WEBVTT 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:05.459 Father, it's hard for us to acknowledge before you 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:07.879 that often we read your Bible, your word, 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:10.400 with a cynical and unbelieving heart. 00:00:11.779 --> 00:00:14.460 It's hard for us to acknowledge before you, Father, 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.780 that we often do not believe your promises or your word. 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:21.719 It is hard for us to acknowledge before you, Father, 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.679 that often we see you as fairly small and fairly distant 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:27.560 and fairly unimportant. 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:33.079 And so many other things so big and so powerful and so present. 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:38.159 Father, we ask that you would do a mighty work of your Holy Spirit 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:40.879 in our hearts and minds and lives this morning. 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:46.159 Father, may you reveal to us what our hearts are really like. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:51.939 May you convince us, Father, of your truthfulness in your word. 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.700 And in all things, Father, grip us with the gospel. 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:59.320 Make us disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel, 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:01.380 learning to live for your glory. 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:05.260 And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:06.120 Amen. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:07.659 Please be seated. 00:01:13.579 --> 00:01:14.960 We're going to talk about money. 00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:17.540 That dreaded topic. 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:18.920 We're going to talk about money. 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:23.320 We're talking about money not because it's January 8th 00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:26.299 and some of you are going to be getting your credit card bills really soon 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:30.879 and you're going to have a gasp, maybe fall on the floor, collapsing in shock, 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:34.240 or see what your line of credits happened to it. 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:35.200 And you're going to be complete. 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:36.159 We're not talking about money. 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:37.820 We preach through books of the Bible. 00:01:38.520 --> 00:01:40.760 And 2 Corinthians 9 is a text about money. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:44.000 And if you're a guest here this morning, 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:50.140 one of the great fears that people who are not Christians have 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:53.740 is that all Christians want to do is try to get your money from you. 00:01:54.439 --> 00:02:00.320 They believe that it's common in our culture to believe that Christians are sort of preoccupied with money. 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.580 And so I just want to say if you're a seeker 00:02:04.580 --> 00:02:07.960 or you're just here just out of some type of curiosity, 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:11.199 if you come with your friend, as I'll explain in a moment, 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.680 as long as you come to this church, 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:17.259 you can come week after week after week. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.799 And if you haven't given your life to Jesus, don't give us any money. 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:22.560 Like we don't want any money. 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:24.419 And even after you've come to Jesus, 00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:27.639 we're going to let the Holy Spirit work in your lives and all, 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.879 but God isn't interested in your money 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:33.280 and we're not really interested in your money. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:34.759 And so please don't give us any money, 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.900 but have lots of cookies and coffee on us 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:39.599 and we're just really glad you're here. 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:42.780 But why on earth would we even talk about money 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:44.740 and are we preoccupied with money? 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:46.700 In fact, I would actually say that Christians, 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:49.120 we're far too timid about talking about money. 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.400 Let's just sort of realize why this is important. 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:57.379 How many people have spent money already today? 00:02:58.020 --> 00:02:58.659 Raise your hand. 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:01.740 Actually, I bought a coffee. 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:02.740 Okay. 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:06.760 How many people have spent money in the last 24 hours? 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.939 How many people think they're going to spend money within the next 24 hours? 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:17.219 How many people either have money on them or they have a credit card, 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:20.160 which if they used, it would actually not be declined. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.939 And if they had a cash card with them, 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:26.000 if they used it, it won't be declined. 00:03:26.079 --> 00:03:28.180 How many of you fit in that category here? 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:28.900 Okay. 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:31.120 Just about everybody here has some money on them. 00:03:31.780 --> 00:03:35.159 And in fact, the fact that matters is that we live in a world 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:37.219 where money is present. 00:03:37.859 --> 00:03:39.500 Money is always around us. 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:42.979 The things that money can buy are always before our eyes. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:46.759 And we get bill payments, tax payments. 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:49.020 We see prices for things. 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.780 We are surrounded completely and utterly by money. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:53.740 So the simple question is, 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:56.840 what does it mean to follow Jesus in a world where there's money? 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:00.520 Like, isn't that a reasonable question? 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:07.080 In fact, what does it mean to follow Jesus in a world where money is always present 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:08.780 and seems to be so powerful? 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:13.360 Like, given how we spend money all of the time, 00:04:13.540 --> 00:04:14.939 and I didn't even go to the other thing. 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:19.180 I mean, some of us here have jobs or have retirement checks and stuff. 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:21.460 Like, many of us will be expecting to receive money. 00:04:21.840 --> 00:04:23.100 It's not just putting money out, 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.840 but we'll be expecting to receive money over the next month. 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:28.660 In fact, probably most of us here in the room 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:31.520 are expecting to receive money over the next month. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:36.620 So what does it mean to follow Jesus in a world where money is present? 00:04:36.880 --> 00:04:37.740 Money is powerful. 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:42.600 Money often has a very, very great hold in our lives. 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:46.420 Said many of us will be a little bit shocked 00:04:46.420 --> 00:04:48.200 when we see our credit card statements 00:04:48.200 --> 00:04:51.120 sometime in January after our Christmas spending. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.740 And so the Bible talks about it. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:56.480 The Bible has lots of things to say about it, 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:58.640 and the Bible, believe it or not, is very wise. 00:04:59.380 --> 00:05:02.540 And we're going to be looking at a particular subsection 00:05:02.540 --> 00:05:07.140 of talking about following Jesus in a world where there's money. 00:05:07.580 --> 00:05:10.700 And it's going to talk about something very countercultural, 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.180 but something that on one level, I think, 00:05:13.260 --> 00:05:15.360 most people wish that they were. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:17.200 And it's going to be talking about generosity. 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:22.460 I think most people would like to have lots of money, 00:05:22.460 --> 00:05:24.620 and they'd also like to be known as being generous. 00:05:25.340 --> 00:05:30.280 Probably very few people in Canada would like to be referred to as cheap or a miser. 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:37.500 In fact, probably if it were, you overheard people in the cubicle. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.220 Most people, if they overheard people a couple of cubicles away talking about you, 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:45.800 and your name picks up, you hear your name and your ears prick up, 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:48.660 and you'll start to listen, and then you hear them saying how you're cheap, 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:50.240 you'd be deeply offended. 00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:55.540 So the Bible's going to talk today about this whole issue of generosity. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:59.400 So it'd be a great help if you got your Bibles and opened them. 00:06:00.020 --> 00:06:02.819 But we're not going to be looking first at 2 Corinthians 9. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:07.939 We're going to look at 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9, one particular verse. 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.600 So if you have your Bible, 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:16.580 And you see, one of the things is that all of chapter 8 and all of chapter 9, 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:18.640 it's all talking about money and generosity. 00:06:19.539 --> 00:06:25.539 And in a sense, the first few verses of chapter 8 are leading up to this huge statement in verse 9. 