|giv| Week 2
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We're in the second week of our Give series. And every year around Christmas, we have, since we first planted this church in 2013, we have taken the time, 2012, taken the time to intentionally try to give some money away around Christmas to push back some on the, just kind of the cultural tone of consumerism that we're handed in life. And so we want to intentionally try to rally ourselves to be generous.
And last week, I got to say from the stage, one of the most exciting things that we can say as a church, which is a young lady from our church has committed her life to the call, at least committing for the next year. But she's devoting herself to mission work among an unreached people group in Lebanon amongst the Kurdish people. And so we are excited to get to support her in that and get to rally around her. Earlier this year, we showed you all this map. And we said that we live right now where there are more unreached peoples on the globe than ever before. At any time in history, there are more people who do not know Jesus than ever before.
And that the red is a bunch of unreached people groups. There has been no gospel penetration into their culture. And that's a problem. But that we're distinctly set up as a church to be able to participate in the work the Lord is doing. Because there are three, not one, but three mission organizations that actually are on the third floor of our education building over here. That are in the 1040 window and working among unreached people groups.
And this summer, Jamie Kern, who you all might know in life or you might recognize from this slide that you've been seeing, if you show up early enough to sit in here and see it. So all four of you know about that slide. And she did an internship between us and 1040 Hope. And she. Sorry. Do I have like a boom thing going on constantly?
Is it just getting on my nerves? Can you have your hand held? She. Oh, thank you. No, this is Spencer Carey. Thank you, Spencer.
Everybody give Spencer a hand. Is this better? All right. So I'm going to have to keep this on my ear because it's going to dangle and get on my nerves. So I'll just keep it on my ear.
And I'll have two mics. It's going to look awesome. All right. She. She did a joint internship between our church and 1040 Hope over the summer. And then she went to Lebanon for the past three months where she's been trying to learn the Kurdish language, where she's been working among the Kurdish people.
And she's been investigating the call to be a full time missionary. And she has committed to that. And so we get to support. And so what we said we're going to try to do is raise fifteen thousand dollars for a vehicle. There's a picture of her doing some work. Yeah.
Oh, there we go. For a vehicle. There we go. No, it's I don't know. Things are happening now. All right.
So we're going to fifteen thousand dollars for a vehicle for her to use for the next year while she's there and a year's worth of support. So we're wanting to raise fifteen thousand dollars now to buy a vehicle and we're wanting to pledge twenty nine thousand two hundred and twenty five dollars for a full year of support for her. And so we're going to get to talk more about exactly how to do that. But we're excited to get to do that, to get to participate in what the Lord is doing amongst the unreached people. And for her to be able to be over there and help get more missionaries over there. So it's an encouraging thing for us.
And so at in our gift series. We want to push back some by intentionally giving our money away. We want to push back some on what our culture tells us about how to think about money, because there's a couple of things that our culture gives us that it's just assumed. One of them is one of the ways to tell how well you're doing in life is how much stuff do you have? How nice is your stuff? So that when we picture ourselves in the future, a lot of times there's no like personal growth.
I just picture me, but richer. And that's like, yeah, look, I'm doing well. Like if you let me look ahead into the future, is my house bigger? I'm doing great. Like that's kind of how we've just been taught to think through life that we ought to have more money, more stuff, and that if we have more money and more stuff, then we'll be happier. This is like a cultural agreed upon reality.
The other one is that we are that what we consume defines who we are. So that this type of person wears this type of clothes. Real men drive this. Real men eat red meat. That there's some sort of like consumption turns us into things. Like real moms like you buy GIF or whatever.
Like we just have this. If you partake in our product, you make yourself into a certain type of person. As if somehow eating and wearing things turns us into a thing, develops our character. But we just have this as a cultural thing. And so what we do in our gift series is we say let's open our Bibles and let's see what the Lord has to say about how we handle our money. So grab your Bible and go to Luke chapter 3.
We're going to read a passage that I think you're probably familiar with. If you've read the Gospel of Luke, you certainly are. It's John the Baptist preaching. And I think in general we read this and we just keep on moving. It's like John the Baptist is the forerunner to Jesus. So run through what John the Baptist says and let's get to Jesus.
