WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.820 So, as we begin this section of God's Word, where Jesus is talking about our relationship 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:15.040 ! And as we go through, let's ask the question, how is our relationship with money? Maybe some of you 00:00:15.040 --> 00:00:23.199 ! have heard the classic radio sketch of Jack Benny, picture a highwayman with a stick-up asking the 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:31.640 question your money or your life. Cue the long pause. The highwayman returns, well, what's your answer? 00:00:32.519 --> 00:00:40.039 Jack Benny says, I'm thinking, I'm thinking. For some of us, we have a really healthy relationship 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:45.799 with money. And when we see that kind of person, it's really encouraging to see the person who 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:52.260 provides well for their family, those who give generously to meet the needs of others, those who, 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:56.439 if they're involved in a church, support the church. It's a really healthy thing, and it's a good thing 00:00:56.439 --> 00:01:01.379 for us to see. But for many of us, I imagine our relationship with money is a bit more tricky, 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:09.140 a bit more complicated. Maybe that's because of the cost of living and the worry that we have about 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:16.060 having enough to keep us going through the month. And maybe it's the complexity of the cost of providing 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:21.859 for parents, providing for children, and maybe for adult children, thinking about how do I provide 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:27.459 for elderly parents? Maybe it's about thinking through all the issues of retirement. 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:33.140 Our challenge with money, though, may be because of the pool of consumption. 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:38.460 It may be the appeal of the credit card in our pocket that's getting us into trouble. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:48.079 Now, money we might find is the subject of our daydreams, but it may also be that subject that wakes us up 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.159 in the middle of the night with a cold sweat. There are so many questions about money. 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:59.060 How much should I give? How much should I save? How much should I spend? How will I meet all my 00:01:59.060 --> 00:01:59.980 outgoings? 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:06.719 And as Jesus comes to this section of the Sermon on the Mount, He wants you and I to have a healthy 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:13.159 relationship with money. So, He's sitting on this mountainside, and He knows human hearts, 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:23.659 and He knows that money has a unique magnetic pool on our hearts. He knows that money is the most likely 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:30.219 counterfeit God, the most likely idol we're going to choose. We're going to look for happiness, hope, 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:37.859 and security. We're going to look to money for that rather than to our God. Here is Jesus. He's the 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:44.020 king, and He's teaching about His kingdom, but at the same time, He understands that money is the great 00:02:44.020 --> 00:02:51.240 rival. Because money, when we stop to think about it, it claims or it wants to claim our loyalty, 00:02:51.880 --> 00:03:01.460 to grab our attention, even to capture our hearts. So, Jesus has just been speaking about the most 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:08.659 important relationship there. Our relationship with God as Father, the wonderful privilege that we can 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:14.219 know God as Father through trusting in Jesus. But next, He turns to another important relationship, 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:22.180 this relationship we have with our money. You can see in the text, we've got treasure at the beginning, 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.080 we've got money at the end. That's what ties this whole section together. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:32.060 And we're going to think about it in terms of Jesus giving us three tests. 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:41.720 The test of what do I love, as He thinks about treasure. The test of what do I trust in, 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:46.780 as He speaks about the eye being like a lamp. And the test of what do I obey, 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:53.680 as He speaks about these alternative masters. So, let's jump into our text, and let's think about 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:01.939 this first test, what do you and I love most. Maybe some of you saw in the news this week the story of 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:10.000 three young women all talking about their shopping addiction, having racked up massive debts through 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:19.620 multiple credit cards, all looking to escape reality through spending, and all asking the NHS to put 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:29.040 resources into helping with that particular addiction. Sad stories, but maybe familiar stories. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:35.720 It's so easy as people for us to give our hearts to money and to the stuff that money can buy. 00:04:36.280 --> 00:04:42.019 It's so easy for us to believe the messaging of advertising and social media campaigns, 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:51.299 but it's also really easy to find ourselves still empty and dissatisfied. And Jesus' teaching really 00:04:51.299 --> 00:04:59.659 matters because He's inviting us to choose the right treasure to live for. He's presenting two 00:04:59.659 --> 00:05:05.519 alternatives, you know, treasure on earth, treasure in heaven, but He says only one is good for your heart, 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:12.060 only one is good for your soul. So, He begins, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. 