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:28.779 And it's, in a sense, in light of verse 9, 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:31.579 that all of the other things that Paul is going to say, 00:06:31.659 --> 00:06:32.879 that the Bible is going to say about money, 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:36.000 it's all in light of this profound truth. 00:06:36.659 --> 00:06:42.819 And if you're a Christian, it's a really, really, really wonderful verse to memorize. 00:06:43.659 --> 00:06:44.879 Maybe many of you have. 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:45.879 And it goes like this. 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.319 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:50.959 that though he was rich, 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:53.439 yet for your sake he became poor, 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:58.199 so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.159 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:02.300 that though he was rich, 00:07:02.719 --> 00:07:04.860 yet for your sake he became poor, 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:08.300 so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:26.259 Now, what the Bible is doing here with this verse is it's using riches and poverty sort of the way that we would talk about, you know, if you want to talk about capitalism or rich people, you talk about Bay Street or you talk about Wall Street, you know. 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:46.199 And it's just you use Wall Street. And if you're talking about Wall Street, you know, the Occupy Movement or something like that, it's just talking about capitalism, about rich people, a whole range of different institutions and banks and companies and people and processes are all just encapsulated by this little two word phrase Wall Street. 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:53.759 And the Bible here is just trying to give us a bit of an understanding of who Jesus is and what he did, like who is he and what he did. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:08:03.019 And so it's very, very interesting, you know, for, you know, verse nine, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is to know Jesus is to know grace. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:18.120 That grace is what defines him unmerited, powerful, real favor towards specific people like you and me and me. 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:21.240 And he's the Lord, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:24.819 And he's Jesus and he's Christ. He's the anointed. He's the Messiah. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.819 But everything about him is grace. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:31.220 Everything about him is grace. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.899 And so it says, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich. 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:43.220 And here the text is basically telling us that before Jesus was born, it's telling us that Jesus existed. 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:46.659 God, the son of God existed before his birth. 00:08:46.659 --> 00:09:04.500 And it's trying to describe what it was like for God, the son of God, to be in perfect communion with the father and to be with the angels and to be what we refer to as just in heaven and to be completely and utterly at one at whatever things the Lord and the God have created. 00:09:04.839 --> 00:09:06.539 God, Jesus was at peace. 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:08.679 God, the son of God was at peace with them. 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:17.679 And he looked down and he saw our rebellion and he saw that we had gone far from him and he saw that we were poor. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:22.279 And this is a bit of a counterintuitive thing to us that we are poor. 00:09:23.339 --> 00:09:29.359 If you go into, if you read some newspapers on a Saturday, they'll often have little financial checkup types of things. 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:34.939 If you go to a financial advisor, you know, I think it's a Bank of Nova Scotia will tell you that you're richer than you think. 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:40.120 Because if you go to a financial advisor, you know, they'll count up how much your car is worth. 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:43.380 And if you own a house, how much your house or your condo is worth. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:49.860 And they'll count it all up and they'll show you that you actually have a lot more financial resources than you actually believe you have. 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:51.340 You're richer than you think. 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:59.700 But in a sense, what God says is, how much are you worth five minutes after you die? 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:05.240 And five minutes after you die, you're poor. 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:13.040 Bill Gates and me will have the same financial resources five minutes after our respective death. 00:10:15.420 --> 00:10:18.140 And God, the Son of God, looked down. 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:19.240 He was rich. 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:24.220 That's how it's just describing him in unbroken communion with the Father and the created order. 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:30.040 He sees human beings like you and me and our lives are turned away from God. 00:10:30.180 --> 00:10:31.540 They're turned in on themselves. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.300 We're each of us seeking to be our own little God. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:40.279 And all it means is that we're becoming poorer and poorer and poorer, deeper in debt. 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:47.660 So that five minutes after our death, when the bills are all due, that we are completely and unutterably, unspeakably in debt. 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:57.240 And so the text is saying, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor. 00:10:59.379 --> 00:11:08.579 That God, the Son of God, sees our need and becoming poor, it's just a way of describing that he takes on our human nature, that he comes and walks amongst us. 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:12.959 And it's saying that everything that he does is for our sake. 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:24.519 Like, here's one of the things about giving gifts, and, you know, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone through this, but often when we give gifts to other people, we want to get a gift back. 00:11:25.540 --> 00:11:35.820 And because we are hard-hearted and selfish, when we get a gift back, we want it to be normally of greater value than what we gave, or at least the same value. 00:11:35.820 --> 00:11:43.560 Like, how many of us have given a gift, and then a person gives us a gift back, and we look at it and think, oh, that's not very much. 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:49.600 I spent way more on my gift on them than they spent on me, and we're disappointed. 00:11:50.900 --> 00:11:53.920 You see, for many of us, we don't really give gifts. 00:11:54.780 --> 00:12:01.540 We're really just embarking on a process whereby we get a gift back that's of greater value. 00:12:02.020 --> 00:12:04.040 We really want to give ourselves a gift. 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:14.799 And the Bible here is saying that God, the Son of God, in his dealings with human beings, he's doing nothing for his own sake. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:16.299 Listen to it again. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:26.679 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:33.219 And it's describing his sinful life, his teaching, his prediction of his death, his death upon the cross. 00:12:33.339 --> 00:12:36.859 As Flannery O'Connor famously said, you can't be any poorer than dead. 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:47.840 And his death for us, him, in a sense, paying all of the debts that we have to pay five minutes after we die to Almighty God. 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:49.180 And he pays them all. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:55.560 And not only does he pay them all, we discover that when we've put our faith and trust in Jesus, that he's paid off all of our debts. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.680 And his riches, his bank account is ours. 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:11.120 And it's just trying to describe it in very simple terms for people who understand a little bit about money, a way to understand the whole mystery of what it is that Jesus has done for us. 00:13:11.859 --> 00:13:22.120 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you, through his poverty, by his poverty, might become rich. 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:30.100 You see, it's because of this that 2 Corinthians 8 says that if you haven't given your life to Jesus, God doesn't actually want your money. 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:36.659 Why? Because he didn't give us a gift so he could get money back. 00:13:37.700 --> 00:13:39.360 He doesn't really care about money. 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:41.600 He's already infinitely rich. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:43.980 He doesn't want money. 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:52.480 He wants you and me to be reconciled to him so he can make us rich. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.580 That's what he wants. 00:13:55.399 --> 00:14:02.180 And that's why in 2 Corinthians 8, just before this, it basically says, if you haven't given your life to Jesus, like, don't give money to the church. 00:14:02.300 --> 00:14:03.220 Don't give money to God. 00:14:03.300 --> 00:14:06.720 Don't give money to the gospel ministry because God actually doesn't want it. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:22.860 He doesn't want us to think that there's anything that we're in somehow buying God off or paying our dues or keeping the big guy happy or paying our fire insurance or, you know, keeping in his good books or any, like, none of that type of language whatsoever. 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:24.860 It's not what God's heart is. 00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:26.580 It's not what God's plan is. 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:35.180 Now, some of you might say, okay, George, that's, you know, interesting. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:42.620 But isn't it, in fact, often the case that Christians try to shame and embarrass people into giving money? 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:50.139 Like, George, isn't it sometimes the case that, you know, like some churches maybe have seen them, George, where they all come dancing down the aisle to give in their money. 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:52.279 And then everybody claps. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:57.500 And it's sort of a way so that, okay, there are the people who don't come dancing down the aisle giving in their money. 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:07.659 Or maybe, you know, that there's a type of, don't you think, George, that often churches try to do all this peer pressure to try to have people give or lay on the guilt or lay on the embarrassment? 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:09.799 George doesn't, and I, you know what? 