And I think there's potential for us to have read this, for you to have read this, for you to have heard this before, and for us to have missed one of the things that he says that I think is very important for us to see. So we're going to read through this. We're going to walk through it today. And we're going to stop in this section that I think maybe we've read before but haven't considered. And hopefully it's corrective and challenging and encouraging to us as we consider our finances and joining together to be a part of God's mission and giving some money away. So let's pray.
Father, we thank you for how good you are. Lord, we thank you for the love and the grace and the kindness that you've shown us. We thank you for your word. We thank you for Jamie Kern and the work of your spirit in her and all those like her who surrender to your call to go to hard places to deliver wonderful news. And so, Lord, we pray that you would bless her work, that you would bless our endeavor to raise support, and that you would call more people to go wherever you send them and surrender to you so that more people might proclaim the name of Jesus. And love you and be loved by you for eternity.
In Jesus' name, amen. We're in Luke chapter 3. We're going to go through the first 18 verses. In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip, tetrarch of the region of Iteria and Trachonitis and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. Okay, all of that is just to time stamp exactly when this happens. It would be like if you were talking to a Carolina fan a couple weeks ago and you asked them, you weren't familiar with the Carolina-Clemson rivalry, and you asked them, is Carolina any good?
Like, do y'all usually win this? And they had to answer, the last time we won this game was at the beginning of the second Obama administration. Like, you just time stamp things. Like, I remember what gas was during the Reagan administration. It's that sort of thing. And so, I don't, but people do.
That sort of thing. And that's what he's doing. As he's saying, it was during the reign of all these people at this time. And then he gets to what he's wanting to say, which is, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. Meaning that John becomes a prophet. He begins to speak God's word.
He begins to proclaim this. And he does this in the wilderness. He doesn't do this in a well-populated area. He just starts proclaiming it in the wilderness, which I always wondered how that started. Like, he's in the wilderness. Was he just going for it and then someone heard it and was like, I'm going to go get more people?
Or did he just find the first person he saw and start proclaiming the word? I don't know. It doesn't tell us. But he's in the wilderness. He begins to proclaim the word. But then people start to come to him.
And it says this. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So they had baptism. They had the idea of baptism as like an initiation, right? The Pharisees would baptize people. You would actually baptize yourself.
So you would go in. You would wash yourself. It was a baptism where you basically washed yourself and you said, I'm committing to this. But he does a baptism where he's baptizing people. And it's a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And this is new.
And it's wonderful. Because the Pharisees, who were the primary religious teachers in this area, their message was, be good. And if you're good, here's how to be better. Here's how to be intentional with your being good. But if you've been bad.
If you've sinned. If you've run away from the Lord. Sorry. It's over with for you. There was no real. Here's how to come back.
Here's how to get out from being cursed. Here's how to repent. Here's how to turn from that. And so when John begins to proclaim, have you messed everything up? I've got good news for you. You can repent.
You can turn from that. And you can be forgiven. And this is good news. And this is new. Not new. The Old Testament had times like this.
But this is new for these people. For them to begin to understand that what God wants from them is that they can turn away from their sin. And they can turn to the Lord. And so he begins to proclaim this baptism of repentance. And repentance is saying, what I've been doing isn't working. What I've been doing is sinful.
And I need to be changed. I need the Lord to forgive me. I need to. Basically, what I have is a bunch of mess. And I need that taken away. And I'm going to turn from it and start doing what I'm supposed to.
But this is opportunity for forgiveness and repentance. And so people start coming to him. That they could be forgiven of sins. It says, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet. So this is the fulfillment of prophecy that John's doing.
It says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled. And every mountain and hill shall be made low. And the crooked shall become straight.
And the rough places shall become level ways. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. So John is proclaiming a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. And he is the forerunner to Christ. And when Christ comes, he's going to proclaim repentance. And he's going to call people to faith in himself.
That he is the Christ. He is the one to come. And he's going to call people to believe and have faith in himself. And then Jesus is going to die to seal our forgiveness. And he's going to rise. So that he secures for us what John proclaims.
Which is that you can be forgiven of your sins. Jesus accomplishes that in his death. In his burial. In his resurrection. So that when the message of repentance and forgiveness makes it to us.
It's confirmed. And sealed. And made possible by the work of Jesus. Jesus. So that today.
If you have not repented. And been forgiven. You can be. The message still applies to us. That you can say. I've made a mess of things.
I am a sinner and deserving of wrath. And justice. If God brought justice down on me. It would not be good. It would be harmful to me. In my sin.
