WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:10.500 Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:18.760 Thanks for singing that. Such a great tune. Written by Rich Mullins. I don't know if you're familiar with him. 00:00:19.580 --> 00:00:23.339 Great songwriter. He's passed away now, but great songwriter. 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:31.160 What I love about that song is that, especially that line that says, the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:40.200 That's what we are going to talk about today. Before we jump back into John next week, we're going to talk about the truth about stuff. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.659 The truth about the stuff that competes for our allegiance. 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:53.159 Stuff. What I mean by stuff. I mean money. I mean wealth. I mean possessions. 00:00:54.120 --> 00:00:55.460 I mean nachos. 00:00:57.160 --> 00:01:02.340 I wanted some nachos at a game the other week, and one of the beloved Southwood members, Madeline Schatz, was there. 00:01:02.440 --> 00:01:05.520 And I made an agreement that if she gave me a nacho, I'd tell her thank you in a sermon. 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:08.000 Thank you, Madeline. 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:13.920 I'm mad at my word. It was a wonderful nacho. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:18.719 And we want stuff all the time, though, right? 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.600 And money and wealth and possessions. Nachos. 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:24.699 It's a sensitive topic, though. 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:28.399 Stuff is everywhere in our culture. 00:01:28.859 --> 00:01:30.640 It surrounds us. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:32.560 And how do we get stuff? 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:34.159 We buy stuff. 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:38.060 We buy stuff with money, right? 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:40.000 We buy it with money. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:48.280 And whether we're afraid many times of not having enough money or chasing after more money, it influences us very deeply. 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:49.520 We think about it. 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:51.140 We talk about it. 00:01:51.579 --> 00:01:52.620 We sing about it. 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.760 I remember when I was in high school, there was a song. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:02.700 The chorus was, it was, I want money, lots and lots of money. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:03.340 Y'all remember this? 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.859 I want to be rich for the love, peace, and happiness. 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:08.719 Isn't that sweet? 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:10.439 All that love, peace, and happiness. 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:12.139 But it was on the radio. 00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:12.939 That was a big hit. 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:16.300 Here's some songs you may realize. 00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:18.579 Here's another one that you might notice. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:19.840 Help me out, Jared. 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:22.300 Oh, there it is. 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:23.520 Y'all know this one? 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:28.560 Got another one you may recognize? 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.420 But your love don't pay my bills. 00:02:31.420 --> 00:02:32.199 This is the older one. 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:37.659 There's another one. 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:46.439 This is a little more modern. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.620 That actually said cash rolls everything around me. 00:02:56.620 --> 00:02:59.219 That part didn't come through. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:02.140 And this is probably the most monetary song of all time. 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:08.580 Had to. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:09.400 Sorry. 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:13.000 Did you catch that, Lance Cooper? 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.319 The Rick Roll is alive in 2025. 00:03:18.640 --> 00:03:23.540 But the point of it is money is all around us in what we watch, what we think. 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:24.740 We're surrounded by it. 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:25.780 It's in the songs that we sing. 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:26.939 I'm sure you could pick your own. 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.740 I remember when I was a little kid, there was this quarter machine they installed in a gas station. 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:36.000 One of those where you put a quarter in and if it hits the right spot, it knocks the other quarters off the edge, you know. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.159 And one of my friends one day went in there and I didn't know it. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:47.280 I was in there going to get a snack and he just shoved a stick up his leg and he just went in there and got all the quarters out and walked out of there with his pockets full of quarters. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:48.280 And I was scared. 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:53.900 And I was scared, but I didn't even realize then how much money quietly controlled me. 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:58.520 Another time I wanted Super Mario Brothers 2. 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:01.080 That was the new game for Nintendo. 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:04.280 And I didn't get it for Christmas. 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:08.620 And I got so mad and I ran upstairs and was such a jerk to my parents. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:12.840 Instead, I got the Adventures of Link or Legend of Zelda 2. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.099 And I still remember that. 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:20.819 But I didn't realize how much the possessions quietly controlled me even when I was younger. 00:04:20.819 --> 00:04:25.620 And then I got to high school and people started getting cars. 00:04:26.159 --> 00:04:33.860 And I remember my friend, he drove a car way before the time and he could control the stereo volume on his steering wheel. 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:40.039 And I remember that was like one of the first times I thought, well, maybe I'm lesser than this guy because I have a lesser car. 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:42.019 And I was jealous. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.759 I didn't realize how comparison was controlling me. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:51.860 And then I got my first job as a loan processor at a bank in Birmingham. 00:04:52.719 --> 00:04:54.219 And I was right out of college. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:57.060 My wife was still in college, about to graduate. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:59.139 And I was so unhappy. 00:04:59.379 --> 00:05:03.819 But I remember all of our friends, we were comparing our salaries to each other. 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:06.139 And that was the first time that entered into my world. 