Participants:
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000189A
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00:19 Hello, friends,
00:20 welcome to our Wednesday night Bible study 00:22 here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:24 We thank you for taking the time 00:26 to tune in and join us 00:27 for a very thought-provoking topic tonight. 00:30 We're talking about stewardship. 00:32 And I would encourage you to get your Bibles 00:35 and invite your family or friends to sit down 00:38 and watch this thoughtful hour 00:39 that we're gonna spend together, 00:41 walking through the Word of God. 00:42 We thank you for taking the time 00:45 because there's no more special time 00:47 than when we pause to open God's Word together 00:50 and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to teach us 00:54 and wants to say to us. 00:55 We're gonna tell you in just a moment 00:57 how to get a copy of the lesson, 00:58 but before we go any further, 00:59 bow your heads with me 01:01 as I invite the Lord to be with us this night. 01:03 Father, we thank You for the opportunity 01:05 of studying Your Word. 01:07 We thank You for the Word of God 01:09 that is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. 01:15 We do pray that tonight as we open the Word 01:16 that the light will illuminate our souls, 01:19 that our minds will not only be informed 01:22 but that our lives will be transformed. 01:25 So come and be our teacher, we ask. 01:27 In Jesus' name we pray, 01:29 Amen. 01:30 Now we're on a new lesson. 01:33 Lesson number 43. 01:35 Go to this following website, 01:37 ASF.3ABN.org 01:40 and download lesson number 43, 01:42 The Truth About Complete Stewardship. 01:45 The Truth About Complete Stewardship. 01:48 And we encourage you to download that copy 01:51 and you can join us easily. 01:53 And if you have your Bible and a pen and a willing heart, 01:57 you will learn quite a bit from tonight's topic. 02:00 But before we go any further, 02:02 we always sing our theme song 02:03 and our theme song is... 02:04 What is it? 02:06 Victory in Jesus. 02:07 Let's sing this song together. 02:16 I heard an old, old story 02:19 How the Savior came from glory 02:23 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:27 To save a wretch like me 02:31 I heard about His groaning 02:34 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:38 Then I repented of my sin 02:42 And won the victory 02:46 O victory in Jesus 02:50 My Savior forever 02:53 He sought me and bought me 02:57 With His redeeming blood 03:01 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:05 And all my love is due Him 03:08 He plunged me to victory 03:12 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:16 I heard about a mansion 03:20 He has built for me in glory 03:24 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:27 Beyond the crystal sea 03:31 About the angels singing 03:35 And the old redemption story 03:39 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:43 The song of victory 03:45 Key change. 03:46 O victory in Jesus 03:50 My Savior forever 03:54 He sought me and bought me 03:58 With His redeeming blood 04:01 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:05 And all my love is due Him 04:09 He plunged me to victory 04:13 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:17 He plunged me to victory 04:20 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:27 Amen. Amen. 04:29 Now tonight our topic 04:31 is The Truth About Complete Stewardship, 04:36 The Truth About Complete Stewardship. 04:39 And I think we have maybe 50 minutes, 45 minutes, 04:42 not exactly sure how long, 04:44 but we're going to take the time 04:45 to really walk through the Word of God together. 04:48 You know, when we mentioned the word stewardship, 04:52 let's say that word together, 04:53 stewardship, what do you hear? 04:55 Steward and then you hear ship. 04:59 Owner and then you hear ship 05:02 or apprentice and then you hear ship. 05:05 Now steward is a person who takes care of something. 05:10 Years ago, on the airplanes 05:12 as every now and then, I make this mistake, 05:14 I call the flight attendant steward, stewardess. 05:19 And my wife said, "They're flight attendants." 05:21 I said, "Stewardesses." 05:23 She says, "Flight attendants." 05:24 So one day I was excited, somebody said, 05:26 "Where's the stewardess?" 05:28 I felt justified. 05:29 But a steward, let's look at the definition, 05:32 I put this together for us tonight 05:34 so we could lay down the foundation. 05:36 Just before I bring that to you though, 05:38 let me just make these statements. 05:40 When we hear the word stewardship, 05:41 what do we think right away? 05:43 What do we think? 05:47 Right, but we think money. 05:50 Normally, when a stewardship Sabbath is held, 05:52 they're gonna talk about, what, money. 05:55 Talk about tithe and offerings. 05:57 And so when we think about stewardship, 05:59 we often think about money. 06:00 But tonight, we're going to see 06:02 that stewardship has many components to it. 06:05 But let's begin with the definition of stewardship. 06:07 Here it is on the screen. 06:09 And this is from 06:10 the Holman Bible Dictionary. 06:15 We find this definition given, a beautiful definition. 06:17 I like that. 06:19 And I'll read that in your hearing. 06:21 It says, "Utilizing 06:22 and managing all resources 06:25 God provides for the glory of God 06:29 and the betterment of His creation." 06:32 Utilizing and managing how many resources? 06:35 Say it together, all resources. 06:37 God provides for the glory of God 06:40 and the betterment of His creation. 06:42 Now obviously, the author there is Charles Bugg 06:45 from Stewardship in the Holman Bible Dictionary. 06:48 But simply stewardship means 06:50 you are involved in someone else's property, 06:53 you are responsible for someone else's property. 06:58 Now you may be responsible for a lot of property, 07:02 you may be responsible for a little bit of property. 07:05 You may be responsible for somebody's doggy 07:07 on the weekend, that's stewardship. 07:10 Somebody may say, "Take care of my field." 07:13 That's stewardship. 07:15 Somebody might say, 07:16 "I'd like you to watch my children 07:17 for the weekend." 07:19 That's stewardship. 07:20 Somebody might say, "Here's $5,000, 07:23 hold it till I get back." 07:24 That's stewardship. 07:26 Somebody might say, 07:27 "I need you to work for me for seven hours." 07:31 Now how many hours did they just ask you for? 07:33 Seven hours. 07:35 So if you work for four hours, is that stewardship? 07:37 No. It's not good stewardship. 