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.519 That has happened way too many times. 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:16.600 Can't disagree with that at all. 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:17.840 But you know what? 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:19.799 The Bible actually tells us not to do that. 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:29.259 Like, so if you have your Bible, so that's how 2 Corinthians 9, and we'll see how, in a sense, the Bible says we should never try to embarrass or guilt people into giving money. 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:31.299 Christians shouldn't do that to other Christians. 00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:32.659 The church should never do it. 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:35.919 Look how it begins, 2 Corinthians 9, verses 1 to 5. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:43.759 Now it is superfluous, in other words, needless, for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:48.519 For I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:54.199 saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:59.659 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:02.519 so that you may be ready as I said you would be. 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:12.259 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident. 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:22.259 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift that you have promised, 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:27.139 so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:33.899 In other words, sort of, you know, pulled out of your gripping hands. 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:36.139 So what's this all saying? 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:41.819 Basically, Paul is saying, these people, they had, you know, maybe they had a prayer meeting, they had a worship service, 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.860 they all got completely and utterly filled with zeal about the way they were going to give all this money 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:52.620 to their brothers and sisters across ethnic and linguistic lines who were Jewish and living in Jerusalem and Judea, 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.080 and they were going to give lots of money to help them in their ministry to the poor 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.919 and ministry of spreading the gospel in Jerusalem. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:02.340 They got all fired up, they made big pledges, and then Paul had to go. 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:06.240 So, and what he's saying here is, I don't want to embarrass you. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.160 I don't want to embarrass you. 00:17:11.120 --> 00:17:16.860 I don't want you to be embarrassed, and I don't want you to give money out of embarrassment. 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:21.259 I don't want you to give money out of any type of sense of guilt. 00:17:22.840 --> 00:17:25.059 And so I'm taking these very practical steps. 00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:25.759 I'm sending a letter. 00:17:25.860 --> 00:17:27.200 That's why these guys are here. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:35.140 You know, it's, you made the promise, and, you know, enthusiasm's all good, 00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:37.580 but it's actually when the rubber hits the road, right? 00:17:37.620 --> 00:17:41.420 It's when the actual money, you know, gets out of the pocket, and I don't want to embarrass you. 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:46.319 I don't want money to come from any type of motivation of embarrassment or guilt or shaming. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.779 I want to spare you that. 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:57.240 And so it's, you know, so churches that try to embarrass us into giving are actually going against the Bible. 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:02.859 It's not that we have to watch television shows that teach us that this is wrong. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.220 It's we just actually need to listen to God's word that tells us that this is wrong. 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:15.059 And so what Paul is going to do, he's going to talk more about how to give and how to be generous, 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:18.960 and he's going to talk about something in the very next point, which is really surprising, 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:25.660 because it's actually the same sort of thing that coaches say, that professors say, that financial planners say. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:31.319 It's a very, very simple, common point, and he's going to make the point in terms of how we give and how we live our lives. 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:34.220 I don't know if you noticed it when Ken was reading, but look at verse 6. 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:39.079 The point is this, by the way, it's an aside. 00:18:39.600 --> 00:18:44.259 I don't know how successful I was when I was teaching my, you know, my preaching course, 00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:49.339 but one of the things in preaching is that preaching should come out of listening to the Bible first. 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:54.440 And when you listen to the Bible, you should try to figure out what the Bible is saying is important. 00:18:55.339 --> 00:19:01.819 And sometimes that can be very subtle, and sometimes you need language helps in the Greek or whatever, 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:05.599 because there's something going on in the Greek or the Hebrew that helps you know it's important. 00:19:05.939 --> 00:19:09.720 But sometimes the Bible just says, the point is this. 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:13.439 Like, the point is this. 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.480 And so here's the point. 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:20.319 It's actually not just verse 6, but the verses that come after it. 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.419 And here's what the Bible says. 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:22.419 The point is this. 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:35.580 The word sparingly could also be translated as miserly, like a miser. 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:41.860 So whoever sows like a miser will also reap a miserly or miserly amount. 00:19:41.860 --> 00:19:45.120 And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:52.239 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.599 for God loves a cheerful giver. 00:19:55.419 --> 00:19:57.219 And God is able. 00:19:57.500 --> 00:20:00.939 Actually, in the original language, it actually, it sounds more like Yoda. 00:20:01.459 --> 00:20:02.659 Able is God. 00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:07.419 Able is God to make all grace abound to you, 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:11.100 so that having all sufficiency, in other words, 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.400 a type of personal security and your needs are being met 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:17.480 and you know that, you know, relationally, 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:20.860 and you just know that you're cared for and that you're loved. 00:20:21.320 --> 00:20:27.759 There's just this basic self-security in God and his providence and in his covenant. 00:20:28.300 --> 00:20:31.279 Just this basic security. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:36.319 So, and able is God to make all grace abound to you, 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:41.079 so that having all sufficiency in all things, at all times, 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:43.899 you may abound in every good work. 00:20:45.379 --> 00:20:49.279 So here's the first thing, if you could put it up, Andrew. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:55.720 In both the natural and the supernatural worlds, so to speak, 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:57.220 I reap what I sow. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:01.180 I mean, the surprising thing to the financial poster, 00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:03.700 to, you know, trainers and most professors, 00:21:03.860 --> 00:21:07.720 is they wouldn't acknowledge that there's something that's like a gospel movement, 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:09.200 that God's at work in the world. 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.180 They wouldn't acknowledge that, 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:14.600 but it's the same God who sends Jesus to be our savior. 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:17.519 It's the same God who created the entire world. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.400 And so whether you're talking about things within his kingdom, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:23.740 or so-called spiritual or supernatural things, 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.660 or whether you're just talking about the way the natural world works, 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:28.100 we reap what we sow. 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:30.640 I mean, you know, basically, 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:34.340 if we spend a lot of quality time on the couch, 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:36.980 getting up from the couch to eat poutine, 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:43.380 well, we'll have bodies that reflect a habit of poutine and couch. 00:21:44.360 --> 00:21:47.060 If we, I don't know what Usain Bolt eats, 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:50.860 I don't know, he looks as if he only eats lean chicken breast, 00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:52.720 steamed kale and brown rice, 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.620 and trains constantly, 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:57.680 well, you're going to look a little bit more like Usain Bolt, right? 00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:01.339 You know, for professors, they'll tell students all the time, you know, 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:03.640 if you spend no time in class, 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.680 no time in the books, 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:05.799 no time studying, 00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:09.420 well, your mark's going to reflect that a little bit, you know? 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:10.860 Or even if you're clever, 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.160 you might manage to get the mark, 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:14.200 but you actually still don't know anything, 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:16.640 because you've just been going through the motions. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.280 It's a very, very thing of the world. 00:22:19.540 --> 00:22:20.880 And the Bible here is saying 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.520 that the same God who's made the natural world 00:22:23.520 --> 00:22:25.280 has made this movement, 00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:28.400 launched by 2 Corinthians 8-9, 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:30.560 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:31.460 that though he was rich, 00:22:31.520 --> 00:22:33.340 yet for your sake he became poor, 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:36.360 so that you, through his poverty, might become rich. 