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:12.659 And I didn't realize how I could balance happiness, time, and now this new thing called salary. 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:17.020 And I actually had to go back home and just re-surrender my job to Jesus. 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:20.280 And that's actually when I got the call into ministry. 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:28.780 And I'd like to say that at that moment, I figured it all out and that money and possessions stopped mattering. 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:31.840 But the truth is that the current got stronger. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:40.239 You may have heard the term body dysmorphia, where you could look in the mirror and think that you look different than you look. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:45.459 Like you could be really fit, but in your mind you could think, I'm ugly. 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:46.659 Right? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.739 As a society, we have money dysmorphia. 00:05:51.419 --> 00:05:56.219 But we don't realize how much we do have in comparison to the rest of the world. 00:05:56.299 --> 00:05:57.679 We have possession dysmorphia. 00:05:57.739 --> 00:05:58.939 And I suffer from it too. 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:04.839 But the reality is, compared to the rest of the world, we're the richest human beings that have ever lived on the planet. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:13.240 Trying to keep your head, though, above water and balancing all of that stuff with faith in Christ, 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:20.399 while trying to live in this world that can be so controlled by the desire for things and attached to money and possessions, 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:23.139 can be very confusing and very challenging. 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:26.579 And I imagine that you've felt some of that too before. 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:29.800 And it really doesn't matter what age you are. 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:31.860 That current pulls on you. 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:33.839 And that current is very strong. 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:39.079 The good news is that Jesus not only understands our struggles here on earth, 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:41.519 the stuff of earth that competes for the allegiance, 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:44.079 but he tells us the truth about it. 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:46.819 And he offers us an even better way. 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:46.860 Okay. 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:52.279 So let's talk about this this morning from the Sermon on the Mount. 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:52.659 Okay. 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:58.879 What I love about the Sermon on the Mount is it's Jesus plainly telling us, 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:01.540 here's how you live this stuff out that I'm talking about. 00:07:01.659 --> 00:07:04.259 Like right before this, he's talked about giving to the needy. 00:07:04.420 --> 00:07:06.519 He's told us how to pray through the Lord's Prayer. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:08.439 He's talked about fasting. 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.480 And now he's going in to talk about stuff. 00:07:12.219 --> 00:07:12.420 Okay. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:14.219 And actually from this, if you keep going, 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:19.819 he goes into anxiety, which is linked to stuff and our desires. 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:20.980 You can read that later though. 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.240 But listen to what he has to say about stuff. 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:27.079 Let's read this passage together. 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:31.620 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:33.199 and where thieves break in and steal, 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:38.180 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.419 and where thieves do not break in and steal. 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.839 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:07:44.699 --> 00:07:46.439 The eye is the lamp of the body. 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:51.519 So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:55.500 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:59.639 If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:05.180 No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.779 or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:12.560 You cannot serve God and money. 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:17.939 So the first thing I think we learned here is that on earth, 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:24.399 the desire for money has an invisible power over us, an invisible power. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:29.139 And again, when I'm talking about money today, it can also mean possessions, 00:08:29.679 --> 00:08:32.179 can mean the desire for wealth. 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:37.720 In Jesus's time, it was not just coins and like currency. 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:43.600 It was livestock and food and clothing and land and also coins and jewels, 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:49.200 which is why when he goes into the anxiety passage, 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:50.680 he talks about the clothes. 00:08:50.920 --> 00:08:52.399 Don't be worried about the clothes you're going to have. 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:54.460 Clothes were a huge part of wealth back then. 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:57.720 So it means money, but it also, 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:00.259 and means the things that you think that you need. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:03.519 And money has this invisible current. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:06.560 The desire for stuff is this current we live in, 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:08.899 like a river that sweeps us along in this culture. 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:13.179 And it influences us in ways that we don't always notice. 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:17.840 Sometimes that can be fear of not having enough or comparing to someone else, 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.600 or I think I need what you have so that then I'm better. 00:09:21.199 --> 00:09:22.980 I want to look like somebody else. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:24.679 I want to live like somebody else. 00:09:25.319 --> 00:09:27.919 And the good news is that if you struggle with any of that, 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:30.879 you can just go to social media and it's all going to go away. 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:31.879 Let's pray. 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:32.539 Amen. 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:35.259 No, it's worse. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:37.339 It's made it way, way worse. 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:41.279 Like it used to be that all I had to do was walk into Lowe's or Home Depot, 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:44.500 and then I knew what I didn't have that I needed. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:46.399 Because I just thought, oh, I need that. 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:49.779 When I was younger, it was Toys R Us. 00:09:50.099 --> 00:09:54.819 Nickelodeon had this commercial about the great toy sweepstakes. 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:56.959 And one kid got to win it every year, 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:00.159 and they got to go through Toys R Us for like 15 minutes or something 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:01.519 and get as many toys as they could. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:02.600 And I was like, that's it. 00:10:02.699 --> 00:10:04.779 That is the meaning of life right there. 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:09.139 And then when you get older, it really doesn't change much. 00:10:09.500 --> 00:10:11.620 The toys just get bigger and they get more expensive. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:15.539 But why do we feel like we got to have this stuff? 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:16.840 Why do I feel like that? 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:22.059 Because our desires for money and stuff pull at us like this invisible current 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:24.679 tangled up with our sin in us. 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:28.799 It becomes a directive that takes us in all certain different directions, 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.240 maybe sometimes places that we don't even want to go. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.779 But if you think about money itself, it is neutral. 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:37.279 Okay? 00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:43.939 In and of itself, it's just metal or numbers or pieces of paper or material. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:45.779 It's a neutral thing. 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:50.319 But when it allows us to access the things that we desire, 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:52.279 we give it a power. 00:10:53.079 --> 00:10:55.139 We say, you now have a power over me. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:57.399 You can speak to me. 00:10:57.659 --> 00:10:58.740 You can guide me. 00:10:58.959 --> 00:11:00.720 You can tell me what to think about. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:02.519 You can affect my emotions. 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:07.259 And that desire leads us to places that are good and sometimes bad. 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:11.799 And that's what Jesus is talking about here with the I metaphor. 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:16.240 So this passage is interesting because it starts, the middle of it is like a sandwich. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:17.120 That's the meat. 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:20.719 And then the front of it and the back of it are the bread. 00:11:20.959 --> 00:11:23.359 So you got to look at the middle first for it to make sense. 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:27.099 And he says, right here, he's using a metaphor of the I. 00:11:27.319 --> 00:11:30.859 And what he's talking about here is your ultimate focus. 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:31.759 Okay? 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:34.259 It was a common belief in his time. 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:39.639 It was spoken of this way that your eyes would give off light or darkness. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:47.340 And what was given off was basically what, who you were and what you spent your time focused on. 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:49.779 It came from your heart and it overflowed through your eyes. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:53.039 And what you focused on determined what you shine. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:54.559 You shine light or you shine darkness. 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.279 And he says, the eye is the lamp of the body. 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:01.720 So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:06.139 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:11.159 If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.939 So light leads us. 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:21.939 Darkness is another way of saying, if we're focused on the wrong things, we're blind. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:26.620 We're walking in darkness and we're leading others in darkness too. 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:30.159 Do you ever feel the current? 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:35.159 Is it pulling you to places that you don't want to go? 00:12:36.319 --> 00:12:44.219 Does the desire for stuff or money or wealth or possessions have a control over you? 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.100 Does it take your focus? 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:49.440 Does it take your energy? 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:51.720 Does it occupy your thoughts? 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:54.100 How do you break free? 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:55.300 Okay. 00:12:56.220 --> 00:13:01.139 The good news is that though on earth the desire for money has an invisible power over us, 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:05.120 through Christ, it's hidden grip is broken. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:11.720 Because it's exposed by his light and it's broken by his power. 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:12.319 Okay. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:18.220 We were not meant ever to trust our burdens to money and possessions. 00:13:19.180 --> 00:13:21.220 Those are meant to be brought to Jesus. 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:22.180 Okay. 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:29.400 Now, sometimes he may address our needs with money, but that's not really what he's talking 00:13:29.400 --> 00:13:29.740 about here. 00:13:29.780 --> 00:13:32.400 He's talking about the focus of our lives and our hearts. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:37.439 The Hebrews would call your heart the central organ of your soul. 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:39.799 What's the central organ of your soul? 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:40.819 What makes it beat? 00:13:41.819 --> 00:13:48.539 With money, you see, and possessions and stuff, Jesus sets us free to see it for what it is. 00:13:48.579 --> 00:13:49.179 It's neutral. 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:52.480 It doesn't have a power over you. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.600 It is not the source of your identity or your fears. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.200 And it's not only not those things. 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:03.060 It's not going to give you what you really want. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:08.960 And it actually offers us no true lasting significance at all. 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:13.940 And in fact, the more we look at it for the three big things in life, your identity, 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.279 your belonging, your purpose, the more it actually eats away at those things. 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:23.179 Like rust through metal, like moths through clothing. 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:28.399 But Jesus understands that and he offers us a better way after he tells us the truth. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.199 And here's what he says about it. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:36.019 Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves 00:14:36.019 --> 00:14:36.980 break in and steal. 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:43.379 Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:44.579 do not break in and steal. 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:48.400 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:56.900 So he's moving into this discussion now about the temporary versus the eternal regarding our 00:14:56.900 --> 00:14:58.820 stuff and the things that we treasure. 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:03.520 And on earth, our treasures are temporary. 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:04.759 Okay? 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:09.580 I will never forget we were moving one time and I saw all of our stuff. 00:15:09.660 --> 00:15:10.780 Now that's not an actual picture. 00:15:10.920 --> 00:15:11.220 It's close. 00:15:11.300 --> 00:15:12.280 I couldn't find the real picture. 00:15:12.379 --> 00:15:14.040 All of our stuff was just in the storage unit. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:20.659 And that's when it occurred to me, this is just stuff and it's all going to go away one 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:20.759 day. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.039 That's everything that I own right there in front of my face, you know. 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:25.919 And it hit me. 00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:27.099 Wow. 00:15:28.099 --> 00:15:28.719 It's just stuff. 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.719 And I was okay without it for months and months while I lived with someone else while 00:15:31.719 --> 00:15:32.019 we were moving. 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:33.519 I didn't need any of that stuff. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.259 But how many of my emotions and things were drawn up into that stuff and getting that stuff 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:39.460 that was just sitting in this unit? 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:44.340 Recently, right, in these tragic fires in California, it's a reminder of this. 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:49.519 The stuff that we put so much into, it's going to go away. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:16:03.340 The things that we gather are all going to go away, y'all. 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:05.019 What do you treasure? 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:08.179 Where are you storing up your treasure? 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:09.879 Okay? 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:16.379 Where we spend and where we save and where we stress, it reveals our focus. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.299 I guess this is a good thing about money. 00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:25.639 Because how you use your money and your stuff, it's like holding up a mirror to your heart. 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:27.759 It'll show you your deepest values. 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:33.339 Whether it's comfort or success or something else, it shines a light on the things that we 00:16:33.339 --> 00:16:34.219 treasure the most. 00:16:35.339 --> 00:16:36.939 Are you caught up in the temporary? 00:16:38.079 --> 00:16:39.899 You've been treasuring the things that burn up? 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:42.259 How do you break free? 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.740 On earth, our treasures are temporary, but through Christ, they're eternal. 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:49.319 What do I mean by that? 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:54.359 Through Christ, the treasures that we desire, they change. 00:16:55.199 --> 00:16:55.459 Okay? 00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:02.679 And they change our focus changes from temporary things to eternal things. 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:04.119 Now, how do they change? 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:08.659 Because if you're sitting here dealing with this like me, it's like, okay, I'm just going 00:17:08.659 --> 00:17:11.220 to start go giving my treasures to other things and caring about other things. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:12.299 It doesn't work that way. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:16.220 That's like saying I'm going to do good and then God's going to love me. 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:21.680 It's not bad to want to do good, but it has to start with our focus, with our heart, and 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:22.819 then overflow from there. 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:23.700 Right? 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:26.720 We can't just say, I'm going to turn the lights on and then all of a sudden the darkness in 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:27.299 us is gone. 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:31.059 Something has to change from within is what Christ is talking about here. 00:17:31.620 --> 00:17:35.519 And it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anything can change in any of us. 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:37.779 Jesus is the only one who can do stuff about this. 00:17:37.779 --> 00:17:46.180 And so the Holy Spirit will change your focus and he will fill your eyes with light. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:52.299 He'll free you from that hidden grip of money that you may not know is there and that current 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:52.940 of the temporary. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:58.099 And when he does that, we don't lose heart. 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:05.539 As this verse says, for our light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:08.119 of glory beyond all comparison. 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:12.899 While we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:18.699 For the things that are seen are transient or temporary, but the things that are unseen are 00:18:18.699 --> 00:18:19.159 eternal. 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.700 Now, what are some of those things that are eternal? 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:32.340 Love, joy, keep going, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.060 If you sing that one upstairs. 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:36.540 But what else? 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:38.200 Souls. 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:40.700 Okay, let's take it a little bit deeper. 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:47.320 Souls are eternal and every human being possesses a soul. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.480 Now, you can think about changing focus. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:51.579 Let's think about it practically. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:59.279 Your career may be fulfilling, but when you hold a child or your child for the first time, 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.299 that work takes a backseat very quickly. 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:09.740 You may be at a big sports game and it's the most important thing in the world that your 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:14.559 team wins until you get that call that a loved one is in the hospital. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.440 And then that game is put in perspective. 