner they were meeting uh to talk about retirement uh and and they're in the early ' 70s and and they you know the a lot of the the money they had saved over the years the.
The financial planner was talking with them and saying hey at some point you you know you should retire this is an ongoing conversation that was happening uh every year as they met together to talk about their plans and finally uh after many years of doing this the planner just looked and said hey like you you really should like you see what you've got your fine and then they responded by saying well we we'd like to we just want to make sure that all of our debt is paid off before to which the planner said what debt they had not ever disclosed that they had debt.
So he began to do some digging and upon further investigation looked that they had actually lots of debt that they had uh 13 credit cards with high outstanding uh uh uh uh loans on those that were gaining upwards of 35% interest that they had a uh a construction loan that had not been paid off they had an HVAC loan that had not been paid off they had a loan for a mattress a fancy bed that had not been paid off.
When all of this was pieced together it became abundantly clear that they had way too much debt and he had to say no actually you're you're right you're you're you're not going to be able to even have think about retiring until you're in your mid late '70s until all of this gets addressed and that reality set in upon them now some version of that story happens over and over and over again there's far too many people far too many Americans far too many Christians that aren't prepared.
Because they're not thinking that far ahead so we want to be a people that are financially wise and we do think about that our hope and our riches are in the life to come but that doesn't mean that that we bury our head in the sand that doesn't mean that we're not thinking about the very practical implications of what it looks like to think about tomorrow and that's what I want to do today is I want to just get very very practical.
Look at what the Scriptures have to say about this so I'm going to pull out four different principles of financial wisdom for tomorrow four different principles that we'll look at and God willing if we can begin to learn from the very practice practical teachings from the Scriptures on this we can be a people that both balance what it means to have our minds and Eternity to set our hope in riches and The Eternity that is to come with Christ while also not being foolish in how we think about our money here.
For the days that we have here on Earth so let me pray for us and then we'll walk through this together heavenly father I pray that you might help us be wise be wise in a way that changes the way that we live that changes the way that we think about money that changes the way that we plan for tomorrow but in order to do that you have to work in our hearts so we might not just be hearers of the word.
But we might also be doers of the word so we ask this in Jesus name amen so in planning for these four principles I talked to Raz Bradley he's one of our uh pastors he is actually just say hey man do you want to teach this because this is what he does he he does retirement and and life insurance he's he's a he's a lay Pastor here so he's not on staff here I said do you want to teach this and he said no I can't my job does allow me to do that.
So I lean on him a little bit and trying to put this together so his thoughts will be here scattered throughout but he won't get in trouble with uh the SEC and all the things he's got to report to so four principles of financial wisdom for tomorrow starting with the first the wisdom of savings the wisdom of savings I uh my wife and I we got married we moved to Louisville Kentucky uh where I was in seminary I worked at a coffee shop she taught dance at a studio.
So we were not uh financially killing it we were paying our bills or paying our way through Seminary uh but uh our budget was very very tight and in the first couple years I remember we had a major medical bill hit and it was like $1,000 which was like a a a lot a lot a lot a lot of money it's a lot of money anyways it was a lot a lot of money then because it was like man we we don't make anything how in the world and I panicked and I freaked out and she needed her husband in that moment to be subber minded needed to be uh uh faithful.
But was just like I don't know what we're going to do just just like and she's just like oh this isn't good and some version of that has happened like 15 times uh well not the panicking part but the some some version of a of a of a Big Bill hitting like it's all of a sudden it's a medical bill all of a sudden the car broke down all of a sudden some version this happened 15 times throughout our marriage which just keeps happening over and over again and I am no longer surprised.
Because that's life I'm I'm not surprised by anymore I've grown to be like no that that's stinks let's let's pray let's think let's strategize but we're going to be okay because it happens over and over and over again and one of the things we had to learn early on was we need to build some emergency savings that was important for when things happened that it's foolish to actually spend everything that you make Proverbs 21:20 says precious treasure in oil are in a wise man's dwelling.
But a foolish man devours it and this we see a lot Proverbs this this General proverbial teaching on it's wise to have some stuff stored in your house because if you spend everything that you get that is foolish that you will not have things for when the day of trouble comes uh when you read Proverb 6 which is the proverb about uh that Solomon uses the example of uh The Ant and how hard the ant works that's the main teaching of that is that you should work hard be like the ant.
But one of the things that that the example of the ant does is that it stores up it gathers for for when it when things are going to be difficult down the road this is an example of we should be thinking in the immediate future we should have stuff saved up because things are going to hit like I I I've I've said this I know this is a common saying but it's like man I feel like every time we get ahead something else happens and it just hits again and it's it's like we should no longer be surprised you we should not be caught off guard that.
When something finally hits and you watch your savings do this again that's life unless unless you're in a in an an exceedingly High tax bracket that's that's always going to hit and it's going to affect you you you you've got to be prepared for these things preparation is not seen as a bad thing it's seen as wise I mean goodness the whole Narrative of of Genesis 41 of Joseph and Pharaoh the main the main picture of that is God's ultimate Redemption story that's happening through Joseph preserving the life of his brothers.