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:38.220 That this is God's movement. 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:40.500 He sees a world at enmity with himself. 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:45.160 He sees a world that's just becoming poorer and poorer and poorer. 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:47.220 He sees people who are becoming lost, 00:22:47.320 --> 00:22:48.820 that will be eternally lost. 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:52.320 And he sees that they don't even want a Savior, 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.460 but his response is one of grace. 00:22:54.560 --> 00:22:56.840 His response is to send a Savior. 00:22:57.340 --> 00:22:59.340 And he sends a Savior not by saying, 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:01.000 look how rich and powerful I am. 00:23:01.259 --> 00:23:03.019 In a sense, they should already be able to look 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:05.080 at the stars and the planets and the seas 00:23:05.080 --> 00:23:06.540 and the oceans and the trees 00:23:06.540 --> 00:23:08.620 and the birds and the beasts of the field 00:23:08.620 --> 00:23:11.560 and know that God is unimaginably rich. 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.619 But he comes and he becomes poor and walks amongst us. 00:23:15.899 --> 00:23:18.679 And he becomes poor to the point of dying upon the cross 00:23:18.679 --> 00:23:22.339 and bearing the debt that we, in a sense, owe God. 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:25.079 And bestowing upon us his riches 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:26.899 so that we could become rich. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:29.819 And that's this movement that God has launched in the world. 00:23:29.919 --> 00:23:32.019 And God is saying, in this movement, 00:23:32.919 --> 00:23:35.299 we've got to sow into that to reap. 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:38.220 We've got to sow into that to reap. 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:42.299 And so if you could put up the next point, Andrew. 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:46.980 If I sow like a miser, I will reap very little. 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:52.059 The gospel shapes me, the gospel shapes me 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:56.200 to sow generously, so as to reap bountifully. 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.259 You see, because everything in this text, 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:01.880 there's no commands in the text. 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:07.019 At no point in time in the text does the text say, 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:09.059 so therefore you've got to start giving money. 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:13.579 The text, in a sense, keeps helping us to look, 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:16.299 try to look back at who God is 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:18.619 and what he's done for us in his son. 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:24.119 Because as that grips us, it will shape us. 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.660 As that grips us, it will shape us. 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:30.339 Now, some of you might say, 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:32.379 okay, George, you know, you've said in other times 00:24:32.379 --> 00:24:34.259 that you became a Christian when you were in grade 12. 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:36.539 Were you instantly generous? 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:40.240 Like, George, are you just up there 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.059 trying to lay heavy loads on us? 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.180 Like, George, when you were a university student 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:47.700 and when you were just working, you know, 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:50.359 just in stores and you weren't making that much money, 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:51.700 were you generous, George? 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:56.920 George, are you just one of these guys 00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:58.859 who goes up there and then tries to lay 00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:00.759 a whole pile of burdens on us? 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:04.240 You know, because you're a bit older 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:07.399 and, you know, I don't know, 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:08.799 you maybe, you know, you own a house 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:10.839 and maybe your mortgage is close to being paid 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:12.619 and you have a little bit of financial resources. 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:14.859 And, George, it's really easy for you to stand up there 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:17.719 and just talk about these types of things 00:25:17.719 --> 00:25:19.139 and just lay guilt on us. 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:22.720 And so, George, when you became a Christian, 00:25:22.820 --> 00:25:24.980 did you start becoming financially generous? 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:28.240 That's a really good question. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:31.620 And the answer is no. 00:25:33.620 --> 00:25:34.900 The answer is no. 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:39.840 Because, you know, 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:46.800 and this is a problem for Christians 00:25:46.800 --> 00:25:49.519 for a large part of their lives. 00:25:53.660 --> 00:25:57.000 Often the gospel just seems so distant to us, doesn't it? 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.100 In fact, actually, Andrew, 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:02.480 if you could put up this big, long list of things, 00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:04.240 here's the problem. 00:26:05.860 --> 00:26:07.540 And I could, I said we here, 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:09.180 but I, you know, this is, 00:26:09.360 --> 00:26:10.660 you can substitute in there, 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.500 maybe it would be better if I'd written it with I. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:17.280 We often live our day-to-day lives 00:26:17.280 --> 00:26:20.160 as if money is huge and God is tiny. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:25.580 George, that credit card bill of mine is huge. 00:26:25.580 --> 00:26:30.580 George, my student loan debt is humongous. 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:36.119 George, not just money. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.519 It's not just money per se, 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:38.819 but it's the things that we want. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:40.199 George, you don't realize, 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:41.299 you know, 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:45.179 if I could only get a car or something like that, 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:45.399 I don't know, 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:47.559 maybe I'd be able to ask a girl out 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.319 and, you know, 00:26:48.439 --> 00:26:50.740 something like that relationship would work. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:52.480 You know, George, 00:26:52.539 --> 00:26:54.039 if I could only get that extra bit of money, 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:56.199 I could do that rock climbing that I wanted to do 00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.080 or I could get that professional certification 00:26:58.080 --> 00:26:59.940 and that's huge. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.799 And God just seems tiny. 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:06.100 And for so many of us, 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:06.799 I mean, you know, 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:08.160 we have the things, you know, 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:09.279 in our pockets 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:10.440 and we spend money 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:12.100 and we look at how much we're making 00:27:12.100 --> 00:27:13.080 and how much other people, 00:27:13.580 --> 00:27:14.880 and it seems to many of us 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:16.340 as if money is necessary, 00:27:16.340 --> 00:27:16.960 but you know what? 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:18.019 It's as if the gospel, 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:19.819 it's as if God is more like my hobby. 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:25.519 Like money is more like air, George, 00:27:25.919 --> 00:27:28.519 but God doesn't seem like real to me, 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:30.119 like he's like air. 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:36.559 And money presses in on me. 00:27:39.379 --> 00:27:41.679 But God seems like he can always wait. 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:46.500 And money just is always present. 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:48.700 That's the next one, I think. 00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:49.920 I don't know how much you have up there, 00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:50.680 but God, 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:51.740 I mean, 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:53.759 he just seems so absent or far away. 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:57.400 And you know what, George? 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.380 Or like what it can be in our hearts, 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:02.299 not just George. 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:05.000 Money seems to do real things, 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:06.240 but you know what? 00:28:06.340 --> 00:28:07.019 God doesn't. 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:12.279 And you see, 00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:13.680 for many of us, 00:28:15.100 --> 00:28:17.240 the things of God and the gospel, 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.480 it's very distant. 00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:19.660 But God is, 00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:20.519 but money, 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:21.920 and the things that money 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.440 apparently can accomplish, 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:25.759 seems just to be really, 00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:26.080 really, 00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:27.019 really huge. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:29.880 And part of the process 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:31.059 of discipleship 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:34.960 is to come face to face, 00:28:36.340 --> 00:28:37.680 not just that we've trusted Jesus. 