07:38 Right, it's not good stewardship. 07:40 It's flaking out. 07:42 So stewardship comes in many, many categories. 07:46 Let me give you one. 07:47 And I'd like you to write these down 07:48 as I reveal them on the screen. 07:50 These are the five areas of stewardship 07:52 we're gonna be talking about, notice them. 07:54 Very importantly, the first one is time. 07:57 Together, second one, temple. 07:59 Third one, testimony. 08:01 Fourth one, talent. 08:03 And the fifth one, treasure. 08:06 Right? Let's one more time say that. 08:07 The first one is... Bring that up one more time. 08:10 Time, temple, testimony, 08:13 talent and treasure. 08:16 We call them the five Ts. 08:20 I try to make it very easy to understand. 08:22 So when you talk about time, temple, body temple, 08:26 when you talk about testimony, 08:28 what the Lord has done for you, 08:29 you know, the Bible says, 08:31 "Let the redeemed of the Lord 08:32 say so." 08:33 Then you talk about talent. 08:35 Another word for talent is gifts. 08:37 And then you talk about treasure. 08:38 We all know what that is, right? 08:40 Tithes and offerings 08:41 or whatever somebody may give to you. 08:43 But when we talk about stewardship, 08:44 we have to get to the premise. 08:47 And we're gonna talk about that in just a moment. 08:48 I don't wanna run ahead of myself. 08:50 But let me make a point. 08:52 No steward owns what is placed 08:57 under his or her stewardship. 09:00 They don't own it. 09:02 That's why they call a steward. 09:03 Now if I owned it, 09:05 I wouldn't be a steward 09:06 except for the way I'm using it. 09:08 If it's something that I was given 09:11 or something that I gained from my own work or labor, 09:14 now there's a different kind of stewardship. 09:17 What am I going to do with it? 09:18 All right, but we are all always stewards. 09:22 Can we agree on that? 09:24 Nobody owns anything. 09:27 We'll see that in just a moment. 09:28 So let's begin with the first question. 09:30 Look at the first question tonight. 09:33 Over what did God give man dominion, 09:38 question number one, 09:39 after the creation of the world? 09:41 Over what did God give man dominion 09:44 after the creation of the world? 09:47 We're gonna go to Genesis 1:26. 09:50 And for those of you that don't have a Bible, 09:51 I'll have it on the screen in just a moment. 09:53 But we have to understand 09:55 that if we don't know anything, 09:58 everything came from somewhere. 10:00 I'm trying to allude to it. 10:02 But you know exactly where I'm headed with that 10:04 because the question is the answer itself. 10:06 Over what did God gave man Dominion 10:09 after the creation of the world? 10:11 Let's look at Genesis 1:26. 10:14 And here it is. 10:15 "Then God said, 10:17 'Let Us make man in Our image, 10:20 according to Our likeness. 10:23 Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, '" 10:28 These are the things they were stewards over. 10:30 "'Over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, 10:34 over the cattle, over all the earth, 10:38 and over every creeping thing 10:41 that creeps on the earth.'" 10:43 So how much was Adam given stewardship over? 10:48 Everything. 10:50 From the smallest insect to the largest plant, 10:54 from the biggest animal to the smallest bird, 10:58 from those things that were in the ocean... 11:00 Now this is a very powerful thing 11:01 because when you think about stewardship nowadays, 11:04 a lot of people don't treat the planet 11:06 like it doesn't belong to them. 11:09 That's a problem in our world today. 11:11 Pollution is everywhere. 11:13 I was watching, 11:14 and I like nature stuff, 11:17 like National Geographic and stuff like that. 11:19 I like things about nature. 11:21 Think about this. 11:22 Have you ever seen the pictures of those whales? 11:25 There was a whale that had washed up on shore, 11:29 and he was wrapped in plastic. 11:32 Somehow he got caught in a net of a boat that was dragging... 11:37 cleaning the ocean, and then it popped. 11:40 And it wrapped the whole body of the whale. 11:43 And he was wrapped. 11:45 He had plastic all in that net. 11:47 I saw other pictures 11:49 where you can tell where the animal began 11:50 and the plastic ended. 11:52 That's why in some countries, they don't use straws anymore. 11:54 We travel, and in some countries, 11:56 you don't get straws anymore 11:57 because when they try to dump the garbage, 12:00 they dump it where? 12:01 In the ocean. 12:03 Some places in America, 12:04 they take barges 20, 30 miles out 12:06 and dump it in the ocean. 12:08 And it's killing the reef, 12:11 it's killing the waters, 12:13 it's making some of the most pristine places 12:14 in the world, a dumping ground, 12:17 much of the coral is dying 12:18 because people don't treat the earth. 12:21 Look at the things that God gave them 12:22 dominion over, 12:23 look at that again, "Over the fish of the sea, 12:26 over the birds of the air, over the cattle, 12:30 over all the earth, 12:31 over every creeping thing that, " what " 12:33 that creeps on the earth." 12:35 So how much did God say 12:37 He was going to hold man responsible for? 12:40 Everything. 12:41 And today, 12:42 that kind of stewardship is gone down the levy, 12:44 people think that, "Well, you know, 12:46 this is our world we could do with it as we please." 12:48 And now whether people believe it or not, 12:52 in the Midwest, farmers are complaining 12:54 about the weather is so bad, so much rain. 12:57 The weather patterns are changing. 12:59 It's affecting farming. 13:00 In some countries, the greenhouse gases 13:02 are affecting the earth, the cities. 13:04 We go to Asia sometimes 13:06 and you see people walking around, 13:07 like in the Philippines, 13:09 they have on these face masks 13:10 because the smog is so thick, 13:13 because the world is being destroyed. 13:16 We are pulling from the earth all the resources, 13:20 the oil, the gas, 13:22 we are literally emptying the earth 13:25 and we expect there not be earthquakes. 13:27 One of the reasons why there's so many earthquakes 13:29 is because the earth is being killed internally. 13:32 All the stuff that would support the land, 13:34 the oil, you know, 13:35 land floats on oil, 13:37 well, there's no oil under it, 13:38 what happens to the land, it's coming down. 13:41 And so a slight tremor 13:42 can now turn to a massive earthquake. 13:44 So we find that the stewardship 13:46 that God gave to man is something vitally important. 13:50 But it should be more important to Christians 13:52 than it is to just people of the world. 