And I need forgiveness. And it's offered to you. The message of John is offered to you. And accomplished through Christ. So that's what John's doing.
Verse 7. He said therefore. To the crowds that came out to be baptized by him. You brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Which is bold strategy when you're preaching.
Maybe we should start starting off. Instead of when we stand up and say. We're so glad you're here. We believe Jesus is better than everything else. We say. You snakes.
Why are you here? Who told you to come here? It's like. And I feel like if I was there. I almost wonder if someone was like. You did John.
You're the one telling us to flee from the wrath to come. Right? Like that's why we came to you. But it seems as if there are some people. Who are coming out to see the spectacle. That there are people who are just showing up.
To see what he's doing. We know from other gospels. That there are Pharisees showing up. Just to kind of question him. Like hey what are you up to? And they're not actually there.
To flee from the wrath to come. They're not actually there repentant. They're just there to see what's going on. And so it says. That he says this to the crowds that came. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
And then he's going to give them. Two commands. One reason. He says this. Verse 8. Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
And do not begin to say to yourselves. We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you. God is able from these stones. To raise up children. For Abraham.
So his command is bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So bear fruit would be. Have. Have. This show up. In your life.
So if you said. I've been working really hard. At learning a new language. And it's just now starting to bear some fruit. Or we've been really trying to crack into this new market. And it's just now starting to bear some fruit.
Or I've been working out and exercising for a year. And it's just now starting to bear some fruit. What you mean is. It's just now starting to show up. You can tell. It's beginning just like if I planted a tree.
And it's just now starting to bear some fruit. It's now doing what I wanted my apple tree to do this whole time. And so what he says is not bear fruit period. He says bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Meaning that. They genuinely turned from their sin.
Asked for forgiveness. That comes first. And if that is real. Then all he says is. Look like it. Look like you've actually surrendered to the Lord.
Look like you've actually asked for him to work in your heart. Look like you've actually turned away from your wickedness to him. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And then he says. And do not say to yourself. We have Abraham as our father.
I tell you the truth. God is able to from these stones raise up children for Abraham. He says. No. You repent. You turn from your sin.
And then you grow in light of that. And don't try to recount your record. As to why you're okay. So if we're bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. What we're doing is we're looking to God. And we're saying.
Because of who he is. Because of the forgiveness. Because of the grace. Therefore I live this way. But. If they're looking and saying.
Well I'm a son of Abraham. So I'm fine. I'm already in. Then they're looking at somehow their track record. Their place in life. And they're saying.
This is what makes me okay. And he just says. No. So. I think one of the ways that this might translate. To southern culture.
Is. I'm a Christian. I grew up in the church. I'm a Christian. I was baptized when I was like 11. 10 or 11.
But there's no. Evidence of. The work of Christ in our heart. There's no fruit. In keeping with repentance. I've had people.
Say before. Oh yeah. I'm a Christian. My dad was a deacon. Okay. Show me that passage.
I was talking to a guy. I played football. I was in high school. I said. We were talking about something. I said.
Are you a Christian? He said. Yeah man. I'm black. It's like. I might be in trouble.
But are we basing it off of something other than. I've surrendered to the Lord. And then. Out of that. It shows up. That's what he's saying.
So don't bank off of something else. Don't lean into something else. Other than. Looking to the Lord. And his grace. And his forgiveness.
So he keeps going. He tells them why. Verse 9. Even now. The axe is laid. To the root.
Of the trees. Every tree. Therefore. That does not bear good fruit. Is cut down. And thrown.
Into the fire. All right. He says. You don't want to get this wrong. And here's what we need to understand. This morning.
As we consider this. We are saved. By grace. Through faith. Not our own works. So that no one may boast.
That's our memory verse. This. This month. As a church. We're saved by grace. Through faith.
It's not our own works. So that nobody would boast. So what we have to understand is. It's not bear fruit. So that you might be saved.
It's surrender. And then look like that's happened in your heart. And that matters. It matters that we don't get that out of order. But it does matter.
If you remember us walking through 1 John. It does matter that it shows up. It does matter that it's actually real. It's not just something we say happened. Because if it actually happened. It begins to show up in the way we live.
And so one of the ways that we can know. Whether or not we're really in the faith. We can't get in the faith by bearing fruit. But we can know whether or not we're in the faith. By seeing are we bearing fruit. Am I growing?