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.100 You see, 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:39.420 this is what's so wonderful 00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:40.400 about the gospel. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:43.720 for you know the grace, 00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:45.680 for you know the grace, 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:47.600 for you know the grace, 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:49.660 for you know the grace 00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:52.060 of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:28:53.060 --> 00:28:54.740 that though he was rich, 00:28:55.620 --> 00:28:57.780 yet for your sakes, 00:28:58.360 --> 00:28:59.500 he became poor 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:01.580 so that you, 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:02.900 by his poverty, 00:29:03.580 --> 00:29:05.240 might become rich. 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:07.160 It doesn't say, 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:10.900 for you know the ability 00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:12.500 of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:15.000 to evaluate your financial readiness, 00:29:15.819 --> 00:29:19.039 to evaluate when you were going to be able 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:20.220 to be psychologically 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:22.620 and emotionally present with him. 00:29:22.619 --> 00:29:24.759 And once you've reached 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:26.000 that stage 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.119 of awareness 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:29.299 of him 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:31.519 and disciplines 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:32.739 for him, 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:34.699 and once you've met 00:29:34.699 --> 00:29:36.599 his demands 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:37.959 in these areas, 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:40.199 then he'll become poor 00:29:40.199 --> 00:29:41.379 so that together 00:29:41.379 --> 00:29:42.419 the two of you can become, 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:43.719 no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.239 That's why it's grace. 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:48.359 He didn't look down there 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:48.619 and say, 00:29:48.699 --> 00:29:49.459 oh, look at George. 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:51.559 George is just so aware 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:52.480 of money 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:53.899 and how big things are 00:29:53.899 --> 00:29:54.919 compared to him 00:29:54.919 --> 00:29:58.220 and how small things are 00:29:58.220 --> 00:29:59.559 compared to my glory. 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:01.000 George is just so ready 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:01.679 for the gospel. 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.359 I think I'll come alongside him 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:04.480 and add a little bit of value 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:05.379 to his life. 00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:07.599 That's not how it worked. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:11.740 You know, 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:14.440 he sees a young man 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:16.639 or a young woman 00:30:16.639 --> 00:30:18.500 burdened with maybe 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:20.200 senses of unworthiness 00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:22.160 and senses of incompleteness 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:23.980 and everything around them 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:25.660 just seems so big 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:29.940 and they realize 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:30.720 that they're poor 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:32.180 and that there's something 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:33.180 more that they need 00:30:33.180 --> 00:30:34.039 and they give their lives 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:34.660 to Christ. 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:39.340 And discipleship 00:30:39.340 --> 00:30:41.019 is partially, 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:43.480 largely about the Holy Spirit 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:45.779 in conjunction with God's word 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:48.200 convicting us 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:51.740 of these many, many, many, many ways 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:53.080 that we make God small 00:30:53.080 --> 00:30:55.640 and make things big 00:30:55.640 --> 00:30:58.200 and live as if we are in a world 00:30:58.200 --> 00:30:59.820 of really, really big things 00:30:59.820 --> 00:31:02.759 with a tiny, distant, powerless God. 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:10.339 But the text begins by saying, 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:12.259 for you know the grace 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:13.379 of our Lord, 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:15.160 God, 00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:16.680 Messiah, 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:17.980 Jesus Christ. 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:21.359 Though he was rich, 00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:23.140 yet for your sake 00:31:23.140 --> 00:31:24.180 he became poor 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:25.440 so that you, 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:27.420 through his poverty, 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:29.099 might become rich. 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:33.839 You see, 00:31:33.939 --> 00:31:35.359 it's because we have 00:31:35.359 --> 00:31:38.039 these beliefs 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:39.119 of money is huge 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.099 but God is tiny, 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:41.000 money is necessary 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:42.240 but God is my hobby, 00:31:42.379 --> 00:31:43.519 money presses in on me 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.500 but God can wait, 00:31:44.659 --> 00:31:45.439 money is present 00:31:45.439 --> 00:31:46.459 but God is absent, 00:31:46.919 --> 00:31:47.819 money does real things 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:48.839 but God does not. 00:31:49.179 --> 00:31:50.699 It's because these things 00:31:50.699 --> 00:31:52.119 are so unexamined 00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:52.859 but powerful 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:53.939 in our hearts 00:31:53.939 --> 00:31:55.659 that when we read 00:31:55.659 --> 00:31:56.819 and listen to the Bible, 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:58.879 we listen to them 00:31:58.879 --> 00:32:00.460 with great cynicism 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.740 and disbelief. 00:32:08.299 --> 00:32:08.859 You see, 00:32:08.919 --> 00:32:09.599 we come together 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:10.599 not to feel guilty 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:11.200 but to say, 00:32:11.399 --> 00:32:11.659 Lord, 00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:13.359 I am so glad 00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:15.559 that you saved me 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.919 by what you did 00:32:16.919 --> 00:32:18.079 and not by what I did 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:18.720 and Lord, 00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:19.720 I have so, 00:32:19.879 --> 00:32:20.019 I, 00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:20.759 Lord, 00:32:20.899 --> 00:32:22.339 grip me with this gospel, 00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:24.740 grip me with 2 Corinthians 8-9, 00:32:25.319 --> 00:32:26.259 grip me with this, 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:27.319 help me to understand 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:29.319 that this is the rock solid, 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:30.740 rock bottom, 00:32:31.460 --> 00:32:32.579 transcendent, 00:32:33.160 --> 00:32:33.660 shining, 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:34.879 beautiful, 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:35.920 deeply, 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:36.920 thoroughly, 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:38.660 complete truth 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:40.299 about who I am 00:32:40.299 --> 00:32:41.079 and the world 00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:41.819 that I live in. 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:42.180 Father, 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:43.700 grip me with this gospel 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:47.799 and as this gospel 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:48.660 grips us, 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:50.000 it changes, 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:51.500 it starts to shape 00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:52.180 how we live. 00:32:53.099 --> 00:32:53.279 See, 00:32:53.339 --> 00:32:54.039 that's what the Bible 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:54.839 is doing here 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:55.679 and it's not giving us 00:32:55.679 --> 00:32:56.179 a whole pile 00:32:56.179 --> 00:32:57.019 of new commands, 00:32:57.919 --> 00:32:59.459 things to wear us down 00:32:59.459 --> 00:33:00.240 and make us guilty, 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:02.919 it's trying to wake us up 00:33:02.919 --> 00:33:04.339 and shine the light 00:33:04.339 --> 00:33:05.039 of the beauty 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:06.379 of God's word 00:33:06.379 --> 00:33:07.500 as to the world 00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:08.359 that we live in 00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:09.799 and who God is 00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:12.699 and what our eternal destiny is. 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:15.699 So, 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:16.779 listen to it again 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:17.779 from verse 6 on. 00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:18.740 The point is this, 00:33:19.199 --> 00:33:20.519 whoever sows sparingly 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:21.980 will also reap sparingly 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:23.380 and whoever sows bountifully 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:24.579 will also reap bountifully. 00:33:25.059 --> 00:33:25.319 In a sense, 00:33:25.380 --> 00:33:25.740 the Bible is saying 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.220 that's just the way 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.099 the world works. 