WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.980 Check, check. There we go. Matthew 25 is where we are. Just saying I appreciate the choir and 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:14.720 ! the blessing they were through music just a moment ago. We're going to continue on in our series 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:19.760 ! Stories of the Kingdom. While you're turning to Matthew 25, as we prepare to look at this 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:27.600 parable from Jesus, simply a story used to illustrate a greater point about the Kingdom of God, 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:29.600 I want to ask you this question. 00:00:32.620 --> 00:00:38.000 How many of y'all resonate a little bit with this slide on the screen right now? I don't know how 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:43.300 well you can see the bottom part, but money, time, and energy never arrive together. 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:51.380 When you're a child, you've got all the time and energy and you have no money, right? No resources. 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:59.579 When you're an adult, ideally you have more money than when you were a kid, let's hope. You've got 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:07.040 some amount of energy, but you've got very little time. And then in old age, of course this is a, 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:14.480 just a graph I think based on percentages and polls and probabilities. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:18.460 In theory, you have more money. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.480 You have all the time you need, but you've got no energy, right? 00:01:24.240 --> 00:01:28.320 And of course, there's variations for all of us as we move through those life stages, 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:31.340 but keep that in the back of your mind as we prepare to look. 00:01:31.820 --> 00:01:34.900 Matthew chapter 25, verse 14. 00:01:36.100 --> 00:01:38.560 This series, well we just skipped a bunch there, there we go. 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:43.600 This series has been going on for several weeks and we're nearing the end of it, 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:48.420 but it is stories of the kingdom, the parables of Jesus. And today we're going to be talking about 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:56.240 this topic, resources and responsibilities. Resources and responsibilities. We love having 00:01:56.240 --> 00:02:00.400 resources. Sometimes we struggle with the responsibilities that come along with them, 00:02:00.460 --> 00:02:08.039 don't we? But let's look in Matthew 25 and verse 14. Before we get into the text, 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:15.959 Matthew 25, verse 14 through 30. I want to go back to that idea about resources. We talked about it 00:02:15.959 --> 00:02:23.219 just a moment ago in that funny slide. Time, energy, and money. Would you think of that as your team? 00:02:24.079 --> 00:02:32.819 Time, energy, and money. This is the team that you walk through life with every day. Your time, 00:02:32.819 --> 00:02:38.780 your energy, and your money. These are the resources that God has entrusted to you. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:43.099 There are a lot of other resources that fall under those categories, 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.500 but every day we choose how we're going to spend, 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:50.680 how we're going to invest 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:56.259 our time, our energy, and our money. So keep that in the back of your mind 00:02:56.259 --> 00:03:02.479 as we read through the parable of the three servants that Jesus gives us in Matthew 25. 00:03:03.399 --> 00:03:08.560 He's going to give them talents. He's going to give them bags of silver. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:15.319 Let's think of our gifts from God as our time, energy, and money. 00:03:15.899 --> 00:03:20.039 Verse 14, again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:26.340 going on a long trip. So just as a reminder, Jesus is teaching us about the kingdom of God, 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.560 the kingdom of heaven, totally different than the kingdom of this world, 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:32.699 totally different than the mindset that we have grown up with 00:03:32.699 --> 00:03:37.780 and struggle with in our own mind every day. So Jesus says the kingdom of heaven 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:43.500 is different. And it can be illustrated by the story of this man going on a long trip. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:49.899 So he calls together his servants and entrusted them with his money while he was gone. 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:57.259 Do you realize what's happening here? These are his most trusted servants. 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:04.639 What do you do with your money? You put it somewhere you can trust, right? Ideally. 00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:10.459 Sometimes you give it to your teenage kid when they're asking you for it, and then you live to 00:04:10.459 --> 00:04:19.800 regret those decisions. But you trust, ideally, you trust your money into someone who's going to use 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:30.860 it wisely, responsibly, with your resources. So he calls together his most trusted servants. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:38.000 These guys outrank all the other servants. They work for him, but they're at the top of the heap. 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:46.720 And he says, I'm going to allow you to manage my money while I'm gone. Oftentimes in those days, 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:53.880 the servants who do that well would get a cut from their earnings. They would get a boost, 00:04:53.980 --> 00:05:03.180 a bonus, if they managed their master's resources well. So verse 15, he gave five bags of silver to 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:10.800 one. This guy was probably top of the pecking order here, right? Second one, two bags of silver, 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:16.520 silver, and the one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities. 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:23.040 He then left on his trip. Did you hear that? He divided it in proportion to their abilities. He 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:28.019 knows these guys. He knows what they're capable of. He knows what they can and can't do. He knows what 00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:34.139 they're good at. First of all, they already rise to the surface when compared to all the other servants 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:42.399 that he would have. And he would probably have many back in those days. But the top guy, he knew he 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:50.439 would be able to take those five bags of silver and invest them well. Second guy, he knew he could 00:05:50.439 --> 00:06:00.079 handle two. The third guy, he gave one. Let's read on. Verse 16, the servant who received the five bags 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:11.240 of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. Wow. Doubled his investment. Doubled his 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:22.500 investment. Well, this would indicate that the master was gone for a long period of time. In order to be 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:29.919 able to take that money and invest it and double it in the marketplace, that would indicate a long 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:36.980 trip. Well, down a little bit further, we read that the master was gone a long time. So not only did he 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:44.620 leave these guys his most valuable resources, he also left it in their hands for a long period of time, 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:50.500 saying, I'm going to give you all the time you need to turn this investment into something positive. 