13:53 And so we have people that are environmentalists, 13:55 we have scientists, we have archaeologists, 13:58 but then on the other side that we have politicians. 14:02 And depending on the position of the politician, 14:04 they could say there is no such thing 14:06 as global warming. 14:07 And the other guy said, "Well, there is global warming." 14:09 And the land is being literally destroyed. 14:14 But now let's look at something 14:16 that's so vitally important. 14:17 Now we know God gave Adam stewardship. 14:19 But what happened to Adam? What happened to him? 14:21 Let's talk about what happened to Adam. 14:23 He sinned. 14:25 When he sinned, the very thing that God gave to him 14:28 was taken by the arch-enemy called Satan. 14:32 He lost dominion. 14:33 And now the devil had control over the earth. 14:38 And to this very day, you can see to a great degree, 14:40 he has control over what happens on the earth 14:43 in so many ways, in so many cities. 14:46 But let's look at the next question. 14:49 How do we know 14:51 that the world was not created for man to own? 14:54 That was important for the... 14:56 The world was not created for man to own, 14:58 how do we know that? 14:59 Let's go to Psalm 24:1. 15:02 And once again, it's gonna be on the screen 15:04 for those of you that may not be 15:06 where you have access to a Bible 15:09 because the topic is about stewardship, 15:11 and right now, 15:13 we're just talking about general stewardship. 15:16 But during the topic, 15:17 we're gonna cover time, talent, testimony, 15:20 treasure, and temple, all right? 15:23 Psalm 24:1, look what the Bible says, 15:25 this is how we know 15:26 that God did not create the world for man to own. 15:28 Here's what some Psalm 24:1 tells us, 15:32 let's read this together. 15:33 "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, 15:38 the world and those who," what, 15:41 "dwell therein." 15:42 So how much of the world belongs to God? 15:45 All of it. 15:47 So now if you treated somebody's property 15:50 the way that they wouldn't want you to treat it, 15:52 to whom are you accountable? 15:55 To the owner. Let's go to Revelation. 15:57 Just came to my mind. Thank you, Lord. 15:59 I know that certain texts that come to my mind, 16:02 and I know it's not me thinking about them, 16:04 but the Lord bringing them to me. 16:06 Let's go to Revelation chapter 11. 16:08 Let's go to Revelation chapter 11. 16:10 And we're gonna go to the second part 16:11 of this question in just a moment, 16:13 but the earth belongs to the Lord 16:14 and everything on it 16:16 and everybody in it, right? 16:18 Look at Revelation chapter 11. 16:20 And we are going to look at verse 18. 16:24 Verse 18. 16:26 And this fits into the context of how the world is today, 16:30 all right? 16:31 Verse 18 of Revelation chapter 11, the Bible says, 16:34 "The nations were," what, 16:36 "angry, 16:37 and Your wrath has come, 16:39 and the time of the dead that they should be judged, 16:42 and that you should get this 16:44 reward Your servants the prophets, and the saints, 16:48 and those who fear your name, 16:50 small and great, 16:52 and should destroy those who," what, 16:54 "destroy the Earth." 16:57 So you find in the very beginning, 16:59 God gave man stewardship, 17:00 but He's saying by the time of the judgment, 17:02 those who are also going to come into judgment 17:04 of those who destroy the earth 17:06 because He said, "I gave you this world, 17:08 and this is not the world I gave you." 17:10 This is not the condition that it was supposed to be in. 17:13 And you have taken no regard 17:14 to what you're doing with the earth. 17:16 Now you can argue about whether it's political or not, 17:18 but I know the world today is not the same world 17:20 that I was being raised in. 17:22 I mean, the weather patterns are so different. 17:24 In so many different places, 17:26 the weather patterns have changed drastically. 17:28 Some of the worst hurricanes, 17:31 more torrential downpours of rain, 17:34 tornadoes are increasing 17:36 not only in frequency but intensity. 17:38 The world is going haywire. 17:40 And then 17:42 don't talk about those who manipulate 17:44 that try to create rain, they seed the clouds, 17:47 they try to make it rain, 17:49 they have these radio waves 17:50 that whatever they try to do to manipulate weather. 17:53 The earth is not responding in the natural sense 17:55 after thousands and thousands of years. 17:58 Let's go back to the second part 17:59 of question number two. 18:01 We found out, so far, 18:02 based on Psalm 24:1 18:04 that the earth and everything in it 18:06 belongs to the Lord. 18:08 But look at the second part of it. 18:10 Deuteronomy, 18:11 this is actually Deuteronomy 10:14. 18:15 Excuse me for my little faux pas there. 18:17 I put Deuteronomy chapter 20. 18:18 My wife said, "There's gonna be a typo." 18:20 I said to her, "Absolutely not." 18:22 But she has the best eyes for detail. 18:25 It's Deuteronomy 10:14, 18:28 it's correct on your syllabus. 18:29 So you might wonder why is it different on the screen. 18:31 Listen to what the Bible says. 18:32 So let's go ahead and show the text. 18:34 I've already made the disclaimer. 18:36 The Bible said, "Indeed heaven and the highest heavens 18:40 belong to the Lord your God, 18:43 also the earth with," what, 18:45 "all that is in it." 18:48 How much? 18:50 But look at this, 18:52 this even goes farther than the earth, 18:53 it says, "Indeed, heaven and the highest heavens 18:58 belong to the Lord your God, 18:59 also the earth with all that is in it, " 19:02 everything around us, 19:04 even the heavens, the planets, 19:06 the constellations, the stars, 19:08 the galaxies, 19:10 it all belongs to the Lord. 19:14 That's how we know 19:16 that God did not create it for us to own it. 19:19 The Bible says, "The meek shall inherit the earth," 19:21 right? 19:22 But the meek didn't create the earth. 19:24 It's gonna be the reward for those 19:26 whose stewardship was found faithful, 19:29 the meek will inherit the earth. 19:30 Before we go to question number 3, 19:33 go with me to 1 Corinthians 4:2. 19:37 Just a thought came to my mind that this now comes up. 19:40 1 Corinthians Chapter 4 19:42 1 Corinthians 4:2, all right? 19:47 Because I made a statement a moment ago, 19:48 the meek shall inherit the earth. 19:50 It's gonna inherit a pristine recreated earth. 19:54 the meek will inherit the earth. 19:56 And that's in one of the Beatitudes. 19:57 I'll tell you about that in just a moment. 20:00 But 1 Corinthians 4:2, 20:02 listen to the passage. 20:05 "Moreover it is required in stewards 20:10 that one be found, " what, 20:12 "faithful." Right. 