00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:28.500 Well, 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:29.240 I shouldn't work 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:30.640 in my movement as well. 00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:35.599 Each one must give 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:36.920 as he has decided 00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:37.559 in his heart. 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:38.599 God's waiting for us 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:39.319 to make a decision 00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:40.079 in our heart. 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:42.559 Not to be impulsive, 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:44.460 not just to be haphazard, 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:45.660 not to be motivated 00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:46.380 out of guilt, 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:47.019 but in a sense 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:47.620 to be motivated 00:33:47.620 --> 00:33:48.200 by the beauty 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:48.940 of the gospel. 00:33:48.940 --> 00:33:50.960 That the gospel 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:51.779 not only starts 00:33:51.779 --> 00:33:52.180 to give us 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:53.220 a bit of a ground 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:54.640 that this is 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:55.740 my father's world 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:57.279 and I will have times 00:33:57.279 --> 00:33:57.759 when I will have 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:58.840 to call out to God 00:33:58.840 --> 00:33:59.460 for help 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:00.880 and his wisdom 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:01.759 and his provision 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:02.860 in my finances 00:34:02.860 --> 00:34:03.700 and his order 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:04.600 in my finances, 00:34:04.600 --> 00:34:05.680 but there's one thing 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:06.440 I know beyond 00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:07.440 everything out 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:08.860 that everything else 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:10.039 that nothing will stop 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:10.900 God loving me. 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:11.740 He has given me 00:34:11.740 --> 00:34:12.500 his son, 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:13.400 Jesus Christ, 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:14.880 and one second 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:16.240 after I die, 00:34:16.420 --> 00:34:17.880 I have the riches 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:18.860 of God. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:20.519 For all eternity. 00:34:21.720 --> 00:34:23.179 And nothing can take 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:24.119 that away from me. 00:34:26.099 --> 00:34:26.840 Each one, 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:27.420 verse 7, 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:28.639 must give as he has decided 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:29.159 in his heart, 00:34:29.220 --> 00:34:29.980 not reluctantly 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:30.820 or under compulsion, 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:31.460 for God loves 00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:32.679 a cheerful giver. 00:34:33.619 --> 00:34:35.019 And God is able 00:34:35.019 --> 00:34:35.940 to make all the grace 00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:36.700 abound to you. 00:34:36.700 --> 00:34:36.960 Why? 00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:38.179 For you know the grace 00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:39.300 of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:40.539 that though he was rich, 00:34:40.860 --> 00:34:41.760 yet for your sake 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:42.700 he became poor 00:34:42.700 --> 00:34:43.380 so that you 00:34:43.380 --> 00:34:44.599 through his poverty 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:45.720 might become rich. 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:47.559 That's why it says 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:48.079 in verse 8, 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:49.039 and God is able 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.360 to make all grace 00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:51.079 abound to you 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:51.880 so that having 00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:52.900 all sufficiency, 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:54.059 being secure 00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:55.639 in 2 Corinthians 8, 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:55.840 9, 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:56.759 being secure 00:34:56.759 --> 00:34:57.880 in the fact 00:34:57.880 --> 00:34:58.599 that it's God 00:34:58.599 --> 00:34:59.420 who makes you rich, 00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:00.340 that's reconciled 00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:01.139 you to himself, 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:02.940 that nothing 00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:05.059 will stop God 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:06.179 from making you rich 00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:06.940 for all eternity. 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:08.119 And so God, 00:35:08.220 --> 00:35:08.579 verse 8, 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:09.440 is able to make 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.920 all grace abound to you 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:11.380 so that having 00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:12.179 all sufficiency 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:13.000 in all things 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:13.880 at all times, 00:35:14.240 --> 00:35:15.039 you may abound 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:16.659 in every good work 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:17.900 as it is written. 00:35:18.019 --> 00:35:18.420 And here it's 00:35:18.420 --> 00:35:19.320 describing God. 00:35:19.720 --> 00:35:20.340 Who is God? 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:22.079 He is distributed freely. 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:22.920 He is given 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:23.700 to the poor. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:25.559 His righteousness 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:26.740 endures forever. 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:27.340 In other words, 00:35:27.579 --> 00:35:28.740 his rightness, 00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:29.360 fitness, 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:30.480 meekness, 00:35:31.180 --> 00:35:33.599 nothing can stop 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:34.500 him being God. 00:35:34.660 --> 00:35:35.599 Nothing can bring 00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:37.140 his rule as God 00:35:37.140 --> 00:35:37.720 to an end. 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:39.579 Nothing can stop it. 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:41.680 Verse 10, 00:35:42.340 --> 00:35:43.260 he who supplies 00:35:43.260 --> 00:35:44.280 seed to the sower 00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:45.300 and bread for food 00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:46.519 will supply 00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:47.460 and multiply 00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:48.320 your seed 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:49.000 for sowing 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:49.980 and increase 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:50.640 the harvest 00:35:50.640 --> 00:35:51.720 of your righteousness. 00:35:52.200 --> 00:35:53.260 You will be enriched 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:54.320 in every way 00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:55.340 to be generous 00:35:55.340 --> 00:35:56.400 in every way 00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:57.440 which through us 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:58.140 will provide 00:35:58.140 --> 00:35:59.340 thanksgiving to God. 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:00.380 for the ministry 00:36:00.380 --> 00:36:01.160 of this service 00:36:01.160 --> 00:36:02.640 is not only supplying 00:36:02.640 --> 00:36:03.860 the needs of the saints 00:36:03.860 --> 00:36:06.260 but is also overflowing 00:36:06.260 --> 00:36:07.559 in many thanksgivings 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:08.160 to God. 00:36:09.140 --> 00:36:10.320 By their approval 00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:11.680 of this service, 00:36:12.240 --> 00:36:14.480 they will glorify God 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:16.059 because of your submission, 00:36:16.240 --> 00:36:17.019 your obedience 00:36:17.019 --> 00:36:17.700 that comes 00:36:17.700 --> 00:36:19.160 from your confession 00:36:19.160 --> 00:36:21.140 of the gospel of Christ 00:36:21.140 --> 00:36:23.000 because as you've confessed 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:24.140 the gospel of Christ 00:36:24.140 --> 00:36:25.400 and as you confess 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:26.360 the gospel of Christ, 00:36:26.440 --> 00:36:26.860 you realize 00:36:26.860 --> 00:36:27.900 there's a type of submission 00:36:27.900 --> 00:36:28.539 and obedience 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:29.139 that comes 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:30.179 from knowing 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:31.639 that you know 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:32.139 the grace 00:36:32.139 --> 00:36:33.320 of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:36:33.320 --> 00:36:34.500 that though he was rich 00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:35.699 yet for your sake 00:36:35.699 --> 00:36:36.559 he became poor 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:37.179 so that you 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:38.059 through his poverty 00:36:38.059 --> 00:36:39.179 might become rich 00:36:39.179 --> 00:36:41.059 and the generosity 00:36:41.059 --> 00:36:42.639 of your contribution 00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:43.539 for them 00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:44.420 and for all others 00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:45.440 while they long 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:45.820 for you 00:36:45.820 --> 00:36:46.559 and pray for you 00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:47.159 because of their 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:48.179 surpassing grace 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:49.219 of God upon you. 00:36:49.739 --> 00:36:51.000 Thanks be to God 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:52.920 for his inexpressible