But buried in that is the very wise thing that when the seven years of famine happened the Lord prepared them for that and that's very practical Proverbs 21:5 says the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance but everyone who is Hasty comes only to poverty that you get this picture of those who are diligent in their planning and their foresight well they're going to be okay but anyone who's Hasty anyone who just spends what they get anyone who makes quick decisions.
Well that's foolishness and that only results ultimately in poverty you need to plan diligently which means that you need to say no to things all the time because there's so many things things that culturally VI for your for your wallet so many things that you can spend your money on and we have to learn to say no so that we can be diligent in planning ahead and be wise otherwise poverty is at the door and it will come 44% of Americans cannot pay.
For a $1,000 bill in an emergency 44% of Americans do not have $1,000 saved up an emergency savings when a bill comes that's a problem and it's a problem that's common we should be thinking ahead we should be diligent and saving for when that comes that's why people like Dave Ramsey who Dave Ramsey is a big uh is a Christian Financial uh Guru who gives wisdom on this I don't buy into everything Dave Ramsey says but I I I think a lot of it is very very wise and he's adamant about getting your emergency savings up to $1,000 as fast as you can.
And then from there he expands it out to 3 to six months of living expenses what you should have for emergency savings and think about that 3 to six months of of your spending of your monthly spending and budget that's easily $10,000 for a lot of Americans and that is easily the price of an HVAC unit these days right it's how quickly this can come so we can't be Hasty we must must be diligent must plan we must begin to grow what it means to actually uh have savings.
For when stuff happens the Scriptures are very practical on this and the second principle I want to look at is the wisdom of counting the cost the wisdom of counting the cost Luke 14:28 Jesus is teaching and buried in his teaching he says in verse 28 for which of you you Desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the costs whether he has enough to complete it now that isn't about that that main teaching in Luke 14 is not about uh counting the cost of building a tower it's about the cost of discipleship.
Jesus simply gives an example about a builder it says surely a builder is going to count the cost before they build a tower you should also count the cost of what it means to follow me because if you follow me you're going to suffer it's going to cost you but the very practical piece of wisdom that he uses is no Builder should build a tower without counting the cost it's very similar to Proverbs 24:27 which says prepare your work outside get everything ready.
For yourself in the field and after that build your house this is IDE idea of you should count the cost you should think ahead in counting the cost before you do a thing before you make a decision it's wisdom that was important thousands of years ago it's wisdom that's important for any person that's going to build something today but it's a principle that we should expand out towards everything that we do you should consider the costs before you make any purchase.
So why we're not Hasty that's why we're slow that's why we're diligent that's why we're thoughtful you should consider consider the cost before you purchase anything that is wise one of the things that I joke regularly about is owning a Prius and it's for obvious reasons it's very low hanging fruit it's a comical car it's it's not nice especially the one that I have it's very it's older and it's yeah it it it should be made fun of but the reality is is that I'm thankful that we have it.
Because it it's very helpful practically for our budget like it's very practical one of the values I have is I want my wife to always drive something nicer than me it's not a law but I just like the idea of her serving her in that way for it has something nicer than me but the reality this this car is so low maintenance the cost of ownership is so low I'm not proud of it I was in a parking lot once drop it off my kid and a guy who drove the exact same year make model in color Prius came up to me and started geeking about his car and I was like how why are.
You not ashamed of yourself why are you talking to me I don't want to talk to you we should never ever talk about this ever again like this is not a thing that should ever come up but the cost of Shame is worth it to me it just is because we live in a time where the American dream sells you on you should have an upgrade to the new or nicer vehicle and it's just I mean the amount of car debt that we have in this country is insane and it's.
Because it's just the expectation of living here that you should have something that's newer and nicer and I don't think people count the cost that's involved in doing that I think they may at some level consider yeah okay well it's going to be about I don't know three four 500 bucks a more on a monthly payment and I'm going to you know that that that that's tight for us but you know I deserve this I've worked hard for this and then they go and purchase it and all of a sudden it's like I don't know.
If we have room in our budget it's like yeah because that wasn't the only cost I mean a lot of it's I mean people don't even think about this but it's I mean sometimes they upgrade to a bigger truck and it's like those tires cost a lot more now don't they they don't think about the fact that you that you maybe you bought something that requires more gas and that's an annual cost at the end of the day you don't think about the the premiums on your insurance just shot through the roof you went from owning a a vehicle that was like $5,000.
Now it's $30,000 and your insurance premiums now are higher your property taxes on a car are much higher now and property taxes on vehicles in the state are pretty high comparison to other places you don't think about that was all of a sudden I mean you don't think about the fact that the maintenance on that vehicle now just went through the roof because now I would know this but V cars now have like sensors in them like computers and they like think about things and you can they have a car that you know that that that tells you there's a car coming in the lane beside you.
Well that that all every single one of those is a little tiny little computer thing part now it's in the mirror and the side mirror gets hit and it's no longer a $50 fix it's a $500 fix and all of a sudden you didn't count the cost and now you're wondering why you're behind on something like that and I could take that example and expand that to how's I can expand that to so many other things we don't regularly consider the cost before we make hasty decisions and we live in a in a culture that just feeds us materialism it feeds your soul with you need this you need this you need this you need.