20:13 So if God gives us something, 20:15 He says, 20:17 "Please, please take care of it." 20:20 I don't know how many of you have children. 20:24 But I know that when I was a kid, 20:28 I didn't know much about stewardship. 20:32 Can I use the example? 20:33 My dad's watch, he had a gold watch. 20:36 I think I may have told the story about 400 years ago. 20:40 But it fits right here. 20:41 He had a gold pocket watch 20:43 that I always saw hanging off of his pant belt. 20:46 It went around the loop in his belt 20:48 and I could always see that chain 20:49 and it's in his pocket. 20:51 And he didn't wear a watch as much but he had this, 20:53 and he'd always pop it open and close it. 20:56 Pop it open and close it. 20:57 And it was really nice, 20:59 it was a gold pocket watch, 21:01 had a porcelain face. 21:02 And I always admired it. 21:04 I wanted to see how it worked. 21:07 So one day, when he took it off, 21:09 he put it onto the dresser. 21:12 And when I knew he was in anywhere around, 21:13 I picked it up to see if there are any buttons, any dials, 21:16 anything that would tell me how it worked. 21:19 You know, and I was little. 21:21 I was little and stupid. 21:24 I just want to preface it by saying 21:25 'cause what I did next, you're going to say it anyhow. 21:28 So he wasn't around. 21:30 So I took the watch, 21:31 took it outside to the front of the house, 21:33 and I just couldn't get it open with a screwdriver. 21:37 So I thought I need a more persuasive instrument. 21:41 So I got a hammer. 21:44 And I turned the watch on the side 21:46 'cause I wanted to see how this thing ticked. 21:49 I turned the watch on the side. 21:50 And I hit that watch. 21:54 It opened up. 21:56 I saw everything that worked, 21:58 but I don't know why does fear often hit you 22:00 after you do something dumb? 22:02 Why does it not keep you from doing dumb things? 22:06 Because I was driven by it, I want to see how it worked. 22:11 It opened up I saw all the cogs, wheels, 22:14 the springs, they were everywhere. 22:16 Well, you know, you can't unbreak something. 22:18 But I tried to unbreak it. 22:19 And I put it in there. 22:21 I piled it all up. 22:22 I took that thing inside, 22:23 and I threw it under my dad's dresser. 22:27 Well, I heard my name. 22:30 About too long after, I heard my name. 22:32 And he was a Barbadian, so he said, "Junior." 22:38 You know, that's when kids get death. 22:40 "Junior." 22:43 And then he did a really long Junior. 22:47 I thought if I don't answer on the fourth one, 22:48 I know I'm in trouble 22:49 'cause I've met his belt before. 22:52 So he asked me the question 22:54 that I already had determined the answer. 22:56 "Did you, kid..." "No." 22:58 But what was I going to ask you? 22:59 "Did you break my watch?" 23:03 "No. 23:06 No, papa." 23:07 As if the word papa was gonna help. 23:10 Man, he asked me one more time. 23:13 He took off my belt. 23:15 And he showed me what made the watch tick. 23:19 I just put it that way. 23:21 He showed me what made the watch tick. 23:28 It was not until after that 23:30 that he explained to me 23:31 this is my gold watch with a porcelain face. 23:35 It was pretty, but it was destroyed. 23:37 It was horrible. 23:38 And then so I was not a good steward. 23:42 No, not at all. 23:43 But he taught me another valuable lesson 23:45 when I got older. 23:47 It's good for little stories every now and then. 23:49 One day, when I just got a good job, 23:53 just started working. 23:54 I got a Saks Fifth Avenue credit card. 23:57 And it had a higher limit 24:00 than I had a salary to cover it. 24:02 And I just got happy. 24:04 You know, credit cards can make you happy. 24:06 And but they don't make you unhappy. 24:09 They make you happy until the bill comes, 24:11 and you are unhappy. 24:13 So I figured if I don't answer the phone, 24:16 this is before texting, this is before emails, 24:19 if I don't answer the phone, the bill will go away. 24:22 Can I say with the word, 24:23 not? 24:24 They kept calling, and one day I picked up the phone, 24:27 and they said, "This is Saks Fifth Avenue. 24:29 Is there a John in there?" 24:30 You know the whole thing. 24:32 And he hung up the phone, he said, 24:33 he called me Junior no matter how old I was. 24:35 He called me Junior. 24:36 "Junior, that was Saks Fifth Avenue. 24:38 They said you haven't paid your bill 24:40 in X amount of months. 24:42 How much do you owe them?" 24:45 Do you know 24:46 he paid my $700 24:49 credit card bill. 24:51 And he said don't do that again. 24:54 That blew me away because he was from Barbados. 24:57 He was the kind of man, I wish I had money to... 24:59 He was the kind of man 25:00 that if you went to the store with $1, 25:02 and it was 97 cents, he'd say, "Where's my three pennies?" 25:05 He required stewardship of... 25:07 But he surprised me, he paid my debt. 25:12 And I didn't use that card anymore. 25:14 Now I'm older, 25:16 and I'm a man of stewardship. 25:17 Praise God. Can somebody say Amen for me? 25:19 I pay my bills on time, 25:20 nobody's ringing my house trying to find me 25:23 hiding under a tree somewhere, 25:24 or trying to hide in a bus station, 25:26 trying to change my identity. 25:27 If you're not a proper steward, you can run from the debt, 25:31 especially if as a student loan. 25:34 A student loan, they'll find you no matter 25:36 what continent you're on, 25:38 and they'll say your bill is due. 25:40 But suffice it to say, 25:43 look at the third question. 25:45 The Lord didn't give us anything, 25:47 therefore, nothing that we have belongs to us. 25:50 Look at question three, question three. 25:54 Here's the question. 25:55 Over how much in the world 25:58 can we claim ownership? 26:02 Over how much in the world can we claim ownership? 26:06 1 Timothy 6:7. 1 Timothy 6:7. 26:13 How much can we claim ownership? 26:15 Here's the answer. 26:16 I'd like us to read this together 26:18 because this applies to every one of us 26:19 regardless of where you're from or what you do. 26:22 If you read it at home, I think I might hear you. 26:24 Are you ready together? Here we go. 26:26 "For we brought," how much, 26:28 "nothing into this world, 26:31 and it is certain we carry," how much, 26:34 "nothing out." 26:36 Oh man, if we had only learned that lesson, 26:39 how much should we bring in? 26:41 My mother-in-law used to say, 26:42 "Look at the hand of a baby when he comes into the world." 26:44 That's what he brought. 26:46 Nothing. 26:47 Just his fingerprints. 