Is my love for the Lord growing? Is my love for other people growing? And that's what he's saying. Don't trick yourself. Don't say well I'm saved by grace. Therefore I can act however I want.
Do whatever I want. It never has to show up. He's saying that's not how this works. Alright. They ask what I think is a very reasonable question to ask. Verse 10.
The crowds asked him. What then shall we do? Fair question. He says bear fruit. And I'm telling you if you don't. It's going to go bad.
If this isn't showing up in your life. If you're not actually repentant. This is going to go bad. So they say well what do we do? And he answered them. This is verse 11.
Whoever has two tunics. Is to share with him who has none. And whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized. And said to him. Teacher.
What shall we do? Which by the way. Tax collectors coming. Gives you an indication of how wildly wonderful this news is. Tax collectors are hated. They've committed treason against the people of God.
And repentance is open to them. It doesn't just mean people didn't like to have to pay taxes. It's way worse than that. They were helping the Romans occupy the holy land. The promised land. They were enemies.
And they're coming and being able to be forgiven. So if you've told yourself I'm too far gone. That is incorrect. This is wonderfully good news. Tax collectors also came to be baptized. Said to him.
Teacher. What shall we do? And he said to them. Collect no more than you are authorized to do. Soldiers also asked him. And what shall we do?
These are Roman soldiers. Getting to partake in repenting. And he said to them. Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation. And be content with your wages. Now.
Did y'all catch that? They ask. What does repentance look like? And he says. Let's talk about your wallet.
And I know some of you are like. Just like a preacher. But see. John knows something. As he's empowered by the spirit. That Jesus is going to say later.
Jesus says this in the Sermon on the Mount. This is Matthew 6.21 and 6.24. For where your treasure is. There your heart will be also. And no one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one.
And love the other. Or he will be devoted to the one. And despise the other. You cannot serve God. God. And money.
So they asked John. What does repentance look like? And he knows this. If you've actually surrendered your heart to the Lord. If you've actually turned from your sin. If he's actually going to work on you.
It's going to show up. In the way you handle. Your money. And your stuff. Because your heart has changed. Your treasure has changed.
Your allegiance has changed. John says. Faith. Shows up in your finances. Belief. Is in the budget.
Repentance. Has receipts. I had fun writing this. Just trying to help you remember it. That's what John says. That it's going to show up.
In how you spend your money. And what you do with your stuff. So all of these marks of repentance that he gives. Are possession based. So let's walk back through them.
And let's consider. What John is telling us. Crowd said. What should we do? Verse 11. He answered them.
Whoever has two tunics. Is to share with him who has none. And whoever has food is to do. Likewise. John says. Genuine repentance.
Genuine faith. Shows up in you being open handed with your possessions. That you would not. Accumulate a bunch of stuff. And that you would actually be intentional. About finding ways.
To get rid. Of a lot of your stuff. That's repentance showing up. That that's true belief showing up. Whoever has two tunics. He doesn't say.
You're not allowed to own a tunic. He doesn't say. You're not allowed to eat. He says. If you have enough food. Good.
Eat. And be generous to those who don't have enough food. If you have enough clothes. Good. Be generous to those who don't. Have enough clothes.
That. In some ways. You need to understand. That. You might be blessed. Beyond your ability.
Beyond your need. And that isn't so that you might have. More that just sits around. That's so that you might deliver it. To those who need it. That you've been entrusted to something.
That actually isn't yours. It's not for you to keep. It's for you to deliver. The. The grub hub guy. Is not supposed to eat your sandwich.
On the way to your house. The. The pizza guy. Can't be like. Here's your pizza. And thanks for the breadsticks.
That's not how it works. You're supposed to care for it. And deliver it. And there are things that you own. Part of your paycheck. Things that are in our closets.
That aren't ours. Aren't meant to be. That's what John's saying. That. As we believe. We'd set aside portions of our budget.
To just walk out the door for others. I think Jesus is going to talk about. That as our treasure moves. That we would care about the kingdom. And we care about the kingdom first. So I think this is generosity of the poor.
I also think it's. Intentionality in kingdom things. That Christians would find ways. To support missionaries. Christians would be supporting. Their local church.
But also. Christians would be. Helping things like. Goodwill. And his house thrive. Goodwill helps people get jobs.