This and we just think I deserve this I've earned this I need this I mean some of you are like I I have counted the cost and I can afford this and it's like well but should you is the question that's the bigger question with a lot of this is that should you have the newest and nicest all the time everything is Case by case on these type of decisions I would make a blanket rule on anyone for these types of decisions.
But the reality for many of us is ultimately it's going to be a sliding scale somewhere is that if I spend more on this thing I spend less here which might be savings which might be generosity and we're making these decisions sometimes quickly and sometimes not counting the cost and we're moving this all over the place and the more that we get pulled into the American dream the more we get pulled more into materialism the more we get pulled more into I got to upgrade and and keep up with my neighbor and do all these things the less we have.
For savings generosity the things that ultimately are very important and eternally matter but a lot of these decisions are are made much worse wiser if we actually will consider and count the cost before we make decisions that's the second principle we should heed from the Scriptures is counting the cost the third is the wisdom of debt-free living the wisdom of debt-free living debt is not your friend it's not main uh teaching from the Scriptures on this is prbs 22:7 the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender that.
When you take a loan from anyone any company that ultimately you owe them and you are not free now there's a lot of debate and off often sometimes heated debate on this passage and the application of it because you get some that'll say see it's foolish or even sinful to ever have debt of any kind and this will be more on the Dave Ramsey side of things has more a little more Nuance position than that but it's just this that it's always always always bad and another side is going to say no this is a little more no this is proverbial the point here is that you shouldn't uh you should be mindful about the.
Debt that you take on you should be M like listen there's there's and I'm not going to solve that debate at all uh today but make no mistake wherever you fall in this debate here it's like you need to understand that regardless when you take on a mortgage and I would argue personally taking on a mortgage is a good thing that's a good way that's one of the easiest ways to build uh long-term wealth in our country so I personally think it's.
Okay to take on some debt like that but even make no mistake the moment you sign a mortgage note you you are not free that will hang over you until it is paid off doesn't changed the wording on this at all the bar is a slave of the lender there's a claim against you until you pay it off you are not free and debt is not your friend that couple I talked about the very beginning that into their 70s they have this burden upon them and it's there and they are not free that every night.
When they lay their head on a mattress that is fancy and great to sleep on they're not free and that's the reality for many of us many of the things that we own are not free that that we're slaved to the lender that we owe something on it y'all it is almost never wise it's it's rarely I would say wise to to owe credit card debt that you can not immediately pay off it's just unwise and yet Americans are about $1.17 trillion dollar in personal credit card debt that's not even we're talking about the government debt there personal American finances over a trillion dollars right.
Now in credit card debt and y'all know the 20 25 30 35% interest on that stuff I'm I mean it's it's a noose around the neck I did B vacational I did Real Estate and pastoring for years I still have my license I don't do as much real estate anymore but one of the things that used to I just boggled my mind was in real estate uh The Lending limits uh you could borrow up to for your primary house you could borrow up to a.
Third of your gross monthly income to purchase which means that if you have um if you make $3,000 gross every month so that's not that's not net that's $3,000 before taxes so before Uncle Sam takes any money if you made $3,000 a month you could borrow money for a house that costs you $11,000 a month that's the that's the Freddy May Freddy Mac that's the lending limits that's insane that's insane that that's allowed like that makes no sense at all I mean what I mean $3,000 Uncle Sam takes it you're getting closer to $2,000.
Now you're $1,000 out of monthly payment and you got $1,000 to pay for health insurance you got $1,000 to pay for food you got $1,000 to pay for everything else that's insane y' our whole system is built on debt it's insanity and it's foolishness and we're so used to it we're so fine with it we we we we we deal in debt all all the time and the Bible says it's foolishness that you make yourself a slave to someone else you are not free.
When you make the decision over and over and over again and I would plead with you that if you are in debt right now you need to get out of it that 2025 it needs to be the year where you aggressively tackle your debt now the good news is is we're offering a financial wisdom class starting in January that Shar Atkins is going to uh teach this and it's going to be extremely practical and I would encourage you to sign up.
For this because it's gonna and and up even beyond that we have a financial care team that comes out of that that's going to help that will sit down with you that will look through your budget that'll help form a budget if you don't have one that will help you tackle an aggressive plan to be able to get out of debt so that you can be free we care about this as a Church and we want to walk alongside you but the.
First part of the problem is diagnosing that you have one and heeding this third principle fourth principle the wisdom of preparing the wisdom of preparing and specifically what I mean by preparing is for retirement the idea of retirement doesn't explicitly show up in the Scriptures and the reason it doesn't is because it was completely different time and culture that in their time you had family land and you had lots of kids which were your Social Security you had children that would take care of you.
When you were older you had the same trade the same land you worked that together and when you got older and you could not work anymore and an honor-based culture your children were absolutely going to take care of you on that same piece of land with that same family trade now that does still happen in other parts of the world today that is why in other countries they have lots of children still because that is your Social Security but we are very different very different culturally very different time all of that.
So what do you do with that because we don't live in the same time and culture as the Bible how do you defend the idea of saving large amounts of money for retirement I would argue it is the summation the summary of these three principles that we just walked through if you I I if if having when you build savings for when Trouble Comes when a uh when a major medical bill happens that's wise but if you're not building savings for.