26:49 And when we leave, 26:50 I saw a bumper sticker many years ago 26:53 on the back of a car, it says, 26:55 "He who dies with the most toys wins." 26:59 And I thought how does he win? 27:02 He's dead? 27:03 So I want to exit out, 27:05 I never got a chance to exit out, 27:06 but I was gonna put, 27:07 "He who dies with the most toys dies." 27:11 'Cause no matter what you have... 27:13 Right? 27:14 And there's some people try to defy this text, 27:17 there was a man that had a Corvette. 27:19 This is an old story. 27:21 He had a Corvette, 27:22 he got buried, they dug the hole. 27:24 People saw the cemetery with a big hole being dug, 27:27 and they thought, "Are they burying a giant?" 27:28 No, they put this. He loved it. 27:30 In his will was, "I want to be buried in my Corvette, 27:35 beautiful red Corvette." 27:36 So they dug the hole. 27:38 This was in Jet magazine years ago, 27:40 they dug the hole the size of a Corvette. 27:43 And at the funeral, with a crane, 27:44 they're lowering him in his Corvette into the hole. 27:50 Like he was gonna drive somewhere. 27:53 Where is he going? 27:56 Huh? 27:57 Where the drivers can't. Where the drivers can't. 27:59 "I want to be in my Corvette. 28:01 I want to be in my Corvette." 28:02 You're not going anywhere. 28:04 I also know of a pastor that died in New York City. 28:08 Reverend Ike was his name, Reverend Ike. 28:11 Another one, James Cleveland. 28:13 When he died, they buried him in his casket was in plexiglass 28:18 so you could see it all the time. 28:19 It's like... 28:21 And then gold coffins. 28:22 Why are you gonna spend money on a gold coffin? 28:25 Keep the money for the family that survives you. 28:28 Why are you doing that? 28:30 You know, 28:31 oh, yeah, there's another one. 28:32 I know this to be true. 28:35 My sister's friend, 28:36 I say this with all due respect. 28:38 When her father passed away, 28:40 she cashed a paycheck 28:42 and put that cash in the coffin. 28:45 This happened a few years ago, 28:47 you know what I would have done? 28:48 If I was like in that line, 28:50 I would have taken up my checkbook, 28:52 I would've counted up the cash, 28:54 and written him a check, and say, 28:55 "When you get to where you're going, 28:57 the check is good." 28:59 That's ridiculous, 29:01 but people do that. 29:02 They want to take their money to the grave. 29:04 The Egyptians when they build those pyramids, 29:07 every wealth of the king was put in that pyramid. 29:10 King Tutankhamun was one very well-known for that. 29:12 In the museum, in Cairo, Egypt, they have all this gold. 29:17 They were buried with all their gold, 29:20 all their accoutrements. 29:22 They thought that somehow 29:23 when they died on the other side of the river, 29:26 they're gonna have access to all this stuff. 29:29 But what does the text say? 29:30 One more time, for we brought how much? 29:32 Nothing into this world. 29:34 And it is what? 29:36 Certain, we carry how much? 29:39 Nothing out. 29:42 I don't know. 29:45 You know what I like about this text, 29:47 it makes us all the same. 29:49 Am I right? Am I right, Iris? 29:52 I don't care how many buildings have your name on it, 29:54 I don't care how many islands you have. 29:56 When you die, 29:57 you ain't taking diddly with you. 30:00 You're not taking anything with you. 30:03 That's why somebody once said, 30:05 "They hold on to life loosely, 30:07 but they hold on to God tight." 30:11 Because there's nothing you have. 30:15 My good friend T. Marshall Kelly, 30:18 he says, "The rich man was there. 30:20 But his money when death came was left far behind. 30:25 And the angel that opened his record, not a grace, 30:28 not a trace of his greatness could find." 30:31 So all that wealth, 30:33 it doesn't do anything, 30:34 we can only make it to the kingdom 30:36 by the wealth of Christ. 30:38 Amen somebody? 30:39 So how much do we bring? Nothing. 30:40 How much can we take out? Nothing. 30:42 Nothing, nothing. 30:44 Nothing in, nothing out. 30:45 Go to question number four. 30:47 We're going to spend some time in Luke. 30:48 Luke is a powerful passage. 30:51 The Lord communicated some valuable lessons 30:54 through Dr. Luke. 30:55 And we're going to spend some time 30:56 in Luke chapter 12, 30:58 but don't run ahead of me. 30:59 And we going to break them down 31:01 a question by question, question by question. 31:04 So far, we found out 31:05 that the world was created by God. 31:07 God gave Adam stewardship, he lost it, 31:10 the devil possessed it, 31:12 but the earth still belongs to the Lord, 31:14 the heavens belong to Him. 31:16 We brought nothing in, we take nothing out. 31:18 But here's question number four. 31:21 Here's question number four. 31:22 What caution 31:24 does the Bible give about materialism? 31:27 What caution does the Bible give 31:29 about materialism? 31:31 Luke 12:15, 31:34 Luke 12:15 was where the answer is found. 31:39 Luke 12:15, 31:41 and here's what the Bible said. 31:44 "And He said to them," that's Jesus to the multitude, 31:47 He's talking to the crowd that sat with Him, 31:49 and He's the teacher, He said, 31:52 "Take heed and be aware of," what, 31:55 "Covetousness, 31:57 for one's life 31:59 does not consist 32:02 in the abundance of the things he possesses." 32:07 Wow. 32:10 Covetousness, the tenth commandment, 32:12 "Thou shalt not covet." 32:15 That means, you know, what that means? 32:16 There's some people that gather and... 32:18 Have you ever heard of a hoarder? 32:20 There's some people that are hoarding. 32:22 In my sister's building, in New York City, 32:24 there in Ebbets Field, on the 12th floor, 32:26 in one of the sections of the building, 32:28 there was a fire that happened not too long ago, 32:30 maybe about a year ago, I think, 32:31 maybe a little less than that. 32:35 And they found out in this '80's apartment 32:37 that obviously the fire started 32:38 with an electric spark in a plug, 32:40 but her entire apartment 32:41 was filled with boxes of newspapers. 32:44 And she walked, it was so much stuff, 32:46 she walked in a path through her apartment 32:49 because there was no place to walk. 32:51 And the apartment went up like a matchbox. 32:53 Because when you have all this newspaper, 32:55 all these boxes, 32:57 all this material, this fuel for fire, 33:00 but that's what happens. 33:02 And I want to just make a caution here 33:04 because it's not a blanket statement, 33:05 but I know this to be true. 33:06 In some cases, 33:08 sometimes, the older a person gets, 33:10 the more they become a hoarder. 33:12 That's what my wife and I are protecting ourselves 33:14 against hoarding. 33:16 We are getting us a long dumpster. 33:20 I made the statement on television, 33:22 somebody sent me a letter from Belize. 