gift. 00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:54.759 Thanks be to God 00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:56.220 for his inexpressible gift 00:36:56.220 --> 00:36:57.040 that you know 00:36:57.040 --> 00:36:58.660 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:36:58.660 --> 00:36:59.760 that though he was rich 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:00.660 yet for your sake 00:37:00.660 --> 00:37:01.600 he became poor 00:37:01.600 --> 00:37:02.480 so that you 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:03.320 through his poverty 00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:04.300 might become rich. 00:37:04.660 --> 00:37:05.900 That is a gift 00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:09.980 that the greatest poets 00:37:09.980 --> 00:37:12.080 and the greatest dancers 00:37:12.080 --> 00:37:14.220 and the greatest musicians 00:37:14.220 --> 00:37:16.340 and the greatest painters 00:37:16.340 --> 00:37:18.700 and the greatest philosophers 00:37:18.700 --> 00:37:20.360 and the greatest theologians 00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:23.559 can only describe 00:37:23.559 --> 00:37:25.579 in the most partial way 00:37:25.579 --> 00:37:27.539 because the richness 00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:28.380 and the grace 00:37:28.380 --> 00:37:29.079 and the mercy 00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:29.720 and the beauty 00:37:29.720 --> 00:37:30.539 of that grace 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:31.160 and the beauty 00:37:31.160 --> 00:37:32.579 and the wisdom 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:33.320 and the justice 00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:34.539 of who God is 00:37:34.539 --> 00:37:35.820 and the hugeness 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:36.320 of it 00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:38.260 defies our ability 00:37:38.260 --> 00:37:40.120 to ever capture it 00:37:40.120 --> 00:37:41.280 in song 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:42.200 or dance 00:37:42.200 --> 00:37:43.140 or word. 00:37:43.139 --> 00:37:46.219 His gift 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:48.139 is inexpressible. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:50.259 It surpasses 00:37:50.259 --> 00:37:51.079 our ability 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:53.159 to fully understand it. 00:37:53.179 --> 00:37:53.699 We will spend 00:37:53.699 --> 00:37:54.879 all eternity 00:37:54.879 --> 00:37:57.500 plunging into the depths 00:37:57.500 --> 00:37:59.319 of the riches 00:37:59.319 --> 00:38:00.119 and the mercy 00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:00.719 and the beauty 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:01.440 and the grace 00:38:01.440 --> 00:38:03.019 and the justice 00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:03.779 and the rightness 00:38:03.779 --> 00:38:04.839 and the fitness of God. 00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:08.799 Let's just wrap this up. 00:38:08.859 --> 00:38:09.039 Andrew, 00:38:09.079 --> 00:38:09.719 if you could put up 00:38:09.719 --> 00:38:11.739 the big sort of point 00:38:11.739 --> 00:38:14.419 God enriches me 00:38:14.419 --> 00:38:16.739 so I will be generous 00:38:16.739 --> 00:38:18.399 and give freely 00:38:18.399 --> 00:38:20.379 so that he gets the glory. 00:38:22.259 --> 00:38:23.659 God enriches me 00:38:23.659 --> 00:38:25.219 so that I will be generous 00:38:25.219 --> 00:38:26.619 and give freely 00:38:26.619 --> 00:38:29.059 so that he gets the praise. 00:38:31.979 --> 00:38:32.500 And, 00:38:32.579 --> 00:38:33.819 you know, 00:38:33.859 --> 00:38:34.639 that's what the text 00:38:34.639 --> 00:38:35.419 is telling us. 00:38:39.259 --> 00:38:40.299 And so there's sort of 00:38:40.299 --> 00:38:41.119 just two things 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:42.139 sort of in closing 00:38:42.139 --> 00:38:43.199 just to wrap this up. 00:38:43.259 --> 00:38:43.940 The first one is 00:38:43.940 --> 00:38:45.119 that there's a real call 00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:46.279 upon our hearts to pray 00:38:46.279 --> 00:38:47.319 if you're all like me. 00:38:48.099 --> 00:38:49.460 And we'll put this up here now. 00:38:49.539 --> 00:38:50.159 I'll just read it. 00:38:50.339 --> 00:38:50.679 We're going to, 00:38:50.980 --> 00:38:51.400 Andrew, 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:52.000 after we've done 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:52.819 the practical things 00:38:52.819 --> 00:38:54.039 we'll put this slide back up 00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:54.480 because I'm going to have 00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:55.039 the congregation 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:55.759 pray it with me. 00:38:55.859 --> 00:38:57.759 But this is just my attempt. 00:38:57.859 --> 00:38:58.859 This will all be on the webpage. 00:38:59.339 --> 00:39:00.059 This is my attempt 00:39:00.059 --> 00:39:01.420 to try to put this into prayer. 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:02.319 If God has touched 00:39:02.319 --> 00:39:03.019 your heart at all, 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:03.940 if you are struggling 00:39:03.940 --> 00:39:05.480 with the things 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:06.159 of this world 00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:06.759 being really, 00:39:06.900 --> 00:39:07.359 really big 00:39:07.359 --> 00:39:07.779 and really, 00:39:07.900 --> 00:39:08.519 really huge 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:08.880 and really, 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:09.679 really powerful 00:39:09.679 --> 00:39:11.039 and God seeming tiny 00:39:11.039 --> 00:39:11.579 and distant, 00:39:11.739 --> 00:39:13.179 then it's a call for us 00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:14.659 to pray, 00:39:14.819 --> 00:39:15.899 to call out to God 00:39:15.899 --> 00:39:17.019 that we'd be gripped 00:39:17.019 --> 00:39:17.719 with the gospel. 00:39:19.500 --> 00:39:20.219 I've just tried 00:39:20.219 --> 00:39:21.299 to put some words into it. 00:39:21.359 --> 00:39:21.480 Lord, 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:22.339 I confess that 00:39:22.339 --> 00:39:24.259 I often live my life 00:39:24.259 --> 00:39:25.599 as if money is huge 00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:26.579 and you are small, 00:39:26.819 --> 00:39:28.279 as if money is crucial 00:39:28.279 --> 00:39:29.559 and you are my hobby, 00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:31.239 as if I must deal 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:32.019 with the demands 00:39:32.019 --> 00:39:33.059 of money first 00:39:33.059 --> 00:39:33.619 and you, 00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:34.639 whenever. 00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:37.059 please forgive me 00:39:37.059 --> 00:39:37.779 and help me 00:39:37.779 --> 00:39:38.440 to die 00:39:38.440 --> 00:39:39.639 to these lies. 00:39:40.579 --> 00:39:41.679 Please grow in me 00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:42.259 a humble, 00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:42.920 trusting, 00:39:43.139 --> 00:39:44.159 and obedient knowing 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:45.879 that you are big 00:39:45.879 --> 00:39:46.960 and money is small, 00:39:47.279 --> 00:39:48.359 that your grace 00:39:48.359 --> 00:39:49.319 is huge 00:39:49.319 --> 00:39:51.000 and everything else 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:51.559 is tiny. 00:39:52.319 --> 00:39:53.000 Please make me 00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:54.059 a disciple of Jesus 00:39:54.059 --> 00:39:54.759 who is gripped 00:39:54.759 --> 00:39:55.619 by the gospel 00:39:55.619 --> 00:39:57.440 and learning to live 00:39:57.440 --> 00:39:58.779 a life of disciplined 00:39:58.779 --> 00:39:59.639 generosity 00:39:59.639 --> 00:40:01.099 to your glory 00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:01.739 and praise. 00:40:01.839 --> 00:40:02.539 In Jesus' name, 00:40:02.599 --> 00:40:02.779 Amen. 00:40:02.780 --> 00:40:04.800 For many of us, 00:40:04.820 --> 00:40:05.220 that's really 00:40:05.220 --> 00:40:06.300 the main heart work 00:40:06.300 --> 00:40:07.060 that we have to do 00:40:07.060 --> 00:40:07.820 is just to call out 00:40:07.820 --> 00:40:08.519 to God in prayer 00:40:08.519 --> 00:40:10.960 that you not be, 00:40:11.560 --> 00:40:12.540 that God just not 00:40:12.540 --> 00:40:13.380 be so distant 00:40:13.380 --> 00:40:14.440 that the gospel 00:40:14.440 --> 00:40:15.200 grips you. 00:40:16.900 --> 00:40:17.840 And then I just have 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:18.420 a few little 00:40:18.420 --> 00:40:19.480 practical things 00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:21.260 as you pray 00:40:21.260 --> 00:40:22.380 that if you're moved 00:40:22.380 --> 00:40:23.120 to start actually 00:40:23.120 --> 00:40:24.300 trying to be generous, 00:40:24.780 --> 00:40:25.720 just three little 00:40:25.720 --> 00:40:26.760 practical things. 00:40:27.300 --> 00:40:28.060 The first is 00:40:28.060 --> 00:40:29.100 give at the front end 00:40:29.100 --> 00:40:29.800 of your pay 00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:32.360 and not at the back end 00:40:32.360 --> 00:40:33.539 of what's left 00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:35.400 the day before payday. 00:40:37.740 --> 00:40:38.180 You know, 00:40:38.260 --> 00:40:39.720 I knew a guy, 00:40:40.120 --> 00:40:40.960 he used to come 00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:41.400 to the church 00:40:41.400 --> 00:40:42.039 and he used to say, 00:40:42.099 --> 00:40:42.300 George, 00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:43.160 no matter how much money 00:40:43.160 --> 00:40:44.420 I spend every week, 00:40:44.460 --> 00:40:45.260 I have more money 00:40:45.260 --> 00:40:45.720 in the bank 00:40:45.720 --> 00:40:46.400 at the end of the week, 00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:47.519 at the end of my pay period 00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:48.120 than when I began. 00:40:49.260 --> 00:40:49.720 And I thought, 00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:50.000 well, 00:40:50.019 --> 00:40:51.340 it's nice to be 00:40:51.340 --> 00:40:52.380 a single man 00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:54.340 in a mortgage-free house 00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:54.960 with a really, 00:40:54.960 --> 00:40:56.220 really well-paying job. 00:40:59.180 --> 00:41:00.260 That's not my life. 00:41:00.260 --> 00:41:01.440 It's never been my life. 00:41:03.260 --> 00:41:03.680 And you know, 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:04.060 I mean, 00:41:04.140 --> 00:41:05.200 part of my problems 00:41:05.200 --> 00:41:06.040 with being generous 00:41:06.040 --> 00:41:09.660 is I would live my life, 00:41:10.320 --> 00:41:11.480 I would pay my debts, 00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:12.760 and then basically 00:41:12.760 --> 00:41:14.380 if there was money left over 00:41:14.380 --> 00:41:15.440 after all that is over, 00:41:15.520 --> 00:41:16.680 I would be generous with it 00:41:16.680 --> 00:41:17.860 and there was never 00:41:17.860 --> 00:41:18.700 money left over. 00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:20.860 And the way to start 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:22.020 to have disciplined generosity 00:41:22.020 --> 00:41:23.340 is you give at the front end 00:41:23.340 --> 00:41:23.960 of your pay, 00:41:24.740 --> 00:41:26.260 not at the back end 00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:26.960 of what's left 00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:27.960 the day before paying. 