00:05:13.219 --> 00:05:20.159 Why not? Well, Jesus says, well, it's because it can be destroyed, or it can very easily disappear. 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:28.959 If it's not moth, or rust, or rats, or a robber, and maybe you've been the victim of cybercrime. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:35.620 Some people had, you know, huge damage because of the storm at the beginning of the week. 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:42.240 Maybe you've invested everything in technology knowing full well that it's going to become obsolete. 00:05:43.799 --> 00:05:49.539 Now, we know, don't we, that over time, everything that we buy is subject to wear and tear. It moves 00:05:49.539 --> 00:05:57.699 out of fashion. We eventually have no use for the things that we give ourselves to. 00:05:57.699 --> 00:06:03.279 And we just started reading as a family, the animals of farthing wood. I don't know how many of you know that 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:08.939 classic story, but it's basically the story of some animals having to flee farthing wood because developers 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:15.819 are coming to knock it down. And you understand that the limited wisdom of the animals, they know, 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:20.099 well, you don't build your home or your nest in a wood that's going to be destroyed. 00:06:21.659 --> 00:06:27.459 But sometimes as people, we can give ourselves, we can build our nest, and what we ultimately know 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:33.079 will be destroyed and we can't take with us when we die. And that's why Jesus says, 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:40.719 don't store up treasure on earth, but, verse 20, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:45.979 The right investment, Jesus is saying, is to invest in the kingdom of God. 00:06:47.719 --> 00:06:52.379 And when we hear that, that sounds kind of vague, I guess. What does it look like to invest in the 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:57.480 kingdom of God? But let's tie it to the one who is speaking. Let's tie it to the king. 00:06:58.459 --> 00:07:04.399 And then we begin to understand that Jesus is saying real treasure is about knowing Jesus. 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:11.139 And especially as we remember that as we know Jesus, we get to know God as our Father in heaven. 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:20.199 This is where treasure is according to Jesus. I know God is my Father. I can pray to Him. I know His love 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:28.879 and His care. This is what is real value. I know that Jesus went to the cross to take away my sin and to 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:35.819 give me new life. So, He's my Savior. He's also my Lord. He's also my brother. He's also my friend. 00:07:35.819 --> 00:07:43.279 Jesus says, this is treasure, knowing that God comes to live in you by the Spirit. So, you are 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:49.800 never alone. You always have His power and you always have His hope. So, Jesus is offering, the 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:55.839 Bible offers us a treasure that is eternal. It doesn't fade. Its value never decreases. You will 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:00.159 never find yourself wanting to replace it, needing to replace it with the next thing. 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:07.700 So, Jesus says, not this, but this. And why does it matter? Look at verse 21, 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:12.420 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:08:14.940 --> 00:08:20.900 And we understand this to be true, don't we? Your heart will follow what you treasure, 00:08:21.020 --> 00:08:26.680 what you love the most. The Bible, when it talks about the heart, it's as if it's talking about the 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:35.000 control center of us, the real us. And so, Jesus is inviting us to recognize that what we treasure most 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:42.799 will affect what we think about. It will direct our priorities. It will influence our decision-making, 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:46.120 and it will direct our loves. 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:55.320 And so, here is Jesus, the King, bringing in the kingdom of God, the one who knows our hearts, 00:08:55.379 --> 00:09:01.759 and He speaks to all of us, and He says, don't choose the wrong treasure. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:10.879 If we go back to the world of shops and shopping, you've probably had the experience of going to buy 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:18.179 something and the price tag is wrong, or the little label on the shelf has been wrongly attached. And so, 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:25.799 the object has the wrong value placed on it. That's a mild inconvenience in the world of shopping. But 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:35.159 it's a big problem when we do that, thinking money is what deserves ultimate value in our lives. 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:41.980 And that's really the idea of idolatry that runs through the Bible. I'm going to imagine that this 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:47.939 thing, money and the stuff that it can buy, is what will give me security and hope and happiness and 00:09:47.939 --> 00:09:57.000 love. And when we do that, if we imagine money is everything, it's going to kind of play itself out 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:05.080 in how we plan our next purchases. It's going to influence how we plot out our five-year plans. 