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:21.579 That's what Jesus is talking about here. 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.440 The focus, right, has to change. 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:29.200 The perspective changes when we come near the Holy Spirit because he changes us. 00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:35.179 And so he gives us the ability to see the larger things and the temporary things are put in proper 00:19:35.179 --> 00:19:35.740 perspective. 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:42.599 So over time, through much conversation and calling out to God, by the power of his spirit, 00:19:42.819 --> 00:19:49.000 he actually grows in us the ability to love more what he loves, to see things more like 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:53.500 he does, to move our focus from temporary things to more eternal ones. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:20:00.059 And then through his love and grace, we grow in our love for our king, our heavenly master. 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:02.500 Jesus understands where we are. 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:05.539 He tells us the truth about it and he offers us a better way. 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:07.379 And listen to what he says about masters. 00:20:08.419 --> 00:20:10.079 No one can serve two masters. 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:16.639 For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and 00:20:16.639 --> 00:20:17.619 despise the other. 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:21.980 You cannot serve God and money. 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:28.339 Now, some of your translations may say mammon instead of money. 00:20:29.099 --> 00:20:35.420 When I was really early in the faith, funny story about mammon, I was convinced that the 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:41.960 Bible had a misprint in it because my Bible said God and money and my friend said God and mammon. 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:47.860 So I called the Bible people and I was like, y'all got to fix this. 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:50.339 There is a misprint in this Bible. 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:55.259 And that was when I learned about translations and different things. 00:20:55.439 --> 00:20:59.720 But I was so convinced for a day that there was a serious issue with the Bible because of 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:00.019 mammon. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:05.579 But what mammon means, again, is that money and that wealth and those possessions. 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:12.779 And on earth, money can be a tool or money can be a master. 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:14.299 Right? 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:15.279 Now, think of it. 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:17.439 A tool is like a hammer. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.779 I use it to accomplish something, to build something that's going to last. 00:21:22.360 --> 00:21:26.860 But a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon gives life, right? 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:30.100 But in the wrong hands, it takes it. 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:38.720 Have stuff, has stuff, have money, wealth, and possessions ever taken life from you? 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:46.400 About two years ago, someone, a dear friend of mine, taught me about the stock market. 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:48.759 I always wanted to learn about the stock market. 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:52.440 The stock market has done nothing but take everything away from me. 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:54.720 No money. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:22:02.680 I didn't realize when I went on that journey just how, what a bad relationship I have with money. 00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:07.720 Like, it brought all this stuff out of me of like, wow, why am I afraid of that number? 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:09.900 And I'm talking like tiny numbers. 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:18.100 And I think it probably dabbled with having some mastery over me, if I'm honest, 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:21.439 with how much my thoughts and my time was given to it. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:23.959 But guess what? 00:22:24.719 --> 00:22:27.579 Jesus Christ is my master, my true master. 00:22:28.139 --> 00:22:28.919 And you know what he did? 00:22:29.419 --> 00:22:33.480 He freed me from that current of comparison of everybody else doing better than me, 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.679 failure, hyper-focus on numbers. 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:40.039 And he freed me to see these things for what they were, neutral and a tool. 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:47.259 And through it, he gave me this incredible group of Christian friends and brothers. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:52.279 He taught me about discipleship in ways that I would never know. 00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:58.279 But I first had to get in touch with just what a bad relationship I had with money. 00:22:58.379 --> 00:22:59.119 And it was hiding. 00:22:59.659 --> 00:23:03.159 I did, it was hide and seek was over when I looked at the stock market. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:05.159 Because I was like, what in the world? 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:07.599 Why would I care so much about $25? 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:10.779 And it owned me. 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.459 Because money is a terrible master. 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:16.000 But it's a powerful, powerful tool. 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:22.939 And the only way that it will ever be a life-giving tool is if your master is greater than it. 00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:26.259 And there's only one master greater than mammon. 00:23:26.959 --> 00:23:27.839 And it's Jesus. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:31.240 And it doesn't have to just be money, okay? 00:23:31.439 --> 00:23:33.740 You can apply this to anything on earth. 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:38.799 Anything that masters us, by default, becomes our God. 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:40.120 Okay? 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.819 It becomes an idol. 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:43.940 It takes us into slavery. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:46.160 It hijacks what was meant for God. 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:51.680 And it uses it to empty it out of us towards the wrong things. 00:23:52.620 --> 00:23:55.299 Temporary things that don't give anything in return at all. 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:58.240 This is why Hebrews says this. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:01.259 Keep your life free from love of money. 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:02.059 Okay? 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:02.819 Love. 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:04.440 I'm not saying money's bad. 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:05.180 Again, it's neutral. 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:06.680 Love of money. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.759 And be content with what you have. 