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:58.860 The first guy did it. Turned five bags into 10. Verse 17, the servant with two bags of silver 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:05.100 also went to work and earned two more. How would they do this? Well, they would take it to the marketplace 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:12.100 and there were money exchanges happening. This is actually something later that Jesus in the New 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:19.360 Testament goes into the temple and sees the money changers charging exorbitant interest fees when 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:26.040 they're changing out their money. So you would take a physical resource and you would exchange it for 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:32.300 that amount in gold or silver, whatever the economy of the most precious economy was at the time. 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:39.660 So normally you would be charging interest rate when you do that. I'm getting into economics and all 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:48.439 that, but just bear with me here. And the more, what should we say? Anybody ever remember the 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:53.080 Merchant of Venice? Anybody ever read the Merchant of Venice? Shylock? Yeah, I knew Lori would. 00:07:53.079 --> 00:08:03.079 Should be all over that. Pound of flesh. There were unscrupulous money changers, money lenders, 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:10.500 those that would charge unfair fees, those that could not be trusted in business dealings. And that's 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:15.879 what Jesus hated when he went in the temple. He saw people in the place where he's supposed to be 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:20.939 worshiped and lifted up. He saw them taking advantage of others and all that. And he threw it out, 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:28.620 flipped the tables over. But this had been going on for a long time. So in this culture, these guys would 00:08:28.620 --> 00:08:35.179 go and they would put their silver into the hands of the money lenders and they would trust that an 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:40.179 interest would be gained and then they would gain more for their master's possession. The stock market 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:47.240 is somewhat similar, right? So this concept is not new and these guys are trusted to take what he gave 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:55.860 them and earn interest on it. So the first two turned five into five more equals 10. The next one turned 00:08:55.860 --> 00:09:05.320 two into two more equals four. Verse 18, the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:15.840 ground and hid the master's money. Do you know why he would dig a hole in the ground? Seems like an odd 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:27.820 thing to do. Back then, if you would go out of town for a long time, you would not leave your money in a bank. 00:09:27.920 --> 00:09:41.480 There were no banks. You would not leave the money with someone who was untrustworthy to go and make money 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:47.200 like he was doing with his other two servants. Instead, what you would do is go dig a hole 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:53.860 and bury your money or your most valuable possessions. You would dig a hole. Only you knew 00:09:53.860 --> 00:10:00.080 where it was and you would bury it and trust that it would be there when you return. We talked about 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:06.899 this concept several weeks ago when the guy went and was working in the field and stumbled upon the 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:11.439 treasure hidden in the field and he got enough money to buy the land because he found a treasure 00:10:11.439 --> 00:10:22.600 that was worth having, right? So it's happening again here. But the servant is acting on behalf of his 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:32.120 master. But he's doing something that is different than what his master asked him to do. He's saying, 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:41.460 I'm not going to go work for my master and turn his money into more. I'm just going to do what I think 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:50.039 he should have done and go dig a hole in his ground and bury the money. Why would he do that? 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:56.100 Let's read on. Verse 19. After a long time, 00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:04.060 the master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they used his money. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:08.620 You ever been called in to give an account of what you did? 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:15.360 My dad used to leave me a list of things to do sometimes when he would leave the house 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:23.500 and I would be expected to get that list done. He got that from his dad and his dad, if you knew him, 00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:33.299 was he was a real cowboy. He was a businessman. He raised horses and broke horses. He started bakeries. 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:39.220 He did all kinds of things. He was always highly industrious, highly successful in whatever he put 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:44.899 his mind to do. And he had high expectations for his son. So he'd say, listen, if I tell you to do this, 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:52.240 you get it done. My dad was the same way with me. If I give you a list to do around the house or around 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:58.100 the yard or whatever, then you get it done. When I come back, I will check in with you and see what 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:08.639 you got done. Anybody grow up that way? Yeah. I figured I wasn't alone. So the day of reckoning comes, 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:17.240 the master comes back and he calls them in to give an account of how they used the money he gave them. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:24.980 Not their money, his money. It was never under any impression that he was giving this to them 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:32.840 for them to use for themselves. It was always, you work for me. This is your job. You go out and make 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:41.100 money with my money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:46.460 five more and said, master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest and I've earned five more. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.860 That's a good day. That's a good day right there. When the master comes in to give and says, give it, 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:57.980 give me an account of what you did. And the master was full of praise in verse 21. Well done, my good 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:02.800 and faithful servant. You've been faithful in handling this small amount. So now I will give you many 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:11.779 more responsibilities. Five bags of silver. Not such a small amount. Do you realize how much that was? 00:13:13.699 --> 00:13:21.319 One bag of silver was approximately 20 years of income for an average day laborer. 00:13:22.599 --> 00:13:29.279 Somebody who was not wealthy, was not rich, not moving in the upper class circles, just out working 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:35.240 an everyday job. It would take him about 20 years to earn this bag of silver. This guy got five. 00:13:39.579 --> 00:13:45.519 And the master says, you've been faithful with this small amount. The master was apparently 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:52.959 extraordinarily wealthy. He says, you've been faithful with this small amount. Now I will give you many 00:13:52.959 --> 00:13:59.179 more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. Verse 22, the servant who had received the 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:04.459 two bags of silver, came forward and said, master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest and I have 00:14:04.459 --> 00:14:10.500 earned two more. The master said, well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:15.039 handling this small amount. And now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:22.299 together. Verse 24, then the servant with one bag of silver came and said, y'all ready? 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:31.199 I've been waiting to find out. Why did he do this? We're about to find out. Master, I knew you were a harsh 00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:40.419 man. Harvesting crops you didn't plant, gathering crops you didn't cultivate. Let's just pause right 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:52.120 there for a minute. Does anybody have an idea why the master would harvest crops he didn't plant and gather 00:14:52.120 --> 00:15:04.600 crops he didn't cultivate? Because he had workers. He's the boss. I don't know where he came from. 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:11.519 I don't know how he grew up. Was he old money or new money? Did he grow up this way or did he pull 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:17.360 himself up by his bootstraps and make money for him? Did he have his day when he was out gathering and 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:21.919 cultivating and cultivating and planting and harvesting? Did he have his day when he was doing 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:29.320 it? And then he worked himself up into this new status of wealth? I don't know. But he was the boss. 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:38.800 He had workers. Thank you, Cajun. He is going to make a preacher someday, y'all, if God wants that. But listen, 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:49.620 this guy couldn't get over the power dynamics. He couldn't get over the social dynamics. He couldn't 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:54.920 get over the inequality. Remember last Sunday we talked about income inequality, the wage gap and all that? 00:15:54.919 --> 00:16:07.039 And those workers for that landowner were so upset that they had worked all day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:15.339 and they got paid the same amount as those who'd only worked one hour. Because God's kingdom 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:26.639 moves according to a different set of rules. God's set of rules. So this guy apparently couldn't handle 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:33.740 it. Why do you want us to go out and do all the work while you just sit back and reap the benefits? 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:42.620 Because he's the boss. Because he's in charge. Because it's his world and you're living in it. 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:51.100 Do you start to see the parallels between these guys, their master, and us, and our heavenly father? 00:16:52.200 --> 00:17:00.519 So let's jump back in verse 25. He says, I knew you're a harsh man. You gathered the crops. You 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:05.500 harvested everything. But you didn't plant it. You didn't cultivate it. And I was afraid I would lose 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:13.319 your money so I hid it in the earth. You know what's unspoken here? What's unspoken here is, 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:26.240 I was afraid of your reaction when I lost your money. If I went to the exchange marketplace and I 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:31.740 didn't not only not make interest on it, but I lost the money because there is a risk there with 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:35.859 investment, right? With financial investment, whether it's the stock market or this ancient 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:41.400 marketplace, whatever you're going to try to go invest your money and double it, make more money, 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:48.819 there's always a risk that you're going to lose what you invested. And this servant calls him a harsh 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:57.640 man. He says, I'm not about to go out there and take that risk knowing that you're this big ogre 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:07.880 sitting on your throne. Nasty, mean guy telling us to go out and do all the work while you sit back 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:15.680 there and rake in the benefits. This is a completely different perspective of the master than the 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:23.000 first two servants had. You know what the ironic thing is? This was one of the guy's best servants. 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:29.440 He valued him. He was one of the three who made the cut. Now he was third in line, 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:36.299 but the master looked across all his servants and said, that guy could do much with my money. 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:43.079 He has what it takes. I'm going to give him a whole bag of silver to go out and invest for me. 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:52.119 And this is what happened. He got his character revealed. You ever gotten your character revealed? 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:58.759 You ever been in a moment where you were squeezed, where life put the squeeze on you and it revealed 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:06.319 who you truly are? Your responses revealed the truth inside you. 00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:17.099 So what happens? He said, here's your money back. The money you gave me, I did nothing with it. 00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:25.659 I buried it in the ground and let it sit there this whole time. And I'm sure the master's thinking, 00:19:25.959 --> 00:19:35.980 well, I could have done that. I gave it to you to work. I gave it to you to put it to work, 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:43.139 to make it work for me. You didn't do your job. Verse 26. But the master replied, 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:49.380 you wicked and lazy servant. You notice how he just jumped straight to lazy? 