33:25 They said if you had several places, 33:26 if you have stuff, send it to us. 33:28 No, if you want stuff, come and get it. 33:31 I'm not mailing anything. 33:33 We got junk. 33:34 We've been married for 36 years, 33:36 we have stuff, we have boxes we haven't opened in 11 years. 33:39 But, you know, in your mind, you say, "Don't throw it away 33:41 because something's valuable in it." 33:44 We're hoarding, hoarding. 33:46 Man, this text spoke to was big time. 33:49 But it's not because of this text, we decided... 33:52 We have a shed, we have a garage. 33:55 I know some people with garages 33:56 that you can't even park your car in the garage. 33:59 Oh, you open a garage, it's like an avalanche. 34:04 Don't throw that away, there's something valuable. 34:06 Guys collect pieces of wood. 34:08 Women, patterns or some... 34:11 I know people that bought 34:12 all the beanie babies years ago, 34:13 remember Beanie Babies? 34:15 Somebody bought 34:16 the whole collection of Beanie Babies. 34:18 They thought that somebody it's going to become valuable. 34:20 Well, 12 million other people bought the whole selection too. 34:22 How valuable can it get? 34:24 And they hold on to these things like, 34:25 "One day, just before I die, 34:27 the value is going to go up like astronomically." 34:30 Possessions. Am I right? 34:33 A man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things 34:36 he possesses. 34:38 Here's the lesson, 34:39 "Don't let your possessions possess you." 34:42 That's another form of possession. 34:44 Possession, possession. 34:45 It's worse than demon possession. 34:48 You can exercise... 34:49 You cannot exercise, 34:50 you can cast the demon out of somebody, 34:52 but some people will hold on to things as long as they live. 34:55 Now I'm just laying the foundation 34:57 for the topic on time, talent, testimony, 34:59 treasure, and temple. 35:00 Okay, let's look at the next question. 35:02 So how much do we own? 35:05 How much do we own? 35:08 How much owns us? 35:13 That's a serious question. 35:14 How much of your stuff owns you? 35:17 I already got talked about 35:18 the dangers of going on vacation? 35:20 You know why going on vacation is hard? 35:22 Because we take stuff with us. 35:27 That shows how much we love our stuff. 35:29 We need bigger suitcases for stuff. 35:33 And what makes it worse is, you go on vacation with stuff, 35:36 and then when you go on vacation, 35:37 you're already in your hotel, 35:39 somebody says, "Come and spend a night with me 35:41 so you have to decide how much stuff 35:43 from your stuff you're going to take." 35:45 So you take a small pile of stuff. 35:47 And they really throw you off 35:48 while you're visiting your friend, 35:50 somebody says, "Hey, come stay by us too." 35:51 So you got stuff at your friend's house, 35:53 and at the hotel, and you got more stuff at home. 35:55 That's why we buy alarms, 35:57 not to protect us but to protect our stuff. 36:01 What's wrong with us? 36:02 Am I right? 36:04 And this is what the problem is in our world. 36:06 We got locks protecting stuff. 36:08 But do you know what happens? 36:09 This is a sad commentary. 36:11 There are people that woke up this morning 36:14 that will not go to bed tonight. 36:16 And all that stuff 36:19 won't mount to eternal life. 36:21 Look at the next question. 36:22 This is powerful. 36:24 We're going to break down Luke chapter 12. 36:26 Okay, here it is. 36:28 What will the outcome be 36:29 of those that are possessed by their possessions? 36:34 Wow. 36:36 Look at Luke 12:21. 36:42 Luke 12:21. 36:45 This is the story. 36:47 The Lord used Luke chapter 12 36:48 in the same way He used Matthew chapter 6, 36:50 but Luke 12, isn't that a powerful text? 36:52 You're looking at it, right? 36:54 Look at what the Lord said. 36:56 And this is a story about a man who had a lot of possessions. 36:59 He tore down his old barns, put up new barns. 37:02 He sat down, and he said, "Take either. 37:04 I have a whole lot stored up for years. 37:07 I'm good." 37:08 And look at verse 21, 37:10 "But God said to him, 'Fool,'" 37:14 Verse, verse 21. 37:19 Verse 20. 37:22 Verse 20. Thank you, honey. 37:25 Verse 20. 37:26 "But God said to him, 'Fool! 37:29 This night, your soul will be required of you, 37:35 then, " what's the question, 37:38 "'whose will those things be 37:41 which you have provided?' " 37:44 Who's going to get all that stuff? 37:46 You know what? 37:48 One of the worst things that happens 37:49 is when people die without a will, 37:51 you want to see family, 37:53 you want to see the love and families. 37:55 No love loss, 37:57 people fighting over stuff. 38:01 They want to get all that stuff 38:04 so that when they die, 38:05 somebody fights over their stuff. 38:09 Only the Lord Jesus can call somebody a fool, 38:13 but here's what the passage is saying. 38:15 When we put more... 38:17 When we put more stock in the stuff 38:19 we have than in our eternal life, 38:21 that's a foolish decision. 38:22 Am I right? 38:24 That's exactly what is being said. 38:26 So let's go on further. 38:27 So the question is, 38:28 "What will the outcome be of those 38:30 that are possessed by their possessions? 38:31 What will happen?" 38:33 They will lose their soul. 38:34 What is a profit of man 38:36 if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? 38:39 They will lose their salvation. 38:42 Question number six. Question number six. 38:47 Since we don't own anything, 38:50 what should our attitude be? 38:52 What should our attitudes be? 38:55 Okay. 38:57 And Luke 12:22, 23. 39:03 Okay, here it is. 39:07 "Then He said to His disciples, 39:10 'Therefore, I say to you, '" 39:12 what's the next three words? 39:15 "'Do not worry about your life, 39:17 what you will eat, 39:20 nor about the body, what you will,'" do what? 39:23 "'What you will put on?' " Why? 39:26 Verse 23, 39:27 "Life is more than food, 39:28 and the body is more than," what? 39:31 "Okay, so what do we worry about?" 39:33 The two things that we just mentioned. 39:35 What am I going to eat? 39:37 What am I going to wear, right? 39:40 Wasn't that the concern in the Garden of Eden? 39:44 Eve, her appetite was the first problem, 39:48 and then her clothing was the second one. 39:51 She ate the wrong thing 39:52 and lost the clothing she had. 39:55 What am I going to eat? 39:58 What am I going to wear? 40:02 Confession is good for the soul, heart, 40:04 and the reputation. 40:05 I have shirts that I've had too long. 40:11 And I got to get rid of them. 40:16 I'm just saying that lightly, I got to get rid of them. 40:18 I don't wear them. 40:20 Got to get rid of them. 40:21 So much stuff. 40:23 So what's more important? 