When Trouble Comes when you are in your 70s and 80s and 90s if you're lucky if you're not building for that you're not thinking ahead head because that is a trouble that is coming that we should count the cost and what we purchase but we also should count the cost on what it takes to live in our later years and shouldn't just assume I'll be all right I have so security if you want to talk to some of our older wiser Saints in our Church it's not that simple that you should count the cost that we uh should be a people that are aggressively getting rid of debt and by the time that're older we.
Debt should be way far behind us that if we're thinking about those first three principles and then thinking about our own Culture The Logical next step is planning ahead for in the final years of our life we should be a people that are thinking like this and I'm going to give some additional on with those uh principles I'm going to give some additional Scriptures that help us think through this and how to uh think about this wisely Proverbs 1211 says whoever works his land will have plenty of bread.
But he who follows worthless Pursuits will have plenty of poverty now the very direct teaching there is is that it's good for you to just work hard at what you've been given to do and there will be abundance you'll be fine that's the general proverbial wisdom there work hard don't cut quarters and and chase after foolish Pursuits because what can happen is is is you might be in your 50s and go oh no I'm I don't think I have a month I don't think I have enough built up.
For retirement and then you might go and choose risky Endeavors to try to make up the Gap that you should have been thinking about all along no work hard prepare think ahead be diligent and put away a little bit at a time a little bit at a time another nugget of wisdom that we get from the gospels is one of these teach that Jesus has that's buried in a teaching when Jesus is teaching on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 which is about a bigger thing that he's teaching in that he makes a very obvious example in Matthew 25: 27.
When the master responds to a man who buried his money in the ground out of fear he says then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest now again there's bigger teaching that's going on there but buried in that is the very obvious example that Jesus gives here that you you could at least instead of burying your money in the ground have put it in something that gains interest and that's where like financial advisers like Raz get really excited like they just I think they go too hard In this passage they just love it love it love it love.
It love it so if you're a Christian and you do financial planning like this is the this is it right here you PR this thing on pillows and put in your office or whatever it is they do but this is this is it like it's like it's it's just very very easy wisdom on the surface right there to be thinking about how can I actually choose wise Investments how can I think about interest and compound interest and all these things these are things you should be thinking about as you think ahead.
If you have children you should be thinking about them in this as well Proverbs 13:22 says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children children's children but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous and that very general proverb is just this General picture of leaving something to your children is good it'll bless their children and their children's children this is the idea of generational wealth but if you don't be laid up for other purposes that aren't good and it's like there's a whole lot of ways that can be misapplied and misunderstood you certainly can leave your kids way too much and it be be bad.
For them but it's this idea of forward thinking ahead and building something for the rest of your days now I think those principles that we talked about earlier do give the foundation for retirement I think these passages help us think wisely about that but here's the difficult thing as Christians as you take everything that we've said about building savings and all of this and you hold that against everything that we said last week which is says do not store up riches here on Earth and it's like man how do we do both how do we walk wisely in the principles the Scripture gives us to think about this.
While also not building storehouses that we talked about last week how do we do this wisely in heed 1 Timothy 6:17 which says As for the rich in this present age charge them not to be hauy nor to set their hopes on the and certainty of riches but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy it's like man H how do we not love riches so much and trust God for daily provision as we think ahead how do we he what we looked at last week Luke 12:15 and he said to them take care and be on your guard against all covetousness.
For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions it's like how do I hold these principles and the wisdom here while also having the heart that says I don't want to store up riches here on Earth I I want to invest in the Kingdom that is to come that's the difficulty of Christian Living and and wisdom and I would say it is walking open handedly before the Lord in all of this that is practicing these wise things open-handed that.
If God looked at you in your later years and says I want you to give up this amount of dollars from the nest egg that you've been building the question is would you respond with yes or would you tightfisted go I don't know I I don't know if I can heard another story about a financial adviser who was meeting with this uh woman who's in retirement and they're looking at her monthly uh budget based on her retirement and and she was spending a lot and they were talking with her saying Hey.
Listen I I think that to be mindful of this because you're spending a lot but the the truth of it was she wasn't spending it on herself she was actually spending it on generosity that upwards of about 35% of her budget was was being given away in her retirement and they're trying to teach her and say tell her and said listen I you need to be careful here if if you continue this pattern you might run out of money we might need to re consider you know good thing you're being generous.
But you might need to reconsider some of this and the woman looked at them as serious as could be and said I will cease to give when I cease to live I will cease to give when I cease to live I will die before I stop being generous because that woman knew what her her life was ultimately about that's it y'all that's how we should that's that's it we should be a people that wisely handles our finances in a way that is forward-looking.
But it's so open-handed in how we look ahead that we would be so growing in generosity that at the end of our life we'd still be giving as much as we could away because we understand that ultimately the kingdom of God is more important ultimately investing in missions ultimately giving to the local Church ultimately investing in adoption care ultimately investing in Eternal things is more important that's it we should have the mindset that says yes I will walk wisely but I will cease to give.