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:56.840 The guy had all these excuses. You're a harsh man. I was afraid of losing the money. 00:19:57.280 --> 00:20:02.500 And the master says, no, you lazy. You didn't want to go out and put it to work. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:08.420 He says, you wicked and lazy servant. If you knew I harvested crops, I didn't plant, 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:14.600 gathered crops. I didn't cultivate. Why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? Why didn't you go 00:20:14.600 --> 00:20:20.120 and put it to work? Why didn't you take it to the marketplace? At least I could have gotten some 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:28.140 interest on it. He says, why don't you go and put it at the very bottom level place of interest and say, 00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:34.580 here, I'm not going to do any work. You guys put this to work. I'm not going to lend any of my 00:20:34.579 --> 00:20:40.720 expertise on this area. You guys just put this bag of silver to work and maybe it'll gain a little 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:49.159 interest over this long period of time. But he didn't do the very basic. Think of like putting it in 00:20:49.159 --> 00:20:56.559 your savings account at your bank if you have one. You're not going out and working mutual funds and 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:03.199 trying to get with a tax attorney and, you know, get people who can really make this money grow for you. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:09.140 You simply just stick it in your savings account and hope that that low rate of interest will make 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:17.920 a little bit of return. He didn't even do the very basic minimal option that he had to work any 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:24.360 amount of interest on this guy's money. And that's the point his master's making. So he orders 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:32.799 in verse 28, take the money from this servant. He lost his chance. He lost his opportunity. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:40.340 Give that to the one with 10 bags of silver. When I read this passage as a kid, I always thought that 00:21:40.340 --> 00:21:45.180 was unfair. Why are you going to give it to the guy with 10? He's already got 10. 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:52.320 Because it's the master's money. Because this guy has the most earning potential. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:21:59.500 You know, the Bible says, to whom much is given, much is required. 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:12.779 But when you take what God has given you and you work it, and through his power and through his strength, 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:19.819 you see a great return on the investment God made in you, what does God do? He gives you more. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:26.059 He gives you more. He continues to pile on. Why? Because you're worth the investment. 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:34.980 Lives are at stake here. For this master, money was at stake. The earning potential was greatest 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:43.440 with the guy with 10 bags of silver. So he gets an 11th. To those who use well what they are given, 00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:50.759 even more will be given. And they will have an abundance. The Bible always puts it better than I 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:59.200 could. Verse 29. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:06.700 Did y'all hear that? For those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:14.039 Now throw this useless servant out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:21.720 of teeth. Wow. What a tough way to end the story. But that is what happens when we refuse 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:30.299 to do the very basic of what God has asked us to do. So question number one from Matthew 25, 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:39.639 question number one. Where did you get your time, energy, and money? Where did you get your team? 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:47.480 T-E-A-M, time, energy, and money. Where did you get it? Where did you get these resources from? 00:23:48.780 --> 00:23:55.300 Anybody want to give us an answer? God. It's not too hard, right? Now some of you might be sitting 00:23:55.300 --> 00:24:02.200 there and pushing back saying, yeah, I mean, God gave me my life, but I went out and earned my money. 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:08.480 I went out and worked for it. I worked hard for it. You're thinking back through all the hours that 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:14.220 you put in to get where you are today, to get your truck, to get your boat, to get your house, 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:19.680 wherever you are, whatever possessions you have, you're thinking, I worked for that. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:31.440 But listen, it can be taken away just like that. Just like that. Let's see what the Word of God has 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:38.560 to say. Romans chapter 11, verse 36. Romans 11, 36. While you're going there, I want to tell you a 00:24:38.560 --> 00:24:46.400 joke I heard about that kind of highlights the point of how quickly things that you work for 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:51.680 can disappear. There's this comedian that I heard, and he was saying, how funny would it be 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:58.120 if I just went up to you in a grocery store when you're on your way to the 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:04.640 cashier to check out and go home with your groceries, and you've got a whole grocery basket 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:11.740 full of goods, and I just went by and grabbed it from you and took it and checked out. 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:21.400 And you looked at me and said, hey, you can't do that. That's mine. And the guy says, no, it's not. 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:28.640 You haven't bought it. What are you going to say to me? I gathered that. You can't take that from me. 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:35.819 Well, go gather it again. And I will never be a comedian because my delivery was nowhere near as 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:41.279 good as his was. But listen, the point made me laugh. Like, yeah, I guess it doesn't really belong to 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:45.680 you, right? You've just been going through the aisles collecting what belongs to someone else 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:52.200 because you haven't paid for it yet. The interesting thing is we go through life collecting all this 00:25:52.200 --> 00:26:07.960 stuff that doesn't belong to us. Jesus actually paid for it. Now, he wants to share much of what 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:16.700 belongs to him with us, but it doesn't belong to us. Those bags of silver didn't belong to those 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:25.400 servants. They were supposed to use them for the benefit of the master. And when the master is 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:33.000 benefited, guess who else gets a blessing? We do. Then he blesses his good and faithful servants. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.960 So let's keep that in the back of our heads. Romans chapter 11, down in verse 36. 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:45.420 Everything comes from the Lord. Whatever Bible translation you're looking at, whether it's the 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:49.400 King James or the New International Version or the English Standard, whatever, New King James, 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:53.539 whatever you happen to be looking at, there's nothing wrong at all with how that reads this. I just 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:59.579 like how the contemporary English version happens to phrase this. Everything comes from the Lord. 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:06.819 All things were made because of him, and watch this, will return to him. 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:14.639 He can have somebody go up to you in the grocery store and take your cart of groceries away. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:23.339 And what can you really say about it? Hey, that's mine. No, it's not. It's not yours. 00:27:23.339 --> 00:27:31.299 And this person is going to put it to far better use for my kingdom. You just want to use it for 00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:40.720 yourself. Now that's convicting to me, and I hope it's convicting to many of you. How much of what God 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:47.199 has shared with us, what he's given us, what he's allowed us to have possession of, how much of that 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:54.980 do we use strictly on ourselves and never even think of using it for his kingdom, for his purpose? 00:27:55.680 --> 00:28:01.259 But all things were made because of him, and guess what? It's all going to return back to him. 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:07.400 Your time on this earth will come to an end, and it'll all go back to God. 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:14.200 It's always been his from the beginning. 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 7, a New Living Translation. 00:28:14.620 --> 00:28:21.280 What do you have that God hasn't given you? What a question. Is there anything you have that God 00:28:21.280 --> 00:28:28.620 hasn't given you? No. And if everything you have is from God, then why boast as though it were not a 00:28:28.620 --> 00:28:37.200 gift? Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 says, by grace you were saved through faith. This is not from 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:46.759 yourselves. It is God's gift. Everything we have, from the salvation that he offered us to the very 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:55.279 breath we breathe, the ground on which we walk, it all comes from God, but we go out and buy a plot of 00:28:55.279 --> 00:29:03.059 it, and we say, this is mine. I earned this. I worked hard for this. You can't touch this. 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:12.319 This is my retirement. This is my vehicle. This is my energy. This is my strength. It's my time. 00:29:12.899 --> 00:29:21.559 Okay? This is me time right now. Leave me alone. And you know what we do with that attitude is we 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:32.019 close off the very one who gave it to us. What we're doing, it's almost like we're going and burying our 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:37.879 head in the sand, burying our bag of silver in the ground, saying, don't touch me. 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:48.839 God, you gave this to me. You've been gone a long time. I haven't invested it at all. 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:57.180 I've been holding on to it myself. And we boast about what we have. Look at this bag of silver I've got. 00:29:57.180 --> 00:30:04.660 See this thing? We don't tell anybody it was a gift from the master. We don't tell anybody it was 00:30:04.660 --> 00:30:14.700 God's gift to us. Look at what I have. So we must understand, where did we get our time, energy, and 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:19.779 money? We got them from God. Would you go to 1 Chronicles 29? We're going to be there for just a 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:27.440 moment. 1 Chronicles 29. We're going to highlight verse 9, but we'll read up to it. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:36.480 1 Chronicles 29. You can go to 2 Chronicles and turn back one page. It's the last chapter 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:41.440 of 1 Chronicles. Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:48.700 My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:54.299 The work ahead of him is enormous. The temple he's going to build is not for mere mortals. It is for 00:30:54.299 --> 00:31:01.620 God himself. Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the 00:31:01.620 --> 00:31:08.660 temple of my God. Now, there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, as well as great quantities of 00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:14.200 onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, all kinds of fine stone and marble. I've collected 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:21.980 everything I can collect, King David says, to build God's temple. Now, verse 3. Because of my devotion to 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:29.200 the temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:36.640 construction. King David was all in to build God's temple. He knew his son Solomon was going to take over, 00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:43.120 but Solomon wasn't ready for this task yet. So he said, I've gathered everything I can from the 00:31:43.120 --> 00:31:49.500 kingdom, from all of my kingly resources. I've gone all in with my personal possessions, 00:31:50.100 --> 00:31:56.560 all my personal stores of gold and silver. I've given all that. This is an addition to the building 00:31:56.560 --> 00:32:02.140 materials I've already collected for his holy temple. And I'm donating more than 112 tons of gold, 00:32:02.140 --> 00:32:09.740 262 tons of refined silver for the walls, overlaying the walls of the building. All this that God had 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:16.160 actually decreed and designed, this is how I want my temple to be. And so King David says, I've gone all 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:23.060 in to get this done. Now, verse 5. For the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen, now then, 00:32:23.059 --> 00:32:32.980 who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today? Where do we get this idea of passing 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:37.639 the offering plate in church? Well, it's been around a long time. They were doing it back then, 00:32:37.879 --> 00:32:44.759 all right? Giving free will offerings to the Lord, not, oh man, I got to give this to God or he's going to 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:53.420 get me. That is the mindset of that third servant, right? You don't know God if that's what you think. 00:32:55.680 --> 00:33:02.519 But free will, willingly giving it to God, saying, God, I want to give everything I have back to you. 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:07.579 Some of it, you're going to want me to spend over here. Some of it, you're going to want me to spend 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:13.299 over here. Some of it, you're going to want me to invest back into your church so your name can go out, 00:33:13.299 --> 00:33:18.139 your name can be praised. So he says, who's going to follow my example? 