40:27 And this is a very powerful question. 40:29 And the question that is being asked here... 40:33 Well, the statement that is being made, 40:35 the Lord is saying, 40:36 so many of us worry about our lives. 40:38 We worry about our life. 40:40 He says, "Life is more than food, 40:43 and the body is more than," what? 40:44 "Clothing." 40:45 So food and clothing, the two things 40:48 that drives most of the economy, 40:50 food and clothes. 40:52 Okay, you have massive department stores. 40:54 What do they sell? 40:57 Okay. 40:59 Right. 41:00 Walmart is food and clothes. 41:03 There are other stuff, even they have automotive. 41:05 Macy's, what do they sell? 41:07 Clothes, mostly clothing. 41:10 Chocolate. 41:11 Okay, food, food, right? 41:15 It falls in the category of food. 41:16 See food and clothes, food and clothes, 41:19 it drives the industry, it drives the industry. 41:22 Fast food places drive the industry. 41:24 Food. 41:28 Don't worry about what you're going to eat 41:29 or what you're going to wear or what you're going to put on. 41:31 Now let's see why. 41:33 Question number seven. Question number seven. 41:37 What promise has the Lord made to those that trust Him? 41:42 What promise has the Lord made to those that trust Him? 41:46 And this is huge. 41:47 The word trust is a powerful thing. 41:49 Because what happens is when you don't trust Him, 41:51 what do you worry about? 41:53 "What am I going to eat? 41:54 What am I going to wear? 41:55 What am I going to eat? 41:57 What am I going to wear? 41:58 What am I going to put on?" 42:01 Wow. 42:02 So here's the answer. 42:04 Are you ready for it? 42:05 Luke 12:28, 42:07 here it is. 42:08 "If then God so clothes the grass, 42:13 which today is in the field 42:16 and tomorrow is thrown into the, what? 42:18 Oven. 42:19 how much more will He clothe you. 42:23 O you of," how much faith? 42:25 "Little faith." Little faith. 42:28 And when you look at that, 42:30 what promise has the Lord made to those that trust Him? 42:33 What will He do? 42:34 He'll clothe us. 42:36 He'll provide for us. 42:37 He will. 42:39 And when you look at the example 42:40 of the children of Israel, 42:41 we haven't gotten to the time, talent, 42:43 testimony, treasure, and temple yet, 42:44 we are just doing the foundation about ownership. 42:47 We haven't even gotten to those areas. 42:48 We're going to spend some time each week 42:50 on time, talent, testimony, treasure, and temple 42:52 because these are the things stewardship... 42:55 I'll be honest with you. 42:56 Can I say... 42:58 Not that I'm being dishonest, 42:59 but I'll be open with you. 43:01 The greater problem the church has today is stewardship. 43:06 Now watch this. 43:09 In many cases, one of the reasons 43:10 why many churches start giving breakfast 43:12 on in the morning 43:14 is people come to church for food 43:17 before they come for worship. 43:21 You got to pay people to come, 43:22 you got to give them food to come to church. 43:24 If we say we're having a two-course meal 43:26 before Bible studies, man, people come for food. 43:30 We did that, 43:32 but people started leaving after they ate. 43:34 So we stopped doing that 43:35 because it started revealing the heart. 43:37 I'm more concerned about food 43:40 than about a thoughtful hour in God's Word. 43:42 And it's a sad reality. 43:44 You say food, people will show up. 43:46 Somebody says, "We make food, they'll come and eat." 43:49 But the Bible is saying, in essence, 43:52 if we worry about food more than our betterment, 43:56 then we are putting things in the wrong perspective. 44:00 But we're going to look at the next two questions, 44:01 you're going to see some very valuable, 44:03 powerful lessons 44:04 that are brought out 44:05 because the Apostle Paul 44:07 now brings and adds to this picture. 44:09 The issue is we don't have faith. 44:11 That's what the last, 44:12 "O, you of little faith, " 44:14 we don't have faith. 44:15 So we have to get it all together ourselves. 44:17 If we trusted God, 44:18 then our faith will be intact, 44:20 but we say, 44:21 "God can't provide." 44:23 But let's look what the Apostle Paul says. 44:26 Question number eight. 44:27 How does the Apostle Paul reiterate God's ability 44:31 to take care of us? 44:32 How does the Apostle Paul reiterate God's ability 44:36 to take care of us? 44:37 Look at what he says in Philippines 4:19, 44:42 look at what he says. 44:44 And I'd like us to read this together. 44:47 And it says, "And," what? 44:49 "My God shall supply," what? 44:51 "All your needs, 44:53 according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 44:57 How much of our needs? 45:01 But now... This is it. 45:02 I highlighted two words. 45:06 It depends on who your God is. 45:09 'Cause if the true God is your God, 45:11 you don't worry about it, 45:12 you know, He's going to supply all your needs. 45:14 But if your money is your God, 45:16 if your education is your God, 45:18 if your job is your God, 45:20 you're going to work like a horse, 45:22 you're going to kill yourself, 45:23 you're going to work overtime, 45:25 you're going to work triple time, 45:26 you're going to try to put all that money in the bank 45:27 because you want to provide all your need. 45:31 We do it, right? 45:32 But who does the Bible say is going to do it? 45:35 Now He's not going to do it for lazy people either. 45:38 You're not going to sit home on your couch, 45:40 like Proverbs, there's a text in Proverbs about a lazy man. 45:43 The Bible says, "The lazy man doesn't go out on the street." 45:45 And here's why. 45:46 He says, "There's a lion in the street. 45:48 And if I go out, I'll be eaten." 45:52 That's a text in the book of Proverbs. 45:54 I thought that was funny how the Bible put it. 45:56 The lazy man wouldn't go looking for a job, 45:58 so I got to modify this. 46:00 Don't stay home and sitting on your couch 46:01 and playing video games all day long and say, 46:03 "My God shall supply all my needs." 46:05 No, He does not bless laziness, 46:09 He blesses stewardship. 46:11 And that's where we're going to get 46:12 into stewardship of your time, all right? 46:15 So this text is not for lazy people, 46:18 but this text is for those 46:20 who recognize the stewardship of everything 46:23 that they own belonging to God, 46:24 but in fact, you'll see why in a few questions. 46:27 If we get there tonight, fine, if not, 46:29 we'll cover it at another time. 46:31 So how does the Apostle Paul reiterate God's ability? 46:34 What is God going to do? 46:36 Tell me together. 46:37 Supply all of our need. 46:40 Now thank you. 46:42 Say it again. 