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.839 For he has said, I will never leave nor forsake you. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:18.680 So there's some secret in this middle zone of contentment. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:19.980 All right? 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:22.480 Yesterday I was at a basketball game. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.400 I saw the largest man I've ever seen in my life. 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:31.319 I mean, he was towering and just huge, like ripped. 00:24:32.120 --> 00:24:33.180 And I looked at my wife. 00:24:33.259 --> 00:24:40.779 I said, AC, no matter how much I exercise in my life, I will never, ever come close to being as strong as that guy right there. 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:43.559 And she said, yes, he stuck out. 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:48.899 I mean, he was assaultingly strong. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.539 And it's the same with money, though. 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:53.200 Right? 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:55.679 Just be happy where you are, Derek. 00:24:56.639 --> 00:24:57.919 I wasn't actually comparing. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:59.559 I was just astonished by his size. 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:06.539 But you're always going to be in a place where somebody has more money than you and somebody has less money than you. 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:09.079 And then you're going to move further on. 00:25:09.159 --> 00:25:09.579 Guess what? 00:25:09.679 --> 00:25:10.879 Somebody's going to have more money than you. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.539 Somebody's going to have less money than you. 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:15.240 Can you be content with where you are? 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.700 See, that's a litmus test that God gives us to know what has our focus. 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:19.899 Are you content? 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:21.799 Right? 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:28.619 Another way Tim Keller would say, how do you treat people who have money and who have more than you and have less than you? 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:35.539 If you notice you treat them different or they have a little more power over you, you're probably running in the wrong circles. 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:37.680 And you need to run back to God some. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:43.580 You know, and do you look down on people who have less than you and think that you could, you know, control them a little more? 00:25:44.820 --> 00:25:48.519 But the secret of contentment is something special there. 00:25:48.600 --> 00:25:50.000 It's a litmus test that God gives us. 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:51.180 So here's a question to ask yourself. 00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:52.060 Are you content? 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:57.579 Or is money and possessions and stuff mastering you? 00:25:57.679 --> 00:25:59.200 Are they using you? 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:00.899 Are they using you? 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:03.440 Because I know the stock market was definitely using me. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:06.120 Are they your focus? 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:08.259 Are they pulling you in a direction of darkness? 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:11.580 Consider these words in Mark 4.19. 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:14.100 Remember Jesus talked about the parable of the sower and the seed. 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:15.740 He says, 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:43.799 I think that Satan attacks the American church and Christians by choking us right there. 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:49.980 With the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things. 00:26:51.059 --> 00:26:53.380 And Jesus is telling us the truth about it. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:54.339 Right? 00:26:55.019 --> 00:27:01.339 Because on earth money can be a tool or a master, but through Christ it's only a tool. 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:09.740 Money, just like everything else, is transformed into a tool for treasures that will last. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:10.660 Why? 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:15.080 Because when we rest in Jesus, our future is secure. 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:19.900 We can be content with where we are because our future is actually eternal. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:30.519 So that means the temporary things, when put in the proper focus, lose their grip and their meaning and their value when they're seen in comparison to the things that are eternal. 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:34.559 Now, if you don't hear anything today, here's what I want you to hear. 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:40.660 Understanding what God treasures is the first step to treasuring what God treasures. 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:42.319 Okay? 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:45.839 You know where you've been with money. 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:49.879 I'm not here to dig deep and shame or anything like that. 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:51.619 I'm not even trying to get your money. 00:27:52.139 --> 00:27:54.259 You know, if y'all are waiting for that big giving thing. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:55.440 That's not happening today. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:56.160 Okay? 00:27:58.860 --> 00:28:06.740 Whether right or wrong, my goal today as a pastor, what I want to do is to encourage you. 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.500 I want you to feel some hope here. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:15.559 And I want you to take all of the stuff you've dealt with with stuff to the right place. 00:28:16.320 --> 00:28:16.640 Okay? 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:18.600 To the only one who can do anything with it. 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:19.619 That's Jesus. 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:23.439 And I want you to ask him to help you treasure what he treasures. 00:28:24.199 --> 00:28:27.419 To show you where maybe you need realignment. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:30.819 And ask him to be your only master. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:34.959 And to use you and all of your things as a tool for his kingdom. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:36.980 Think about this. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.439 Why did Jesus come to earth? 00:28:40.459 --> 00:28:41.939 He had everything. 00:28:42.439 --> 00:28:45.879 He had security and status and unimaginable treasures. 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:50.980 He had to have treasured something more than all of that to leave that behind. 00:28:51.600 --> 00:28:57.220 Something so precious that he would move from perfection to be born into poverty. 00:28:57.900 --> 00:28:58.980 To be homeless. 00:28:59.600 --> 00:29:00.400 To suffer. 00:29:00.560 --> 00:29:02.040 To die between thieves. 00:29:02.540 --> 00:29:03.820 Stripped of everything. 