They help sell things. At a lower cost. Because all of the. Stuff they get is free. Same with his house. His house helps.
Men in our area. Get over alcoholism. And have a place to stay. And so that. These are the sort of things. That we would be intentional.
About. That's his response. To everybody. He says that. Then he.
Verse 12. Says tax collectors. Also came to be baptized. By him. And said teacher. What shall we do?
And I love that. Because it's genuine. It's a genuine repentance. And a genuine. What should this look like? What do we do?
Not a. What do I have to do? But what. What does it look like for me? Have y'all ever been in a situation. With a new believer.
And you're just talking to him. And they're like. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
What next? What else are we supposed to do? Hey. I was hearing this thing. I read this thing about. I'm not supposed to do that.
Is that true? Yeah. Okay. Cool. I'll stop. It's wonderful.
And that's what these tax collectors are doing. Okay. What does this look like for us? If I actually get to be forgiven. That's wonderful news. And what does that look like?
How does that show up? He said to them. Collect no more than you are authorized to do. Soldiers also asked him. And what should we do? Or by false accusations.
So I want to hold those together. Because I think they're kind of similar. He says. One of the ways that repentance shows up. One of the ways that faith shows up. And how we handle our money.
Is that we aren't doing things that are wrong. To get it. We should not be gaining money by sinful means. We shouldn't be greedy. We shouldn't be lying. We shouldn't be cheating.
Don't extort people. And I think in general we're like. Right. Yeah. Okay. Makes sense.
But I think one of the ways that we need to consider this. Is what are the things. In your industry. That are common practice. Because I think tax collectors would be able to say. Well that's just how collecting taxes work.
I collect the taxes I'm supposed to. But I also collect my own revenue. And I think the soldiers might go. Yeah but that's just how all soldiers. Make sure they can pay their bills. It's just normal.
And I know that every Job I've had. There were things. That to me seemed iffy. And everybody said. Oh no. That's just how it's done.
And I think that you ought to consider. Prayerfully. What are those things. I used to work in sales. I don't know if y'all know this about sales people. They lie to you.
If you meet a salesman. Who knows every answer to every question you've asked. It's likely that they are a liar. But you sell more stuff if you do that. He used to work in sales. And people ask you questions that you do not know the answer to.
Because the people whose product you're selling don't tell you that. Where is this steel manufactured? What's the horsepower on this Kenmore dryer? Was this Kenmore dryer made in Pennsylvania? I don't know. I work part time here.
But if you just say yes. Do you have family in Pennsylvania? Yeah. Well it's probably made right near where they live. Boom. Sold.
How are they going to look it up? If you don't know how to look it up. And you work here. What are the things? Does it have to do with how people clock in and clock out? Does it have to do with some sort of honesty thing?
Some sort of integrity thing? Is there something that everybody goes. Well that's just how real estate works. Oh that's just. Everybody knows that's how retail works. That's all the waiters and waitresses do that.
Everybody in finance does this. Because I think all soldiers did that. And all tax collectors did that. And John says if you're repentant you don't do that. And I think it's worth considering. Because I think a lot of it has snuck up on us.
You were trained to do it by the people who taught you how to do what you're doing. And you actually have to consider what are the things that are common practice that are normal that I actually can't participate in. But he says this to the. He adds a thing when he's talking to the. Soldiers. Verse 14.
Soldiers also asked them what shall we do? And he said to them do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusations. And be content with your wages. How much money do you make? Good. Be happy with that.
Are we all ready to go home and do that? Just how much money do you make? That's a good amount of money to make. Live off of that. Be content with it. Be thankful to the Lord for providing that amount of money to you.
Find a way to be generous inside of it. But. I think. We are trained in and all accept some level of perennial discontentment. I need. I need a little more.
Honestly. Most of us. And this was going to work better when I wasn't holding a microphone. I have to do it like this. Most of us make this amount of money. And if we're doing what we're supposed to.
As we're taught by. Everybody around us. We spend this amount of money. If you are currently spending this amount of money. We have a financial team that we'd like to let you talk with. They will help you with that.
But most of us. Make this much. Spend this much. We figure it out. You live here. Sometimes it's tight.
Sometimes it's harder. Sometimes there are things you go without. But you. In general. We live. Every once in a while.