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:14.600 Because all the while, we're going to be driven by what I can get and how I can receive more money 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:21.240 so I can spend more money. I need this to be satisfied. And if you find yourself on that cycle, 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:27.919 and I imagine many of us have, ask yourself, that thing that you invested so much hope in, 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:34.360 did it deliver? Can those things deliver? Of course, that's not to say that money doesn't 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:42.659 give us some joy. Of course, it does. It is a gift from God, but it is not in itself God. 00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:50.480 It doesn't give lasting satisfaction. It was never designed to. It cannot deal with the emptiness in 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:56.639 our heart. It does not solve the problem of our gift, and it cannot give us eternal life. 00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:04.460 And so Jesus says, don't choose the wrong treasure. Rather, discover in me real treasure. 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:12.080 So Jesus makes the same bold claims as money does. Look to me for help and happiness and hope. 00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:19.279 But the difference is Jesus will always deliver. By his death and through his resurrection, 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:29.919 Jesus has the authority to give to us eternal life. He has established an everlasting kingdom. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:38.159 And so the treasure that he offers is life with God that never ends. And when we understand that, 00:11:38.319 --> 00:11:43.939 it changes everything, including our attitude to money. Maybe the best example of this in the Bible 00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:49.840 was the guy called Zacchaeus. So we meet Zacchaeus, someone who'd been stealing from others. He'd been 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:56.260 stockpiling his wealth, profoundly selfish, isolated from all his friends and family because of his love 00:11:56.260 --> 00:12:03.900 of money. But he finds himself up a tree longing to see Jesus. And then Jesus comes by, and remarkably, 00:12:04.540 --> 00:12:13.660 Jesus extends a welcome to Zacchaeus and offers him grace. And in meeting Jesus, though he doesn't deserve it, 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:19.579 Zacchaeus is forgiven. And he is loved and he's made a child of God. And the moment that that happens, 00:12:20.419 --> 00:12:27.759 the grip of money on his heart is broken. He becomes radically generous because he has discovered 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:34.799 someone more worthy of his heart. He's discovered a greater love. He's discovered that knowing Jesus 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:43.879 changes everything that includes our relationship with money. What do you and I love? And what do 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:52.799 we love most? The second test is this, what do you and I trust? Verse 22, the eye is the lamp of the body. 00:12:53.319 --> 00:12:58.079 If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, 00:12:58.079 --> 00:13:02.799 your whole body will be full of darkness. So in the ancient world, the picture of a lamp, 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:09.419 it was a picture for direction and instruction. So there's a psalm, your word is a lamp for my feet 00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:18.419 and a light for my path. Think about it today, perhaps, in a storm. You know, a sailor out in stormy 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:26.279 sea will be instructed and directed by a lighthouse, by the lamp of the lighthouse. Here's the rocky coast 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:35.059 to avoid. Or the pilot coming into Edinburgh airport is directed by the landing lights. You follow the right 00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:43.339 lamp and you have a good outcome. And so Jesus has this idea that our eyes can be like lamps, they can be good 00:13:43.339 --> 00:13:53.120 or they can be bad. The outcome can be light or darkness in our lives. Think about it in terms of this, 00:13:53.120 --> 00:14:00.480 that you and I, we can take our direction, our instruction from the right source or from the 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:07.919 wrong source. In the context of the teaching of money, on money that Jesus is giving, we can let money 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:15.720 be what guides, drives, directs us in our lives, or we can make God who we trust, 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:24.080 make God the one who gives us our direction. And it kind of ties up with the first section, 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:32.340 who or what attracts our attention will often be what sets our direction in life. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:41.860 To make it directly relevant to money as Jesus wants us to do is money. When we think about money 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:47.560 in our life, do we think about it principally? Do we relate to it in terms of a gift that we use or a 00:14:47.560 --> 00:14:56.879 God that we serve? If money is a gift, if we relate to money as a gift that we use, how do we see that? 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:04.200 What does it look like? Well, certainly we see it as a way to provide, as a way that we provide. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.820 We work hard, we work well to provide for ourselves, for our family, for the people around us. 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:15.920 Think back to that passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. We have an open-handed policy. We practice 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:21.440 generosity. We open our homes and show hospitality. We care for the needs of the poor. 00:15:22.760 --> 00:15:28.600 Also, to go back a little bit in the Sermon on the Mount, we see our money as part of that daily 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:33.160 bread that God gives us. We understand that everything that we have ultimately comes from our Father. 