When I cease to live I will plan for tomorrow but I will live for eternity that is how we should walk as Christians as we plan for tomorrow with our hope in eternity the band's going to come up and I want us before we take the Lord's Supper today I want us to consider this because in reality many of us have not heeded the wisdom of the Scriptures on this that there are some of us have are are continually racking up debt and and and and it's just there some of us are spending everything that we get and we're not thinking wisely some of us have saved Lots.
But it's been the danger of storehouses and it's not been entrusted to the Lord in a way that is seeking to be open-handed with our finances all of us undoubtedly have failed in this area but the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus meets us in our failure he meets us in our shortcomings here that when we take the Lord's Supper we come we take the bread and the juice and we're reminded in the night that Jesus was betrayed took bread and he broke it he said this is my body that was broken.
For you that as often as you eat and drink you so you Proclaim my death until I return so as Christians yeah sometimes we stink at this and yeah sometimes we've been foolish but Jesus pays for fools with his blood and we come receiving the Forgiveness that we have in Christ but we also come asking him to change your hearts so that we might not be fools for very long that we might be thinking about eternity and also planning for tomorrow in a way that brings him honor and Glory.
So yeah we some of us have really messed this up but that table is for messed up Sinners and we come and we come in Repentance and we come enjoy worshiping him so when you are ready as a Christian come to the table if you're not a Christian please do not take part in this this isn't for you we want you to take part in faith in Jesus so you can understand some of these teachings that we're trying to apply to us as Christians.
But when you are ready come and take the Lord's Supper there's glutenfree in that back corner over there let me pray for us heavenly father I pray that you might help us heed the wisdom of the Scriptures so that we might be a people that walk wisely about our finances that we might be people that our hearts are so firmly fixed in the eternity but we might also be wise about tomorrow and that will only come through your work in our heart.
So we pray that you would and we ask this in Jesus name amen.
giv 2024 Week One
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer and I am one of the pastors here so we are not in the Book of Revelation uh we are taking a break for that uh from uh The Book of Revelation of the next few weeks we'll jump back in in the new year to finish out that book uh every year around this time we do what's called a give series it is an opportunity for us uh to in a season where the birth of Christ gets co-opted by our culture in a way that is materialistic and um consumeristic and uh and really detracts from what we're supposed to be celebrating we get to re-evaluate our heart's posture.
When it comes to money and generosity so we have a give series and then we also will have a give project which Isaac will come back and announce later what this year's give project is but that is a practical way for us to live out the implications of the Gospel and what it means for us in practicing generosity so this year specifically uh we're going to be looking at Financial wisdom in this gift Series so in uh week one so this week we're going to be in financial wisdom.
For eternity uh in week two we're going to see Financial wisdom for tomorrow so what does it mean to to plan and think ahead uh wisely and in week three we'll talk about financial wisdom for today how to have a daily mindset when it comes to a daily wise mindset when it comes to finances today we're going to be in the Book of Luke 12 so you can go ahead and flip there we'll get to that in a moment uh a few years ago I read from uh the.
First page of a novel called The Testament by John Grisham uh in a sermon and I wanted to bring it back because I find that first page and how it grabs you and brings you into the story I find some of the things that are said in this unbelievably helpful especially for what we're going to talk about uh today uh but this is a billionaire and he's talking and he says I own the tall glass building in which I sit and 97% of the company housed in it below me and the land around it half a mile in three directions and the 2,000 people who work here and the other 20,000 who do not I.
Own the pipeline under the land that brings gas to the building for my fields in Texas and I own the utility lines that deliver electricity and now least the satellite unseen miles above my head from which I once barked commands to my Empire flung around the world my assets exceed $1 billion I own silver in Nevada and copper in Montana coffee in Kenya coal in Angola rubber in Malaysia natural gas in Texas crude oil in Indonesia steel and China my company owns companies that produce electricity and make computers and build dams and print paperbacks and broadcast signals to my satellite I have subsidiaries with divisions and more countries that anyone can find.
Let me pause there this man is rich obviously right Warren Buffett Rich Elon Musk I mean this is the kind of person that culturally is put forth as these are the wise Financial gurus these are the ones in magazines they get invited on podcasts these are the ones that you should look to for financial wisdom he continues I once owned all the appropriate toys the yachts and jets and Blondes the homes in Europe farms in Argentina an island in the Pacific thorough breads even a hockey team.
But I've grown too old for toys the money is the root of my misery I have three families three Ex-Wives Who Bore seven children six of whom are still alive and doing all they can to torment me to the best of my knowledge I fathered all seven and buried one I should say his mother buried him I was at of the country I am a strange from all the wives and all the children they're Gathering here today because I'm dying and it's time to divide the money.
So that's the first page and I I love John grisham's description here because it pictures Well precisely what Jesus teaches that having all the things and making all the money ultimately looks foolish in in the end and yet those are the kinds of people who have that type of success that we look at as the financial sages of our time that we look at and say oh if I could be like that person if I could make Financial moves like that and the Bible says that this is a fool the culture says this is wise and the Bible says this is foolishness and it's.
So clearly when you see a man at the end of his life who's experienced all of this and is devoid of any bit of joy and it's so clear in what we're going to see today what I want to help us see is that if you want to be financially wise you must have an eternal outlook on your money on your things because if you don't you will be a fool let's pray heavenly father I help pray that you would help us.