00:29:04.060 --> 00:29:05.460 Buried in a borrowed tomb. 00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:07.880 Why would he do that? 00:29:09.260 --> 00:29:10.720 It's for our souls. 00:29:11.320 --> 00:29:12.360 The eternal things. 00:29:13.320 --> 00:29:14.200 For us. 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:16.500 For the forgiveness of sin. 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:19.660 For the resurrection of our eternal souls. 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:21.740 For those who have been forgiven. 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:23.120 To reverse decay. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:25.299 And bring eternal life. 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:26.980 Where no money is needed. 00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:29.580 Because everything was paid for by his blood. 00:29:29.660 --> 00:29:32.519 The souls of humanity are worth the blood of God. 00:29:32.860 --> 00:29:36.360 And that's the treasure that Jesus is talking about that we store up. 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:36.640 Okay? 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:38.360 Do you treasure souls? 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:41.019 Do you treasure human beings? 00:29:41.340 --> 00:29:44.080 Who are the carriers and containers of those souls? 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:47.779 That's worth using all of your stuff for. 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:49.140 Okay? 00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:50.960 All of it. 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:55.360 So, look at this verse here. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:58.319 Your chosen race. 00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:59.819 A royal priesthood. 00:29:59.819 --> 00:30:01.019 A holy nation. 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:03.419 A people for his own possession. 00:30:03.419 --> 00:30:05.059 You know what possession also means? 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:06.619 Treasures. 00:30:07.899 --> 00:30:10.259 In Christ, we've said recently, you're holy. 00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:12.000 Think about yourself as holy. 00:30:12.459 --> 00:30:14.599 You're God's treasured possession. 00:30:14.899 --> 00:30:17.179 Elsewhere in scripture, it says that you are his poema. 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:18.859 Right? 00:30:19.219 --> 00:30:20.699 His beautiful art. 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:23.219 Purchased by his blood. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:26.679 More valuable than planets and stars and galaxies. 00:30:27.459 --> 00:30:30.939 Is you, soul container made in the image of God? 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:38.100 And understanding that God treasures you is the first step to treasuring what God treasures human beings and their souls. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:39.860 And you may say, I understand all that. 00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:41.080 I'm still stuck, Derek. 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:42.160 You're not telling me anything new. 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:42.759 And that's the thing. 00:30:42.840 --> 00:30:45.620 You may know this, but every sermon, every week, there's no new information. 00:30:46.620 --> 00:30:47.640 Every single week. 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:50.400 We're just talking about it again. 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:53.180 So, how do I change, Derek? 00:30:54.020 --> 00:30:54.880 Good question. 00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:57.860 You remember Zacchaeus? 00:30:58.640 --> 00:30:59.600 The wee little man? 00:31:00.320 --> 00:31:03.440 He frauded and he cheated people out of their money and their possessions. 00:31:04.180 --> 00:31:06.940 He gave all the attention to himself, scripture says. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:09.640 And his own needs. 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:10.700 And they mastered him. 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:12.740 But then he was transformed. 00:31:13.580 --> 00:31:15.980 And he gave half of his goods to the poor. 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:19.980 And he gave back four times back to everyone that he had stolen from. 00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:22.019 So, what happened to him? 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:25.019 What did he do to overcome that? 00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:29.779 If you go look at the passage, he just spent time with Jesus. 00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:31.940 Okay? 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:34.279 He spent time with Jesus. 00:31:37.259 --> 00:31:42.819 I recently had to fix a car that, like, it's going to be sold in my family. 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:43.880 I was trying to help sell it. 00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:48.340 And I thought when it got really cold, I'd bring it to my house and just start it to keep the engine going. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:50.080 Because my dad was going to get it. 00:31:51.060 --> 00:31:53.840 And then I ended up backing into a trash can and busting the taillight. 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.240 And I was like, okay. 00:31:57.860 --> 00:31:59.460 Do I call my dad and tell him? 00:32:00.280 --> 00:32:01.780 Or do I just fix this on my own? 00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:05.560 And I decided to call him and tell him. 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.120 And he laughed. 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:09.439 And he helped me fix the car. 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:18.559 If you go to God with your stuff, whatever it is, your tendency is going to be to fix it on your own and actually not go talk. 00:32:18.959 --> 00:32:21.939 But a conversation with your father can change everything. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.579 And that's what happened with Zacchaeus. 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:29.079 Derek, what should I do with my money and my wealth and my possessions? 00:32:29.439 --> 00:32:30.359 I don't know. 00:32:30.979 --> 00:32:32.019 I'd love to tell you I did. 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:32.539 I don't know. 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:33.940 I'm figuring it out on my own. 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:35.319 But I know who does know. 00:32:35.639 --> 00:32:35.940 Jesus. 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:39.839 And he's probably got a different path for every single one of you in here. 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:41.659 And he's blessed us as a church. 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.200 Thank you, by the way, for all of your giving to this church. 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:44.940 Thank you. 00:32:45.399 --> 00:32:50.119 If anything, it's amazing in this day and age what this church is able to do for the kingdom. 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:53.339 I hope we saw a lot of that last week at our conference. 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:58.220 But I want you to know that it starts by being with Jesus. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.119 It's really that simple. 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:05.919 The same God who gave Zacchaeus a new outlook, the same God who left heaven to purchase you, 00:33:06.379 --> 00:33:09.319 is just one help me away from sorting out your soul. 00:33:10.719 --> 00:33:16.519 If you look in your bulletin, the meditation quote there is by Tim Keller, which I think is really powerful. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:24.219 The Bible says that every treasure but Jesus will insist that you die to purchase it. 00:33:24.899 --> 00:33:28.919 But Jesus himself is the one treasure who died to purchase you. 00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:32.980 Anything else you make your supreme value will say, die for me. 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:40.140 But if you make Jesus Christ your supreme value, he's the one who said, I've died for you. 00:33:41.160 --> 00:33:44.240 I'm not here today to tell you what to do with your stuff. 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:47.779 I'm here to encourage you to first ask yourself this. 00:33:48.300 --> 00:33:53.560 What's your stuff doing with you and to you and to your desires? 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:59.659 And then I want you to take that discussion to the true master, Jesus. 00:34:00.399 --> 00:34:06.700 And if you don't know Jesus or have a relationship with him, this is a great day to start. 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:10.699 Because you can start just by going and saying that, hey, I don't have a relationship with you. 00:34:11.139 --> 00:34:13.759 But I want to live a better way than this world has to offer me. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:15.460 And here's how you do that. 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:24.540 When you bring whatever you're dealing with in you, your darkness, your fears, your influences in the wrong areas that have taken you different places. 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:28.260 When you bring them to Jesus, and I encourage you to do it in silence and solitude. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:30.000 Find a place and a space. 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:31.220 Put your phone away. 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:33.480 And it doesn't have to be a certain length of time. 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:42.819 You go to God and you say, hey, will you please send your heavenly power that I read about in the scriptures into me? 00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:50.559 Will you shine your light on me and then shine through me so my eyes become a lamp for light? 00:34:51.339 --> 00:34:55.699 Will you make your focus, God, be my focus and the things that you treasure? 00:34:55.699 --> 00:35:00.500 Will you give me the ability to see the things that you treasure that I may actually truly treasure them too? 00:35:01.219 --> 00:35:03.079 Will you be my only master? 00:35:03.779 --> 00:35:16.879 When you do that and when you ask him, he listens and he responds and he moves and he saves you from the current of the temporary and he transforms you to a new way of life. 00:35:17.959 --> 00:35:19.279 But here's the thing. 00:35:19.379 --> 00:35:20.639 It's not a one-time deal. 00:35:20.739 --> 00:35:22.579 It's a continuous conversation. 00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:25.239 So if you're here and you've done that before, you may have felt it. 00:35:25.500 --> 00:35:26.239 You vacillate. 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:29.379 And that's why we go back and we have a relationship with Jesus. 00:35:29.380 --> 00:35:38.099 He says it's always of grace where he's always approachable and you can take any darkness there and he will shine his light upon it, remind you of his forgiveness. 00:35:38.680 --> 00:35:42.200 And if you've never accepted that forgiveness, he offers it freely to you. 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:43.440 It's the best way. 00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:47.500 He's the master, but he's the master of righteousness. 00:35:47.900 --> 00:35:50.500 And he will work righteousness through you by his spirit. 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:57.160 He not only understands our struggles here on earth, he tells us the truth about him and offers us a better way. 00:35:57.159 --> 00:36:07.579 So to close it up, understanding what God treasures is the first step to treasuring what God treasures. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:11.000 And on earth, you're going to have this desire for money. 00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:15.179 Hopefully it's not as invisible and you can look at it and the monster can get out of the closet. 00:36:15.319 --> 00:36:20.239 It's not as ugly when you take it to Jesus because its hidden grip is broken through Christ. 00:36:20.239 --> 00:36:24.239 And on earth, the treasures that we're all seeking, they're going to go away. 00:36:24.619 --> 00:36:28.559 But through Jesus, the most important things will last forever. 00:36:28.859 --> 00:36:30.419 You will take into eternity with you. 00:36:31.099 --> 00:36:31.399 Okay. 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:33.039 You're going to see the souls. 00:36:33.319 --> 00:36:37.000 You're going to experience the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, the kindness of the spirit. 00:36:37.419 --> 00:36:39.599 And on earth, money can be a tool or a master. 00:36:39.859 --> 00:36:42.299 But through Christ, it's only a tool. 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:46.480 You are what God treasures. 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:49.620 If you take nothing away today, remember that. 00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:51.280 You are loved right where you are. 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:56.060 Go to him and embrace that love and ask him to embrace you. 00:36:56.480 --> 00:36:58.560 And know that we're here to help you, to hold your hand. 00:36:58.660 --> 00:36:59.740 We're trying to do it with you. 00:37:00.240 --> 00:37:01.380 And we love you very much. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:02.940 God bless you in the name of Jesus. 00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:03.840 I'm going to pray for us. 00:37:04.080 --> 00:37:07.800 Father, thank you for talking about stuff. 00:37:08.440 --> 00:37:12.120 It's an uncomfortable conversation, but thank you that you are the most important thing. 00:37:12.720 --> 00:37:13.800 And that you love us. 00:37:14.660 --> 00:37:17.920 And I ask that you would use this congregation as you always do. 00:37:18.200 --> 00:37:21.280 But continue to use them and even beyond to impact the city. 00:37:21.420 --> 00:37:27.720 And may they be people that are looked at in this world as, how does that not have mastery over you? 00:37:28.100 --> 00:37:30.480 Because you, Father, are the greater master. 00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:32.420 And you are lived out. 00:37:32.640 --> 00:37:34.320 And people see you through us. 00:37:34.500 --> 00:37:39.160 And they see your light shining as we embrace and we love with a love that will not let us go. 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:41.460 And that drives us to love others. 00:37:42.019 --> 00:37:43.199 To express it to others. 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:45.879 So thank you, Jesus, that we can call upon your power. 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:47.440 I pray you to rest upon our people. 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:48.599 Bless us this year. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:52.059 And thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to hear what you said today. 00:37:52.659 --> 00:37:53.859 And Lord, help me live it. 00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:55.179 Help all of us live it. 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:56.779 Thank you in Christ's holy name. 00:37:57.179 --> 00:37:57.399 Amen. 00:37:57.399 --> 00:37:57.539 Amen. 00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:02.460 For more information, visit us online at southwood.org. 00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:32.440 Thank you.