00:41:28.100 --> 00:41:29.140 Here's another suggestion. 00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:30.460 Give money as regularly 00:41:30.460 --> 00:41:31.859 as you receive money. 00:41:32.759 --> 00:41:34.219 Goes along with the first point. 00:41:36.839 --> 00:41:38.019 Some people have, 00:41:38.259 --> 00:41:39.420 because they give 00:41:39.420 --> 00:41:40.559 quite generously, 00:41:40.739 --> 00:41:41.659 they might move money 00:41:41.659 --> 00:41:43.339 instantly into another account 00:41:43.339 --> 00:41:44.359 which they only use 00:41:44.359 --> 00:41:44.980 to give. 00:41:45.079 --> 00:41:46.319 But these are just suggestions. 00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:47.099 It's whatever works. 00:41:47.659 --> 00:41:48.519 And the third thing 00:41:48.519 --> 00:41:49.639 is pray your way 00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:50.699 to giving 10% 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:51.400 of your income 00:41:51.400 --> 00:41:52.460 to gospel ministry. 00:41:53.539 --> 00:41:54.819 The Bible doesn't command 00:41:54.819 --> 00:41:56.539 tithing as a rule, 00:41:57.099 --> 00:41:58.119 but it's just a rule of thumb. 00:41:58.119 --> 00:41:58.679 It's like, you know, 00:41:58.719 --> 00:41:59.619 when I went to the hospital 00:41:59.619 --> 00:42:00.480 a few years ago, 00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:01.900 I had to go through this, 00:42:02.279 --> 00:42:02.500 you know, 00:42:02.559 --> 00:42:03.699 training thing to visit 00:42:03.699 --> 00:42:04.500 even though I'd been visiting 00:42:04.500 --> 00:42:05.119 for many years. 00:42:05.179 --> 00:42:05.699 And one of the things 00:42:05.699 --> 00:42:06.420 is you had to make sure 00:42:06.420 --> 00:42:07.359 you washed your hands 00:42:07.359 --> 00:42:08.039 long enough. 00:42:09.059 --> 00:42:10.880 Wash your hands properly 00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:11.759 before you visit, 00:42:11.839 --> 00:42:12.539 after every visit 00:42:12.539 --> 00:42:13.319 in between visits. 00:42:13.719 --> 00:42:14.139 And so you have to 00:42:14.139 --> 00:42:15.039 wash your hands properly. 00:42:15.139 --> 00:42:15.460 Well, what does 00:42:15.460 --> 00:42:16.839 washing your hands properly mean? 00:42:19.839 --> 00:42:21.199 Like, you know, 00:42:21.239 --> 00:42:21.460 I mean, 00:42:21.539 --> 00:42:22.759 I don't want to be gross, 00:42:22.900 --> 00:42:23.659 but if you go to, 00:42:23.659 --> 00:42:24.000 you know, 00:42:24.059 --> 00:42:24.579 washrooms, 00:42:24.699 --> 00:42:25.400 public washrooms, 00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:25.960 some people 00:42:25.960 --> 00:42:26.740 don't wash their hands 00:42:26.740 --> 00:42:27.240 at all. 00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:28.220 And others, 00:42:28.340 --> 00:42:29.180 it's like they put 00:42:29.180 --> 00:42:30.220 a little tiny bit of water 00:42:30.220 --> 00:42:31.440 on a couple of their fingers 00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:32.760 and fling it off like this 00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:33.639 and out they go. 00:42:34.240 --> 00:42:34.579 Like, 00:42:34.880 --> 00:42:36.099 what does washing your hands 00:42:36.099 --> 00:42:36.800 properly mean? 00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:37.599 And I remember they said, 00:42:37.680 --> 00:42:39.119 say the Lord's Prayer slowly. 00:42:39.420 --> 00:42:40.099 Our Father, 00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:41.599 who art in heaven, 00:42:42.180 --> 00:42:43.280 hallowed be your name. 00:42:43.880 --> 00:42:45.000 Thy kingdom come. 00:42:45.619 --> 00:42:46.160 And they said, 00:42:46.200 --> 00:42:47.400 if you say it nice and slowly 00:42:47.400 --> 00:42:48.460 as you wash your hands, 00:42:48.519 --> 00:42:49.139 it's properly. 00:42:49.240 --> 00:42:49.460 I thought, 00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:50.059 that's, 00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:51.700 I like that. 00:42:52.559 --> 00:42:52.879 You know, 00:42:53.359 --> 00:42:54.599 it's like there's lots 00:42:54.599 --> 00:42:55.299 of things in life. 00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:56.939 And the Bible here is saying, 00:42:57.059 --> 00:42:57.199 you know, 00:42:57.219 --> 00:42:58.419 it's so interesting. 00:42:58.519 --> 00:42:59.299 The Bible isn't saying 00:42:59.299 --> 00:43:00.059 that you have to all become 00:43:00.059 --> 00:43:00.819 like Mother Teresa 00:43:00.819 --> 00:43:01.659 or you can't seek 00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:02.379 to have jobs, 00:43:02.439 --> 00:43:02.980 you can't seek 00:43:02.980 --> 00:43:03.639 to have promotions, 00:43:03.799 --> 00:43:04.319 you can't work. 00:43:04.859 --> 00:43:06.079 God enriches us 00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:07.000 in different ways. 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:08.379 And some of us, 00:43:08.419 --> 00:43:09.319 he's going to really enrich. 00:43:09.539 --> 00:43:10.819 And the Bible just gives, 00:43:10.939 --> 00:43:11.079 you know, 00:43:11.139 --> 00:43:12.480 so what does generous mean? 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:13.099 Well, 00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:14.559 try about 10% of your income 00:43:14.559 --> 00:43:17.759 to pray your way to that, 00:43:18.739 --> 00:43:20.000 to start your way towards that. 00:43:21.699 --> 00:43:22.719 But there's no rule. 00:43:22.879 --> 00:43:24.259 The basic thing 00:43:24.259 --> 00:43:25.179 is that you're gripped 00:43:25.179 --> 00:43:25.839 by the gospel, 00:43:25.939 --> 00:43:26.500 that you're shaped 00:43:26.500 --> 00:43:27.239 by the gospel. 00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:28.139 Because you see, 00:43:28.239 --> 00:43:29.139 if day by day, 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:30.399 I want to live my life 00:43:30.399 --> 00:43:30.960 with Jesus 00:43:30.960 --> 00:43:31.899 and I want to walk 00:43:31.899 --> 00:43:32.559 through my day 00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:33.819 and my life with Jesus 00:43:33.819 --> 00:43:35.119 and I'm walking 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:36.679 with the man 00:43:36.679 --> 00:43:39.299 who is filled with grace 00:43:39.299 --> 00:43:41.019 and you know the grace 00:43:41.019 --> 00:43:42.119 of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:43:42.119 --> 00:43:43.339 that though he was rich, 00:43:43.399 --> 00:43:44.279 yet for your sake 00:43:44.279 --> 00:43:45.259 he became poor 00:43:45.259 --> 00:43:46.699 so that you by his poverty 00:43:46.699 --> 00:43:47.719 might become rich. 00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:49.119 That's who we follow. 00:43:49.119 --> 00:43:52.539 That's who our lives 00:43:52.539 --> 00:43:53.679 have been saved by, 00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:55.319 who are to be molded by. 00:43:56.339 --> 00:43:56.579 Andrew, 00:43:56.619 --> 00:43:57.519 if you could put the prayer up, 00:43:57.539 --> 00:43:58.099 please stand. 00:43:59.960 --> 00:44:00.719 Not just Andrew, 00:44:00.819 --> 00:44:01.099 everybody. 00:44:06.299 --> 00:44:06.699 And, 00:44:06.859 --> 00:44:07.739 you know, 00:44:07.779 --> 00:44:08.420 the other thing is 00:44:08.420 --> 00:44:09.400 if you haven't given 00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:10.279 your life to Jesus, 00:44:10.420 --> 00:44:11.859 if maybe for the first time 00:44:11.859 --> 00:44:13.179 2 Corinthians 8-9 00:44:13.179 --> 00:44:13.839 and the gospel 00:44:13.839 --> 00:44:14.460 has started to make 00:44:14.460 --> 00:44:15.440 some sense to you, 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:17.480 you know what I suggest, 00:44:17.579 --> 00:44:19.039 you can say this prayer 00:44:19.039 --> 00:44:19.800 that we're going to give you 00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:21.000 as a conversion prayer 00:44:21.000 --> 00:44:21.639 but you know what 00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:22.539 I would just say to you 00:44:22.539 --> 00:44:23.420 is just say to God 00:44:23.420 --> 00:44:24.440 in your own words, 00:44:25.599 --> 00:44:26.119 God, 00:44:26.500 --> 00:44:27.679 2 Corinthians 8-9, 00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:28.900 that's true 00:44:28.900 --> 00:44:31.420 and I'm poor 00:44:31.420 --> 00:44:32.900 and I want to receive 00:44:32.900 --> 00:44:33.420 the riches 00:44:33.420 --> 00:44:34.500 that only Jesus 00:44:34.500 --> 00:44:35.260 can give me, 00:44:35.340 --> 00:44:36.639 only you can give me 00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:39.500 and I want, 00:44:39.940 --> 00:44:41.599 just in your own words, 00:44:42.980 --> 00:44:43.639 call out to him 00:44:43.639 --> 00:44:44.519 in the words of that, 00:44:44.759 --> 00:44:46.119 or you can use this prayer 00:44:46.119 --> 00:44:47.059 as a conversion prayer 00:44:47.059 --> 00:44:47.920 and if God has put it 00:44:47.920 --> 00:44:48.400 on your heart, 00:44:48.559 --> 00:44:49.039 join with me 00:44:49.039 --> 00:44:50.079 in praying this out loud. 00:44:51.219 --> 00:44:51.619 Lord, 00:44:51.980 --> 00:44:52.960 I confess 00:44:52.960 --> 00:44:54.139 that I often 00:44:54.139 --> 00:44:55.319 live my life 00:44:55.319 --> 00:44:56.339 as if money 00:44:56.339 --> 00:44:57.239 is huge 00:44:57.239 --> 00:44:58.539 and you are small, 00:44:58.940 --> 00:45:00.000 as if money 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:00.799 is crucial 00:45:00.799 --> 00:45:02.559 and you are my hobby, 00:45:03.139 --> 00:45:04.599 as if I must deal 00:45:04.599 --> 00:45:05.480 with the demands 00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:06.579 of money first 00:45:06.579 --> 00:45:08.099 and you whenever. 00:45:08.900 --> 00:45:10.139 Please forgive me 00:45:10.139 --> 00:45:10.980 and help me 00:45:10.980 --> 00:45:12.599 to die to these lies. 00:45:12.599 --> 00:45:14.619 please grow in me 00:45:14.619 --> 00:45:15.299 a humble, 00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:16.019 trusting, 00:45:16.319 --> 00:45:17.339 and obedient knowing 00:45:17.339 --> 00:45:19.079 that you are big 00:45:19.079 --> 00:45:20.420 and money is small, 00:45:20.940 --> 00:45:21.980 that your grace 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:22.880 is huge 00:45:22.880 --> 00:45:24.319 and everything else 00:45:24.319 --> 00:45:24.960 is tiny. 00:45:25.699 --> 00:45:26.659 Please make me 00:45:26.659 --> 00:45:28.059 a disciple of Jesus 00:45:28.059 --> 00:45:29.019 who is gripped 00:45:29.019 --> 00:45:29.920 by the gospel 00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:30.980 and learning 00:45:30.980 --> 00:45:32.239 to live a life 00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:33.679 of disciplined generosity 00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:35.019 to your glory 00:45:35.019 --> 00:45:35.819 and praise. 00:45:36.299 --> 00:45:37.420 In Jesus' name, 00:45:37.799 --> 00:45:38.159 amen. 00:45:38.759 --> 00:45:39.179 Father, 00:45:39.319 --> 00:45:40.360 pour out your Holy Spirit 00:45:40.360 --> 00:45:40.920 upon us. 00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:42.059 Only you can touch 00:45:42.059 --> 00:45:42.639 our hearts. 00:45:43.700 --> 00:45:44.519 Only you can bring 00:45:44.519 --> 00:45:45.800 the gospel home to us. 00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:46.579 Father, 00:45:46.700 --> 00:45:47.720 pour out your Holy Spirit 00:45:47.720 --> 00:45:48.300 upon us. 00:45:49.059 --> 00:45:49.820 Make us disciples 00:45:49.820 --> 00:45:50.340 of Jesus, 00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:51.380 gripped by the gospel, 00:45:51.700 --> 00:45:52.519 living for your glory. 00:45:52.760 --> 00:45:53.480 In Jesus' name, 00:45:53.599 --> 00:45:53.860 amen.