See this so clearly from your word today God we desire to be financially wise people but we need to hear your word and then do your word do this in Jesus name amen all right so we're in Luke 12 Jesus uh is doing what he's doing he's teaching and then all of a sudden in chap 12: 13 it says someone in the crowd said said to him teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me but he said to him man who made me a judge or Arbiter over you.
So if you don't read the gospels enough you'll miss moments like this because moments like this it just I love it Jesus is just awesome because at this point in his ministry Jesus is a traveling Sage he he's a he's he has wisdom and people are coming to him and asking him about anything that's on their heart the most pressing thing on their heart they want Jesus to speak into their situation and this man in particular the most pressing thing upon his heart is that his brother is going to get the line share of The Inheritance or all of it and he wants.
Jesus to tell his brother tell him tell him to share this inheritance and Jesus says no which I think is awesome just says no who made me a judge and arbiter over you and you could look at this and think oh is Jesus being dismissive here and he's not he's not being dismissive at all because what he's doing is he sees this man's heart and he redirects what is more important to be addressed here and it's not the fact that he's going to get the inheritance it's.
Verse 15 and he said to them take care and be on guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions so Jesus this this man he he has the chance to ask the Living God In the Flesh of infinite wisdom he could ask him anything he has his ear his direct ear he could ask him anything and the most pressing issue on his heart is things it's money it's an inheritance and Jesus sees his heart and he says no you must guard against this covetousness.
For your life does not consist in the abundance of possessions so that's the main point that he makes here this man brings this concern he addresses that concern he says your life is more than accumulation of things and then Jesus Takes that truth and he builds upon it with a parable verse 16 and he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produced plentifully which the beginning of this parable already a rich man with plentiful land in their time they would have understood this oh this is someone who is wise this is someone who we should learn from.
If a man has a plentiful producing land and he's prosperous this is one of the ones that we should go to our culture is the same these are the people that get invited on podcasts and invited on TV shows to discuss their wise financial management strategies so Jesus takes the land of the rich man produce plentifully verse 17 and he thought to himself what shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops this man is so wealthy he has run out of places to store his grain he's like I don't have nowhere else to put this my barns are filled I've got enough.
For my family I've got enough for planting next season I've got enough uh to sell I don't know what to do with all of what I have and then he has an idea Verse 18 and he said I will do this I will tear down my Barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods so he thinks the problem here is the barns they're not big enough I don't have big enough storage for all that I need.
So that's what I'll do I'll tear these down I'll build bigger Barns and therefore when I get more and more and more I'll have room for all that I have and he's excited about this plan and then he goes to assure himself in verse 19 and he says and I will say to my soul soul you have ample Goods laid up for many years relax eat drink be Mary and he just he just looks at a situation and he's just like oh with this plan I'm set I I'm good.
For the rest of my life I can store all the grain I'll never have to worry about grain again I could have a famine and I'll Breeze through that and we'll eat and we'll drink and we'll be merry now other than the agricultural context which we may not be familiar with and the language here of speaking to your soul which we do that we're not familiar with that language but that's assuring our inner self okay I'm going to be okay all of this is very familiar.
Because this right here literally is the goal of the American dream this is it you want to be able to make it to a place where you have so much in abundance you don't have to worry about money anymore that we don't have to worry about things anymore that we can get to a place where we've have we've accumulated so much that we can rest and we can relax and we can eat and drink and be merry for all of our days all you need to do is level up you can get a bigger house you can build a Bigg garage you can get a different property it's all you need to do and you.
Finally will be okay you will live The Good Life that is so pervasive and so uh universally understood in our culture this is how you should live but this is not a good plan and then verse 20 it says but God said to him fool this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared whose will they be so it is the one who lays so is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward.
God and the title of this Parable is commonly referred to as the rich fool he says fool you're going to die you're going to die and who is going to have your stuff not you and then you get that final point so is the one who lays up treasure for himself so the point of this at the end is to critique this idea that's so ingrained in the in a human nature and is also pervasive in their culture but also in ours that storing up Treasures here and not being rich towards.
God is foolishness and not just foolishness foolishness that receives judgment because it is a shortsighted view it lacks the wise Eternal Outlook that we are supposed to have because the aim of our life should not be maximizing Joy here it should be maximizing joy in eternity but our minds are so fixed here now the next 10 verses Jesus addresses uh anxieties that we have about daily living and we're going to skip that we're going to come back to that in a few weeks this idea uh that uh needs to be ingrained in our soul.
For daily living to be financially wise daily but when you skip down to verse 32-34 this is all big one chunk of teaching that flows together and you're going to see the concluding thoughts that Jesus gives here verse 32 it says fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom sell your possessions and give to the needy provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no Thief approaches and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is there will your heart be also okay what I want to do with this passage is I want to work backwards from verse 34 back to help us see what Jesus is trying to help us understand so that we can be financially wise with this eternal mindset so he starts or ends with verse 34 for where your treasure is there your heart will be also so that's the big concluding thought we have a treasure problem we have a that's a value problem what you value that's where your heart's desire is is where you're going to ultimately spend your resources it it reveals your spending reveals what your heart wants.