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:38.580 And so, our relationship to money is a way for us to grow in our contentment. 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:41.980 We understand that we're not confident with what we have and what we don't have, 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:53.460 and to trust in Him as we look to meet our needs. We use it as a tool. We invest it for the sake of 00:15:53.460 --> 00:16:04.240 God's kingdom and for God's mission. When we trust God, our eyes are good, so we look at our money as a 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:13.299 way to be generous in response to God's generosity to us. But Jesus says our eyes can also be unhealthy. 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:19.019 We can be directed by the wrong thing. Money can become a God that we serve. And what does that 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:25.120 look like? How does that affect the way that we look at our money? Well, perhaps we end up seeing 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:34.840 money ultimately as our source of happiness. I need to get more and to spend more in order to feel happy. 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:39.019 And that will tend towards greater selfishness. 00:16:39.019 --> 00:16:47.860 Our focus will be driven by how am I going to get the next big thing. We can become consumed consumers. 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:55.620 We can also look to money as our main source of security. 00:16:57.620 --> 00:17:05.140 I will be fine if I have enough, if I've invested well enough, if I have property, stock, share, secure, 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:11.860 job. One way that we can sense this in our own life, perhaps negatively, 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:18.740 is when those bills start coming through the letterbox and especially the unexpected bills, 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:23.979 we can find that we are gripped and consumed by fear and worry. 00:17:25.979 --> 00:17:30.779 A loss of income of some kind and we can feel totally lost and out at sea. 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:41.599 What about if we see money as our main source of hope in this life? 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:51.099 In an Old Testament prophetic book, Haggai is told to go and speak to the people of his day. 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:57.700 Because the people in his day have been building these grand, opulent, wealthy, luxurious houses, 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.680 while God's house, the temple, lies in rack and ruin. 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:08.140 And if we place all our stock, all our hope in our money, we're going to be building our own houses 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:14.180 and kingdoms, and we're increasingly likely to neglect the kingdom of God and those things that are first 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:25.160 important. And so, as Jesus teaches, he reminds us it is easy to make money a God replacement, 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.740 especially when it grabs our attention. 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:37.180 And so, if we sense that in ourselves, it's a chance for us to reflect and to respond, 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:44.140 to repent, to turn away from that, and instead to use our eyes to look into the gospel, 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:50.800 the good news that there is in the Bible, the good news of this sacrificial love of Jesus 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:59.079 in coming to deal with our problem of sin, to give us a life that never ends, to give us a new heart 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:05.539 and a new relationship with God. It's an invitation for us to trust in Him. 00:19:08.379 --> 00:19:15.039 And then there's this third test in verse 24, which takes us to the question of what do you and I 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:23.940 obey most? We all have that relationship with money, and that relationship that we have 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:27.119 often reveals what's going on in our hearts. 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:35.279 Those times as Christians when we find ourselves endlessly worrying about money, 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:40.639 are those times where we lose sight of the fact that God is present, that God is powerful, 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:45.680 that God can provide, that ultimately God is enough. 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.040 When we find ourselves overspending, on the other hand, 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:58.580 we are going down the road of believing, this is what I really need to feel happy and hopeful and 00:19:58.580 --> 00:20:04.720 secure in life. And again, remember, this is King Jesus speaking to us, and He's looking out at a 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:09.759 crowd, a mixed crowd. He's looking out at His disciples there, there, the Pharisees who really love money, 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:15.420 they're there, the crowds who've got a mixed relationship, they're there as well. He knows every heart. 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:23.680 And He knows the greatest need of every heart is to choose the right master to serve. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:32.200 There can be no divided hearts and divided lives. No one can serve two masters, He says in verse 24. 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:37.019 Either you'll hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:43.859 You cannot serve both God and money. And so, there is this fundamental call to choose. 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.200 Who do I give my love and my loyalty to? 