00:33:19.539 --> 00:33:23.899 Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals, the captains of the army, 00:33:24.159 --> 00:33:30.000 the king's administrative officers, all gave willingly. The leaders stepped up and said, you know what? 00:33:30.099 --> 00:33:34.519 I'll do it. Y'all, can we just take a pivot for a second? If you're a leader in the church 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:41.539 and you're not giving regularly back to God, I'm not over here trying to hit you with the guilt bat. 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:47.940 I'm just saying that it has always been God's design for his leaders to step up and say, you know what? 00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:53.339 Yes, I'm going to support what he's doing. I'm going to take some of what he's given me 00:33:53.339 --> 00:34:00.440 and give it directly back to his work. That's how it's always been, whether it's in Ezra or Nehemiah 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:05.480 or first Chronicles here throughout the new Testament, everyone willingly giving back of 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:12.559 what God has given them to say, I want his work to continue. So I'm going to practically invest 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:20.159 with my money, with my resources, everything I have, my time, energy, and money, I'm going to give it back 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:27.740 to God. Now the list goes on of what they gave, gold, gold coins, silver, bronze, iron, precious stones, 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:37.959 all of this. And the people, verse nine, watch this, the people rejoiced over the offerings 00:34:37.959 --> 00:34:49.319 for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. They weren't standing there saying, well, 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:57.380 God's a harsh God. And if I don't do this, he's not going to be pleased. And he's probably going to 00:34:57.380 --> 00:35:05.920 give my family leprosy. That's not what they were doing. They were rejoicing over the fact that their 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:14.580 bank account now was lower than it was before, so to speak. In ancient times, their wealth, personal 00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:24.239 wealth had just diminished. The king's wealth had gone from all this to practically nothing. He emptied 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:35.519 out his stock store rooms, his stock houses of gold and silver, gave it all to God. And then they all got 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:43.279 together and rejoiced. They threw a party. So this is great, man. We just gave everything we have to God. 00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:52.340 Now we can build his temple. How excited were they? And how different is that from our mindset 00:35:52.340 --> 00:36:01.340 when we feel compelled or like, we have to do this? We have to do this or God's going to get us. 00:36:01.780 --> 00:36:12.180 That's not the mindset. So they rejoiced over the offerings. Now, then what happened? Verse 10, 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:22.139 then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly. And that's what happens. 00:36:23.239 --> 00:36:35.039 When we give, then we can praise. If you're praising but not giving your time, energy, and money, 00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:45.719 your praise is hollow. Your praise is insincere. Because you might sing the songs of praise, 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:50.480 how great thou art, how great thou art, but you're not great enough for me to give anything to. 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:56.719 You're not great enough for me to invest in. You're not great enough for me to see your work 00:36:56.719 --> 00:37:01.460 go on and see your name be praised among the nations. I won't have any part of that, 00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:09.840 but yes, God, you're great. Do you see how, what's the word? Hypocritical, that is? 00:37:11.619 --> 00:37:18.159 We're much more like the third servant so often. And then down in verse 14 of 1 Chronicles 29, 00:37:18.740 --> 00:37:25.980 everything we have has come from you. Do you see that? He sings this great song of praise. 00:37:25.980 --> 00:37:32.500 He prays this beautiful prayer to God. And he says, Oh God, we thank you. We praise your glorious name. 00:37:32.760 --> 00:37:38.659 Who am I? Who are my people that we could give anything to you? Verse 13. And then everything we 00:37:38.659 --> 00:37:49.340 have has come from you. And we give you only what you first gave us. Man, King David, centuries before 00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:57.180 Jesus ever came, understood what it was all about. God, everything we have has come from you. 00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:05.579 So we give back to you only what you first gave us. I was doing some preparation for this sermon and I 00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:10.880 was listening to another preacher preach about this topic. And he told this story that was better than 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:15.220 anything that I've got in my personal life. And so I've got to share his story because it was awesome. 00:38:15.219 --> 00:38:23.119 He said they were having a youth activity or something and this wealthy guy had jumped in to try to help out. 00:38:23.259 --> 00:38:29.799 He was now helping out with the youth group. And this guy owned this big nice boat. And so they're out on a lake 00:38:29.799 --> 00:38:34.899 and they've got a bunch of junior high girls and some workers and all this in this boat. 00:38:35.919 --> 00:38:43.079 So this wealthy guy is in there and he's got this beautiful new yacht or whatever it was, probably smaller than that. 00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:52.480 It was a big, beautiful boat. And he sees the guy, the youth pastor drives alongside, I think in a 00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:57.019 smaller boat or something. They're out on the lake. And he looks over and he sees the guy just kind of 00:38:57.019 --> 00:39:01.279 standing there scratching his head. He says, hey, what's going on? Everything okay? He said, yeah, 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:06.659 I'm just trying to figure out why God wanted ink all over his seats. 00:39:06.659 --> 00:39:17.519 Apparently the junior high girls had had the idea to take permanent markers and write and draw all over 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:24.980 the nice, beautiful leather seats on this guy's new boat. But the guy didn't throw a fit. He didn't 00:39:24.980 --> 00:39:32.500 even really get upset. And his response, the youth pastor said, just cut him to the core. I'm just trying 00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:38.880 to figure out why God wanted ink on his leather seats. God, why'd you allow this to happen? It's 00:39:38.880 --> 00:39:44.639 your boat. You're allowing me to have it for a while, but it's your boat. You've got some plan for 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:53.780 this. Just trying to figure out why you wanted this. Okay, we move on. Y'all, that would not be my reaction, 00:39:53.900 --> 00:40:00.360 okay? I'm sorry. If I brought a new car, not really boat guy, but if I brought a new car, you know, 00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:05.579 beautiful leather seats at all this. And one of the boys, Austin or Bo, they're both sick this morning. 