So we have a treasure problem so you need to ask yourself what are you treasuring what are you dreaming about what are what what consumes your thoughts regularly this is revealing the heart this is revealing what we're actually beholding over the Lord so verse 34 for where your treasure is that your heart will be also so working backwards says provide yourself with bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no Thief approaches and no moth destroys.
So the problem is is that we are treasuring things that do not last we're not treasuring ultimately him we're treasuring created things that do not last which is something that we need to have so ingrained in our understanding that everything that you work for everything that you strive for all of the Blood Sweat and Tears in this life that you put into to purchase things every one of those things will eventually rust will eventually be destroyed almost everything and likely everything that you ever will buy will end up back in the ground I mean think about that the things that we get.
So anxious about the things that we so fix our minds upon the things we so deeply desire the things that we leverage all of our efforts for all of that will end up in the ground the new truck that you so want because if you think if I can just get this truck if I can just get to this right here this full size but just get here I'm going man life will be better in just a short amount of time that will be in a junkyard it'll be sold.
For parts it eventually will end up back in the ground the house that you want I'm tired of where I'm living I'm tired of this situation if I just get this I'll arrive I'll be okay that two is going to end up one day back in the ground it will be torn down something else will be built in its place all of the things the newest gadgets that get thrown at you right now if you just have this watch or this phone or this 3 four years gone forgotten the newest clothes fill in the blank everything that you work.
For all material things all of it goes back to the ground rust it destroys it fades away and yet so much of our heart's desire is those things and so much of our efforts are for those things it's a treasure problem it's a value problem and we value the created far far too much and that's why Jesus addresses this and it's not just here it's all over the gospels because people will say man they just say I like Jesus but I don't really like the Church cu the Church just they seem to care and talk too much about money and I say.
Well I don't think you like Jesus because if you read what he says you'd see that he too talks about this and the reason that Jesus talks about this is because money reveals what you want most in this life that that money reveals ultimately what we worship in the place of God that's why he tackles it so much you can be the kind of person that never lives generously but doesn't buy a bunch of stuff just saves it and stores it into an account over and over I mean just keep and it builds and it builds and it builds and it builds and it builds and what that reveals about your heart is that you.
Value security here as opposed to trusting the Lord with your security as opposed to when you get more to be able to give more no storing up of riches in an account somewhere as a means of controlling as opposed to yielding control to the Lord may be the kind of person that all of your paychecks go to toys they go to vacations they go to experiences they go to things and what that reveals about our heart is that we find comfort in those things that we find comfort in created things as opposed to finding our comfort in the.
Lord I'm not saying that all of those things are bad what I am saying is if that becomes the chief aim of our life is to gain that vacation is to gain that object then what we have revealed is that ultimately our comfort is found in those things and not the Lord do you see how this works it it reveals what's happening in our heart so how do we not gain money bags here that will fade but store up treasure in heaven working backwards in.
Verse 33 it says sell your possessions and give to the needy so if we can identify the problem of our hearts and realize what we're worshiping in the place of God and realize what we're actually treasuring over Christ then we can start to first ask God through faith and repentance to change our heart's desires and then begin to take actions steps that lives out that Faith through works and the works here are sell your possessions and give to the needy the problem with the man in the parable is that nowhere in his calculus.
When he has too much grain is he thinking you know what I could do I could take the excess here and I could look at the people in our town that don't have enough and give to them nowhere in this calculus says oh you know what I could do with the excess that I have is not build bigger barns but actually give more to the temple he is nowhere in his mindset the idea of generosity and it's because his life is bound up in the accumulation of things and that's the lesson.
For us as well that generosity is an action step to kill the desire for things here that when you give generously you are making making a statement of faith that says I trust the Lord because what I could do with this is I could store up things for me so that in the day of trouble I will be okay as opposed to saying you know God I I want to live open-handed here and give to this here and if that day comes I will be.
Okay because I will be with you and you walk with me you'll provide for my needs not all my wants but you provide for my needs that there are actions steps that we get to take as Christians to say I don't love things I love God my flesh does my heart is is wicked and deceitful and it loves things but you've created in me a new heart and I'm changing and I Belong To You therefore I don't want these things I want you Christ.
So yes I like just take my rip my hands open and give me a heart that actually wants to give away that takes the margins of what you've generously given to me because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the father lights James 1 everything comes from the Lord and what we have been given we say I want to in faith entrust to you I want you to help me give I want you to give Church family before me that I can give to that is in need I want to give to the local Church I want to give to missions I don't want to love things I want.
To give the orphan care I don't want to love things over you God will you help me see what do you want me to be generous towards so that we don't fall into the same trap as the man who said you know what I will build bigger storehouses that's the action step that God gives us and when we do this continue to work backwards verse 32 we live for a better Kingdom he says fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom that we get to live.
For a better Kingdom when we've been given much and we entrusted to him we say I'm I I belong elsewhere I mean an 18-year-old who gets a trust fund or inheritance they get a sizable chunk of money and they go off to college and say you know what I'm going to do with all of this money I'm going to have the sickest dorm room on campus I will go hard in this dorm room it is going to be amazing it's going to be better than anything that anyone has which I didn't even know that was a trend apparently.