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:56.460 Jesus knows that in His kingdom, in the hearts of His followers, there will still be this battle going on. 00:20:56.460 --> 00:21:04.079 There's still this pull to lead this divided life, but ultimately, you and I need to choose. 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:12.880 Will I obey God as a good master, or will I serve money? 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:21.779 Boys and girls, you will know this game. For those of us who are older, you might remember that the 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:28.079 very simple hot and cold hide-and-seek game. You know how that game works. A person has an object, 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:32.819 and everyone closes their eyes, and you hide the object. And as people are looking around, 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:38.740 you're instructed whether you're warm or you're cold. The nearer you get to the desired object, 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:40.299 the hotter you get. 00:21:40.299 --> 00:21:49.119 And as Jesus speaks to this mixed crowd, as He speaks to us, He invites us to think about what 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:53.419 is it that we want the most. And He says, if you want a love that lasts forever and that will never 00:21:53.419 --> 00:21:59.960 fail you, if you want a source of security that lasts not just for this life, but for eternity, 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:12.100 come near to me. The closer we are to King Jesus, the more that we know of His goodness and mercy, 00:22:12.100 --> 00:22:19.700 the more we give Him our hearts, the more we discover life and life to the full. 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:26.600 But suppose in that game of hot and cold hide-and-seek, there is another voice, 00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:34.019 and it's giving the exact opposite message. Then if you're playing the game, you have to decide, 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:41.700 who am I going to trust? Money can be an idol we worship, and money speaks, and it says, 00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:47.100 listen, follow me for your security. Sacrifice for me for your joy. 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:51.339 And it's all too easy to be led by that voice. 00:22:53.679 --> 00:23:01.659 The event, the occasion, the outfit, that's the key to life and happiness. 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:11.480 I came across a really interesting reflection from Nietzsche, the 19th century German philosopher, 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:17.059 who was no friend of Christianity, who predicted, you know, that society would 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:21.859 eventually get rid of God and the need for God, and he was delighted by that. But he was reflecting 00:23:21.859 --> 00:23:28.819 on what will society replace God with? And here he is reflecting on the fact that society would 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:36.679 replace God with money. And he gives this picture of comfortably off people, urged on day and night by 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:47.640 a terrible impatience at seeing their wealth pile up so slowly, and an equally terrible longing and love for 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:56.360 those heaps of gold. People both driven and miserable in their relationship to money. 00:23:56.359 --> 00:24:05.879 Do we think he was right? I think sadly many people in our country are discovering that while money is a good 00:24:05.879 --> 00:24:16.599 servant, it is a terrible master. It offers much, but it fails to deliver. In our country, there are 8.3 million 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:25.480 people in the UK with personal debt, and I wonder how many would testify that it's not making me happy. 00:24:27.399 --> 00:24:33.559 Those with that share in the massive millions and tens of millions of credit card debt, 00:24:35.719 --> 00:24:39.079 would they agree that while money can be a good servant, it's a terrible master. 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:48.199 We will never make enough. We will never buy enough. We will never invest enough to fill the void in our 00:24:48.199 --> 00:24:55.480 heart. And Jesus knows that. And so he invites us to turn away from money to look to God, to look to 00:24:55.480 --> 00:25:03.319 himself as the best king and the best master, because he offers us a better way. We read about it, 00:25:03.319 --> 00:25:11.720 2 Corinthians 8, this same Jesus who speaks here is the one who, though he was rich with all the glory of 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:21.799 heaven, for your sake became poor, left it behind to become one of us, to live a life of poverty, 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:30.599 to be a humble servant who would die on the cross, so that you and I, through his poverty, 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:39.480 might become rich, that through his radical generosity, giving up everything, including his own life, 00:25:42.439 --> 00:25:50.279 he would forgive us and welcome us into his kingdom and give us the gift of eternal life and love, 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:58.279 where we can call God our Father. It's this Jesus who calls us to live by faith, 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:05.559 to entrust ourselves to him, to follow him as our master and our king, 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:19.559 to let our budgets be shaped by loyalty to Jesus as king, to let God's grace to us lead us into 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:29.480 generosity, to serve God as our master by using the money he gives us to serve others and to help in his mission. 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:42.279 When we know the gospel, the good news that Jesus gave up everything in order to make us his treasure, 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:53.640 then more and more he gets our heart and we are glad to love him and serve him, including with our money. 00:26:53.640 --> 00:27:03.560 Let's pray together.