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:12.820 Y'all pray for them. But one of them started drawing on that thing. Man, I would not say, 00:40:13.539 --> 00:40:19.539 God, why'd you want your boys to draw on your seats? I'd be like, boys, what are you thinking? 00:40:19.539 --> 00:40:29.240 You lost your mind. But there is a principle there that that guy had figured out. Why was he wealthy? 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:35.779 And we don't know everything, but we might have a little clue because to whom much is given, 00:40:36.659 --> 00:40:44.679 God turns around and often gives more. If you give, if you treat what he gave you according to 00:40:44.679 --> 00:40:50.099 how he wants you to treat it. If you take what God gives you and do what he wants you to do, 00:40:50.219 --> 00:40:54.659 what does he do? He gives you more. Now that doesn't mean that every rich person out there, 00:40:54.659 --> 00:40:59.319 it fits that bill because that's certainly not true. And the Bible even says it's harder for a 00:40:59.319 --> 00:41:02.719 rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven than it is to get through the eye of the needle. 00:41:03.460 --> 00:41:06.739 And whether that's talking about a gate in ancient Jerusalem, or it's actually talking about the 00:41:06.739 --> 00:41:10.639 tiny little hole in the needle, either way, it'd be very small and hard to get a camel through there. 00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:16.099 So regardless, wealth doesn't mean you're close to God. But listen, 00:41:17.879 --> 00:41:27.400 oftentimes God continues to bless those. Well, he always continues to bless those 00:41:27.400 --> 00:41:33.440 who have taken what he gave them and gave it back to him freely and willingly. 00:41:33.440 --> 00:41:41.599 So that's our first question. Where'd you get your time, money, and energy? Our last question is very 00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:49.900 simple and very obvious. What are you doing with it? What are you doing with God's time, energy, 00:41:49.900 --> 00:41:55.800 and money? That's what we're going to close with. Look over in Matthew chapter 6. It's our final 00:41:55.800 --> 00:42:01.559 passage for the day. We were in Matthew 25. Now let's go to the front of the book, Matthew 6. 00:42:01.559 --> 00:42:08.380 Verse 19. While you're turning, I'm going to go ahead and read. Jesus is talking about this topic. He 00:42:08.380 --> 00:42:16.539 says, don't store up treasures here on earth. Why? Because moths eat them, rust destroy them, 00:42:17.059 --> 00:42:24.059 thieves break in and steal it. Instead, store your treasure, verse 20, in heaven where moth and rust 00:42:24.059 --> 00:42:30.799 can't destroy it, thieves can't steal it. Verse 21, wherever your treasure is, there will be the desires 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:36.920 of your heart. Your eyes like a lamp. It provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, the 00:42:36.920 --> 00:42:41.300 whole body is filled with light. When your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. 00:42:41.780 --> 00:42:48.560 If the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. No one can serve two 00:42:48.560 --> 00:42:53.580 masters. You're going to hate one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one and despise the 00:42:53.579 --> 00:43:00.819 other. You can't serve God and be enslaved to money. That's why I tell you not to worry about 00:43:00.819 --> 00:43:07.259 everyday life. If you've got enough to drink or food, clothes to wear, isn't life more than food and 00:43:07.259 --> 00:43:12.420 the body is more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant, they don't harvest or store food 00:43:12.420 --> 00:43:19.519 in barns. Your heavenly father feeds them. Aren't you far more valuable to your father than the birds are? 00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:28.239 Verse 27, can all your worries add a single moment to your life? No. For all our worries, it doesn't 00:43:28.239 --> 00:43:36.219 really solve anything. It doesn't extend our life. It doesn't give us more time. Verse 28, why worry 00:43:36.219 --> 00:43:41.300 about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, the flowers in the field. Look how they grow. They 00:43:41.300 --> 00:43:46.800 don't work. They don't make their clothing. But Solomon, King Solomon, in all his glory and beauty was not 00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:53.600 dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here 00:43:53.600 --> 00:44:02.820 today and thrown in the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little 00:44:02.820 --> 00:44:12.980 faith? That last question cuts to the heart of the master. Why did the third servant not go out and 00:44:12.980 --> 00:44:21.039 invest on behalf of the job that he had to do? Why didn't he do it? Because he had very little faith 00:44:21.039 --> 00:44:28.880 in the master. Why do we not do the work that God has called us to do? Why do we not take our resources 00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:34.699 and invest them back into God's kingdom? Because we have so little faith in God. 00:44:34.699 --> 00:44:42.319 So let me ask you this question. Who's your team playing for? 00:44:44.559 --> 00:44:53.879 Who are your time, energy, and money playing for? How are you working it? How are you investing it? 00:44:54.319 --> 00:45:03.799 How are you spending it? There's a problem here. Two problems. Number one, we don't do what God asks of us 00:45:03.800 --> 00:45:07.700 because we don't really believe he's all that good. 00:45:09.860 --> 00:45:19.200 If we did, then we would trust him implicitly. We would hold everything we have in open hands 00:45:19.200 --> 00:45:27.200 and not tight fists. Say, God, thank you for all you've given me. Now, what do you want with your boat? 00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:32.299 What do you want with the leather seats on it? What do you want with the bag of silver? 00:45:33.039 --> 00:45:40.899 What do you want with my time, energy, and money? I'm holding it loosely. You guide me into how to 00:45:40.899 --> 00:45:47.319 spend it, how to invest it. But we don't really believe he's that good. So we don't trust what 00:45:47.319 --> 00:45:52.960 he's going to guide us to do. We said this last week, and it comes all the way back in again. 00:45:52.960 --> 00:46:00.000 We don't do what he asks because he has our souls, but not our hearts. We'll trust him to take us to 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:06.300 heaven. We'll trust him to forgive us our sins, but we don't trust him beyond that. He doesn't have 00:46:06.300 --> 00:46:12.599 our hearts, and that's what he wants. James 4 says, you don't have what you want because you don't ask 00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:18.260 God for it. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong. You only want 00:46:18.260 --> 00:46:25.160 what will give you pleasure. That's where we land with most of our resources, isn't it? It's we want 00:46:25.160 --> 00:46:35.120 what gives us pleasure, not what gives God's kingdom progress, not what moves God's kingdom forward. 00:46:35.680 --> 00:46:42.060 We want what moves us forward. William Carey was a great missionary in England. He was called, 00:46:42.059 --> 00:46:50.239 from England. He headed to India. He spent his life in India, translated the Bible into the entire Bible 00:46:50.239 --> 00:46:56.719 into six different dialects and many, many more portions of the Bible into other native languages. 00:46:58.039 --> 00:47:05.119 Guy was a scholar, had a heart for people like few others in the history of ministry and missions in 00:47:05.119 --> 00:47:12.779 the world. So William Carey truly went out and poured his life back into God's kingdom. 