Now when people go to college like they just they take pictures of these Swanky dorm rooms and I'm like that is not how it used to be it was survive with a mini fridge like I mean it was it was not but but if it how to see him go spend all of his money to have this really awesome dorm room and then in four years he graduates and he can't take it with him and the and the stuff that he could take isn't even new anymore everyone looks at that and says what a fool how dumb.
For you to spend you had all you were given all of this and you spin it all in a dorm room and the irony of even having that posture realizing it's exactly what we do in this life this life is here for a moment it's a vapor it is here it is due in the morning and then it is gone and we say I will maximize all of the joy right here right now to build a kingdom here because I don't believe that the father's kingdom is actually better that's what we do and my hope is is that as we approach this that being in the Book of Revelation will have set us up.
Well that being in the Book of Revelation for as long as we've been if helps us stay in this eternal mindset week in week out we've seen over and over again the end is going to come Jesus will return judgment day is going to happen there is a kingdom of light and a kingdom of darkness and we've seen the Eternal implications of that over and over and over and over again and my hope is is that that Eternal reality will be.
So impressed into our heart that we will actually begin to look at our finances and go oh I get it actually I I now more than ever get it this none of this is going to last that I I want to leverage everything that I have that I can for the kingdom that is to come for riches that will never fade I hope that helps us here because the problem for us undoubtedly is that if all of our finances were laid bear.
If we brought forth our budgets if you combed through the spreadsheets of our spending if you look through the credit card statements the bank statements the cash receipts if you looked at all of it my fear is that it would reveal that we value things over God we value and treasure created over the Creator we value and treasure building kingdoms here as opposed to Living For The Kingdom that is to come that it would reveal glimpses of building storehouses I mean some of you are going into you're racking up mountains of debt to build a life here that will not last some of us are building literal storehouses like I a few years ago we.
I was like we man I just we don't have enough room in the garage and we built this this little shed in the back and was putting the lawnmower and stuff in it and I just felt it I was like oh man I'm literally building a storehouse in my backyard I just felt that I was like I this has got to be enough right some of us are losing sleep regularly over thinking about how to protect the things and keep the things that we've got in this life right.
Now some of you are consistently scrolling through Instagram and you're looking at people's lives and you're seeing all the things they have and the vacations that they go on and covetousness is brewing in your soul in a way that makes you so discontent right now brothers and sisters we cannot be financially wise we cannot be financially wise if the very things we leverage our lives for are temporary because Jesus calls that foolish you can live a life where you manage your money.
Well according to the world and at the end of the day you'll still be a fool you could stroke the largest check to this give project and still not address the problem of your heart or be blinded to the reality that we have elevated created above the Creator and my hope is is that after months and months of spending time looking at the end of The Book of Revelation that we would begin to finally practice this in a way that helps us.
Look at the American dream and say with a resounding Force no I don't want that I want you Jesus that we look at the imminent return of Christ and we'd say no I'm living for that return in that day and not for the here and now and when we get back to the Book of Revelation part three we'd look at the section that we'll finish him which is the new Heavens the new Earth and we'd see it with new eyes I know that you what you more than anything want right.
Now is to get more of the Book of Revelation vation so I'm going to sneak it in right here cuz I want to show you just a glimpse of where we're going in Revelation 21: 18 and 19 this is a glimpse of the new heavens and the new Earth the city of God that comes down it says in verse 18 the wall was built of Jasper while the city was pure gold like clear glass the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of Jewel some of the most valuable objects in this life some of the things they put in museums some of the things that we.
So would love to have are literally concrete and 2x4s in the city of God you catch that that everything that we could possibly think is the most treasurable thing is just Pavement in the city of God if we want to be wise our mind must be there not here and we need to ask Jesus to change your hearts be oriented towards that reality as opposed to the one that is right here I'll close with this the missionary Jim Elliot once said he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
If you understand that every material thing you could have in this life you're not going to keep you're not a fool for giving it away that if you ultimately realize and believe that the Eternal Kingdom that is to come that will be here for 10,000 years forever more that we're investing in that you haven't lost anything and that's the hope that we would have as we do this gift Series this year that we would believe that and have our minds so fixed on the Eternal things of.
God that would actually begin to help let truly live generously and be financially wise people the band's going to come up we're going to sing a song called my worth is not in what I own and I hope that if you're unfamiliar with it just sit in the truth of the words of the song If you're familiar with it Sing Sing even if it's a confession like I don't believe this because I do I think I think I really do believe that my heart is bound up in the things that I have that I own that we come to Christ who was crucified.
For our greedy Covetous hearts and we say Jesus cleanse me change me that I might not worship things over you that I might believe not my own power but by the power of the Holy Spirit that my worth really isn't in the things that I own that it's bound up in you and you alone but may this be a song of confession may be a song of wor worship for some of you maybe a song of repentance and maybe for some of you a a a song that leads you to Faith in believing.
For the first time that our only hope is Christ it is the only Solid Rock to build upon then God willing we can walk that out Faith living out Works to be financially wise.