You're in a spot where you can't. And inflation has been hurting us. And if that's for you right now. We also have. People in our care system. That will help you walk through that.
And we can actually help provide. And we ought to. As a church. It's not a bad thing to come and say. Hey I need some help right now. But in general.
Under normal circumstances. This amount. This amount. And what usually happens is. Over time. We start making this amount.
So we start spending this amount. Then we start making this amount. So we start spending this amount. And that's normal. And we're like. That's good.
That's how you're supposed to do it. He says. Be content with what you make. Not to say. I don't think this means. Christians shouldn't take promotions.
Or Christians should never swap jobs. But if that's all you're ever wanting to do. And if you're only content with a new promotion. For three months. Or five months. And then you got to get to the next one.
You got to get to the next one. And there's this general idea. That I'm supposed to just keep going. He says. Be content with your wages. Live inside your means.
And be fine with it. Now. What if. Because we're Christians. And we were making this amount. And we were spending this amount.
And we were living. What if. When we started making this amount. We just stayed here. Maybe moved up. But let me say.
I think it's okay to buy stuff. The Bible says you can't. It's not like you can't enjoy things. But what if. There was this gap. Where we were just freed up to be generous.
I think one of the questions. For us as we look at this. Is does all my income. Terminate on me. Does it all just come back here. Or did I set an amount of generosity.
A while back. And I just like. This is how much I'm going to give away. And that's just kept going. But my income has gone.
Way up. And my generosity level. Just kind of stayed the same. I hadn't. Taken advantage of the Lord. Giving me more.
So that I can give away more. It's just kind of. Been set. Does most everything just come back to me. Is it mostly just lifestyle upgrades. Every time the Lord blesses.
So I think we look at this. And we say. Okay. If my repentance is supposed to have receipts. If it. If belief is supposed to show up in my budget.
Then I think as Christians. We should sit down. And there's a couple of things. That should come out of this. I think we should review our budgets. I don't know when the last time you did that was.
I think you should look down. And try to actually figure out. How much money do I spend? What does that mean I really value? What does that mean I really love? I think we ought to.
Excitedly start making some decisions. And going. You know. Instead of getting in a $600 car payment. I'm going to get in a $300 car payment. Instead of getting in a $300 car payment.
I'm going to get in a. $200 car payment. Or I'm just going to keep the car I got. I'm going to pay to fix it. And then I'm going to use that gap. And I'm going to be a part of. Reaching people on the other side of the globe.
I'm going to get in. I'm going to take advantage of that gap. That I've created intentionally. And I'm going to help people sleep. Inside in downtown Columbia. Who this winter wouldn't have been able to.
I think we need to review our budgets. I think we need to revisit our closets. I think we need to just go in there and say. How many tunics. Is a reasonable amount of tunics. For me to own.
How much stuff should I really have in here. And resist the American urge. To when we've cleaned it out. Go. Ooh. Now I can put some more stuff in here.
But intentionally try to think through. What. What can I get rid of? What can I live on? How can I simplify some things? I think we need to consider.
How much money do I spend on entertainment? How much money do I spend. On extra things that I don't need. How much money was given away this past year. Versus how much money. Was just.
For me. To enjoy. So I think we should review our budgets. I think we should revisit our closets. I think you should ask. What are the common practices in my industry.
That I'm not allowed to participate in. That I ought not to. And I think we all need to check our contentment level. I think we need to take seriously. To be content with your wages. Take our heart before the Lord.
And go Lord. I make enough money to survive. Help me. With the fact that I don't feel like that's enough. Help me with the fact that I. I actually.
Inside of this should survive. And should give some things away. But I'm. I'm frustrated. All right.
Verse 15. As the people were in expectation. And were all questioning in their hearts. Concerning John. Whether he might be. The Christ.
John answered them all. Saying. I baptize you with water. But he who is mightier than I. Is coming. The strap of whose sandals.
I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And fire. His winnowing fork. Is in his hand. To clear his threshing floor.
And to gather the wheat. Into his barn. But the chaff. He will burn. With unquenchable. Fire.
When he says. He'll baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And with fire. I think. As he describes that further. That he'll gather the wheat.
Into the barn. And he'll throw the chaff. Into unquenchable fire. I think we're meant to understand. That we will be baptized. Either with.
The Holy Spirit. Or. With fire. That the eternal reality. Is one of those. For everybody.