00:47:13.839 --> 00:47:16.539 And he said a couple of quotes I want to share with you before we leave. 00:47:17.440 --> 00:47:26.019 Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God. This was the attitude of the first two servants. 00:47:27.659 --> 00:47:34.039 I am going to go attempt great things for my master. I'm going to take these bags of silver, 00:47:34.039 --> 00:47:38.679 and I'm going to double them. And then I'm going to expect great things from him. 00:47:39.860 --> 00:47:44.519 Their attempt was blessed and their expectation was met. 00:47:46.019 --> 00:47:52.119 How many times can you look back at your life and say, I attempted this for God. He blessed it. 00:47:52.380 --> 00:48:00.000 And my expectation of him was not only met, but overwhelmed. Malachi 3 says, 00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:05.940 You give to God, God will open the windows of heaven. He will pour out a blessing on you. 00:48:07.019 --> 00:48:11.500 Can't promise you what that blessing is going to look like. We're not all going to be multi-millionaires 00:48:11.500 --> 00:48:20.079 tomorrow. But God will pour out blessings on you. Maybe it'll be in your health. Maybe it'll be in 00:48:20.079 --> 00:48:24.699 your children. Maybe you'll be in the depth of your relationship with him. Maybe it'll be in the 00:48:24.699 --> 00:48:30.960 things that matter in this life. I can promise you it will be in the areas that matter the most. 00:48:31.639 --> 00:48:38.199 That's where God pours out his blessings. You want to see those great things? You got to attempt great 00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:46.239 things. The second quote from William Carey, it's more in line with the third servant. 00:48:46.239 --> 00:48:50.639 It gives us a little clue and it cuts to our heart. 00:48:54.659 --> 00:48:57.339 He attempted great risks during his time in England. 00:48:59.239 --> 00:49:05.199 Put his life on the line more times than we have time to relay today. Can't tell you all the stories, 00:49:06.139 --> 00:49:09.779 but you go home and do some reading on William Carey. It'll blow your mind the things he went through, 00:49:09.780 --> 00:49:17.280 the dangers he went through, the opposition he went through. He said, I'm not afraid of failure. 00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:22.760 I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. 00:49:27.260 --> 00:49:33.320 I'm not afraid of failure. I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. So what's our takeaway 00:49:33.320 --> 00:49:43.800 today? It's that. Don't waste your life on things that don't matter. Would you bow your heads with me 00:49:43.800 --> 00:49:52.080 right now? If you're not a child of God this morning, if you don't know him as your savior, 00:49:52.700 --> 00:49:58.059 that means you've never taken the time to bow your head, repent of your sins, turn to Jesus, say, 00:49:58.120 --> 00:50:01.820 God, I believe you died on the cross. I believe you rose from the dead. I believe you love me, 00:50:01.820 --> 00:50:06.320 want to cleanse me of my sin, want to forgive me and make me your child. If you haven't done that, 00:50:06.380 --> 00:50:10.500 would you slip your hand up right now? I'd love to talk to you. I'm going to assume that most in the 00:50:10.500 --> 00:50:15.460 room, if not all, have at some point become a child of God. So I want to talk to you right now. 00:50:18.220 --> 00:50:23.940 Would you ask yourself this question in the quietness of this moment? We're all going to 00:50:23.940 --> 00:50:28.120 leave in a minute. We're going to go get lunch. We're going to go our separate ways. But before we 00:50:28.119 --> 00:50:38.599 clear the room, would you ask yourself this question? How much of my life have I been chasing 00:50:38.599 --> 00:50:44.799 things that don't matter? Maybe you can say succeeding at things that don't matter. 00:50:48.480 --> 00:50:51.679 Say, I don't know what you're talking about. I've been spending my time trying to provide for my 00:50:51.679 --> 00:51:02.299 family. Therein lies your problem. Because the master can provide for your family so much better 00:51:02.299 --> 00:51:12.079 than you can. I've been spending my time trying to find peace of mind. The master can provide peace 00:51:12.079 --> 00:51:20.679 of mind so much better than you can. If you take your time, your energy, your money, and you give it back 00:51:20.679 --> 00:51:31.279 to the master. He'll give it back to you so much more. So much more meaningfully. 00:51:35.500 --> 00:51:43.279 We're not all going to be rich on this earth. But we can be rich in what matters. We can be rich in 00:51:43.280 --> 00:51:51.640 joy, in peace, happiness, and contentment. We find that in the person of Jesus. Open the scriptures. 00:51:52.700 --> 00:51:58.580 If you've got a Bible that has the words of Jesus in red, read those words. Go through and read what 00:51:58.580 --> 00:52:04.620 Jesus said. Read what he did. You'll see that happiness. You'll see that contentment. You'll see 00:52:04.620 --> 00:52:11.140 that peace. You'll see that compassion. You'll see that real heart for God and his people. 00:52:11.139 --> 00:52:21.859 For those that are without him. That's what matters. Don't waste your life on other things. 00:52:25.359 --> 00:52:27.279 God, I pray right now that you would touch 00:52:27.279 --> 00:52:34.980 our bodies. We've got people who are tired in here. We've got people who are hurting in here. We've got 00:52:34.980 --> 00:52:38.699 people watching online that are in such poor health they can't even make it in. 00:52:38.699 --> 00:52:46.819 You are the healer. We pray that you would choose to heal. Whatever you choose to do, we'll trust you. 00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:51.980 We won't abandon you. We won't turn from you. We'll still choose to follow. 00:52:53.319 --> 00:52:59.339 God, in this room, we've got people who are hurting inside. I'm not going to ask them to raise their 00:52:59.339 --> 00:53:04.599 hands. I'm not going to ask them to share what's going on. But we've got people who are struggling. 00:53:04.599 --> 00:53:15.079 God, I think most of it comes from our inability to trust, our inability to have faith. 00:53:16.039 --> 00:53:24.039 I pray that you would reveal yourself to us. Reveal your true nature. Say, no, I'm good. I love you. 00:53:24.039 --> 00:53:31.119 I want to bless you. I want to bless you. And I've given you all this so you can do something with your 00:53:31.119 --> 00:53:38.179 life that matters. You're not asking us to go take bags of silver and invest them and turn around a 00:53:38.179 --> 00:53:46.019 profit. You're asking us to take our time, energy, and money and give it back to you. What does that 00:53:46.019 --> 00:53:53.820 mean? It means do the work that you called your children to do. It means be kind to others. It 00:53:53.820 --> 00:54:00.179 means share your wealth with others. It means share your time. It means set aside some of our own 00:54:00.179 --> 00:54:05.119 appetites, some of our pursuits, some of our desires, some of the things we're used to doing, our habits, 00:54:05.300 --> 00:54:12.920 some breaking, some habits, God. None of this comes naturally. But by your Holy Spirit, 00:54:12.920 --> 00:54:23.960 you can turn us into that first servant, that second servant, and see untold blessings poured out 00:54:23.960 --> 00:54:30.760 individually and together as a church. And Lord, we know it will spread beyond throughout this whole 00:54:30.760 --> 00:54:38.380 community. This community will be changed. It will feel the impact of the people of First Baptist Church 00:54:38.380 --> 00:54:47.660 saying we want to share our resources like God has taught us to. Whatever you're trying to do in 00:54:47.660 --> 00:54:53.980 hearts right now, open us up. Let our answer be yes. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you stand to your feet?