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.