And so. For Christians. Who know Christ. Who have repented. Of our sins. Who have been forgiven.
And who are filled. With the Holy Spirit. How much more. Generous. Should we be. Than just the tax collector.
Who walked away that day. How much more generous. Do we get to be. Than just the soldier. How much more content. Do we get to be.
Than the person. Who at that moment. Did not yet have the spirit. Who was getting. Only the beginnings. Of this.
How much more. Do we get to say. Lord. Work in me. I think there's a danger. For us as a church.
Because we do this. Every year. For us to start. Developing a pattern. Of paying the Holy Spirit. Hush money.
Around Christmas. Well. How much do I have to give. To get the conviction. Off my back. So that I can go.
Right back. To forgetting about this. And operating. Like all my neighbors. And the truth is. We're missing out.
On bearing fruit. That lasts. And enjoying. The gracious. Generosity. Of our God.
And getting to participate. In what he's like. As he gives to others. Through us. And how much joy. Do we miss out on.
And he says. His winnowing fork. Is in his hand. To clear his threshing floor. And to gather the wheat. Into his barn.
But the chaff. He will burn. With unclenchable fire. I think you need to hear this. If you believe. You are a Christian.
And that has not. Touched your wallet. You might not be a Christian. If you believe. You are a Christian. And that does not show up.
In how you handle. Your finances. You have to believe. That the Holy Spirit. Is at work in you. Because you're a Christian.
But he has no desire. To work in that part. Of your life. But I don't think. You can back that up. From the scriptures.
And if you have. 15 reasons. Right now. Why you don't have to give. To anybody. Well I give of my time.
I give of my energy. You know. I did this thing last year. Or I do this. Or things are tight right now. The reality is.
That if you talk to anybody. In America. Most everybody says. Things are tight. Because of how we do our budgets. We keep it tight.
And if we've gotten in the habit. Of just figuring out. Right around now. How much do I have to give. So that I don't have to feel bad.
And so I can participate. In whatever the thing is. And it's cool. And I'm excited about it. But really.
I don't really. I wouldn't do this. If it weren't for this. And if we weren't really. And I think we need to consider. The work of the spirit.
In our lives. And consider whether or not. Our hearts have actually been. Surrendered to the Lord. Because I think that's what John's telling us. Verse 18.
I love this verse. Verse 18. Verse 18. So with many other exhortations. He preached the good news to the people. I love that.
Because as an American. I kind of am going. What was the good news? Because that all sounded really intense and rough. And then the Bible says. Isn't that good?
And it actually is. It's wonderful news. That there's a savior coming. Who forgives sinners. It's wonderful news. That there's a savior coming.
Who will bring justice on the wicked. And it's wonderful news. That rather than him. Just bringing justice on you. He offers you repentance. And forgiveness.
And it's wonderful news. That he is then willing to use us. To be his agents in the world. To see wonderful things. Continue to take place. That's good news.
That we have a savior. Who will redeem sinners. Rather than crush them. And we have a savior. Who will crush. Sinners.
So that ultimately. We either receive grace. Or we receive what we deserve. And that there's an offer. Of grace to us. And then we get to participate.
In something that is eternal. And glorious. And beautiful. And last. And we actually get to bear fruit. That lasts.
That's good news. Let's review our budgets. Let's revisit our closets. Let's consider the things. That take place in our industry. That we probably should not participate in.
And let's see if we can get our hearts. To rest in the Lord. So that we might be content. With what we have. And look like absolute freaks. In the United States.
To the glory of Christ. And his eternal kingdom. Let's pray. Lord. Lord. Lord.
We pray that your Holy Spirit. Would go to work in our hearts. That we would bear fruit. In keeping. With repentance. To the glory of your name.
And your son. May you be at work in us. In Jesus name. Amen. Band's going to come back up. And we're going to sing.
And by the band. I mean. Raz and Isaac. Thank you. I mean. карт x dev. Greaks, that's true.achi, of zach.
Hand neg, the church. And I love you. Before this, I love you. I love you. And I love you. Yes.
So I love you. I love you. Well, you've got to like, this is a little bit of an anchor. I love you. Great to share you. Real laughter What a new thing or up. generator.
I love you. Ruby. I love you. Good. It's a little bit of passion. It's a little bit of emotion.
It's a little bit. It's a little bit easier.