46:43 Needs, not wants. 46:45 Don't pray for a Lamborghini 46:49 or helicopter or the things you don't need, 46:51 it could be something smaller than that. 46:54 You know, but I'm just making an emphasis. 46:56 Yeah. 47:00 Don't pray for stuff that you know you don't need, 47:03 right? 47:05 'Cause God's not going to supply it. 47:06 And we have these prosperity preachers nowadays 47:08 that are living high on the hog, 47:10 four and five planes, three mansions, 47:12 you know? 47:14 And one pastor said to me, 47:16 "I have more money in my pocket than you make any year." 47:18 That's fine. 47:20 But how much is your ticket to heaven? 47:21 Can you purchase one? 47:23 No, you can't. 47:24 So that doesn't even matter 47:26 'cause God will supply all of our needs, 47:28 according to whose credit? 47:29 His riches in glory. 47:31 Let's go on to the next one. 47:33 We have to get some more in here 47:34 before we wind up this topic for tonight 47:36 because we haven't yet touched 47:38 time, talent, testimony, treasure, and temple. 47:41 And we're not going to cover that tonight. 47:42 I doubt that. 47:43 But when we get to those five areas, 47:45 you're going to see something that, 47:46 for the most part, we have missed. 47:49 One of the reasons 47:50 why the church is begging for help all the time 47:54 is because we are not stewards, 47:56 we are members. 48:00 Membership, and discipleship, 48:02 and stewardship are not the same. 48:06 How many people sign up for health club memberships 48:10 in January? 48:12 How many people go? 48:15 Clubs from December till February. 48:18 Deal, 50% off, $75 a month. 48:23 Everybody's... 48:25 They make millions in December, January, and February. 48:29 No, and people sign up for stuff 48:31 they never take advantage of. 48:34 New Year's resolutions, 48:35 "I'm going to lose that" 48:37 And they hit the date. 48:38 And you know what? 48:39 They go to the health clubs, they pay all this, 48:41 and they don't show up. 48:42 But the health clubs don't care because... 48:48 and you sign a contract, 48:50 and they say, "Well, 48:53 this special goes for two years." 48:56 And if you go for two months, 48:59 they have the next 22 months free. 49:02 It's amazing. 49:03 But look at this. 49:05 Question number nine. 49:07 How did Jesus compare 49:09 the children of the world with the children of God? 49:14 Let's go to Luke 12:29, 30. 49:17 How did Jesus compare 49:19 the children of the world 49:21 with or to the children of God? 49:25 Wow. 49:29 Yeah. 49:31 When I was in New York City, 49:32 this text really jumped out at me. 49:34 Out here, nobody's rushing downtown 49:36 Thompsonville to go to the Shell Gas Station, 49:39 I guess only to store. 49:40 That's really... 49:42 That and Dollar General are the only two stores 49:44 we really have in town. 49:45 There's a little restaurant, but we're not rushing. 49:48 But the bottom line is, look at this. 49:50 Very powerful comparison 49:51 the Lord brings in Luke 12:29, 30. 49:55 Here's what the Bible says, 49:57 "And do not seek what you should eat 50:02 or what you should," what else? 50:03 "Drink, nor have an anxious mind." 50:07 There are people that are anxious. 50:09 "For all these things, 50:11 the nations of the world do," what? 50:13 "Seek after. 50:15 And your Father knows that you need these things." 50:20 Isn't that powerful? 50:22 He said... Look at the nations. 50:23 They want... What are we going to drink? 50:25 What are we going to eat? 50:27 And what are the... 50:28 Anxious, anxious, impatient. 50:34 When we go to Olive Garden, and it's crowded, 50:36 we go someplace else. 50:38 Thirty-five minute wait, I'm not that hungry. 50:41 I'm going someplace else. 50:43 And, you know, anxiety, 50:45 this world today, 50:46 we live in a pill popping society, anxiety. 50:50 And what the passage is really talking about 50:52 is we want everything said ahead of time 50:55 and we don't give God room to provide. 50:58 "What are we going to eat, what are we going to drink, 51:00 what are we going to wear?" 51:01 And we don't give God room to provide. 51:04 And what happens? We deal with, what? 51:06 Anxiety. 51:07 And by the way, anxiety is affecting every age group 51:12 because we live in a society 51:13 that you just have to click a button and it happens, 51:15 a nanosecond, you know? 51:17 So the question is, 51:19 "How did Jesus compare the children of the world 51:22 with the children of God?" 51:23 The children of the world are anxious. 51:26 The people of God are trusting, right? 51:30 The children of the world are anxious. 51:33 The children of God are trusting. 51:35 The children of the world are providing their own needs, 51:38 but the children of God has a Father 51:40 who provides their needs. 51:42 Can you imagine being raised in your house 51:43 and your dad just stays home? 51:47 And you say, "How are we going to eat? 51:48 Our dad is not working." 51:50 Is our dad working? 51:52 Come on. 51:54 He owns everything. 51:58 Since He owns everything, 52:02 we don't have to worry. 52:04 Now this next one. 52:08 Wow. 52:11 Question number 10... 52:16 "What is the highest indicator 52:19 that we believe God is our provider?" 52:22 What is the highest indicator 52:25 that we believe God is our provider? 52:32 Wow. 52:34 This is the highest indicator. 52:37 Okay, can we all read it together? 52:38 We all know it. It's the text. 52:40 Every time the clock in the car hits 6:33, 52:43 my wife always says 6:33. 52:45 6:33 is... 52:47 We know this, and 5:22 is our anniversary. 52:50 Okay, let's look together, 52:52 with some energy together, 52:53 "But seek first 52:55 the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 52:59 and all these things shall be added to you." 53:04 Right? How many things? 53:06 Every need you have. 53:08 He says, "You seek My kingdom and My righteousness, 53:12 and all these things shall be added to you." 53:15 If you only realize the amount of money today 53:17 that people are spending to just provide 53:18 their own needs. 53:20 Somebody... 53:23 The story fits right here. 53:25 Somebody talked about all the degrees they had, 53:28 and somebody else said, 53:29 "Well, how much did you pay for your degree?" 53:32 They said, "Around $255,000." 53:35 And the other guy responded, 53:37 "I didn't go to college. 53:40 And everything you have, I have." 53:42 So which one of us is smarter? 53:45 He said, "Before you answer that question, 53:48 who's providing your need?" 53:50 "Well, I got a job, I got an education, 53:51 I got a great salary." 53:53 Not a bad thing, 53:54 but don't put your accomplishments 53:59 ahead of your God. 54:01 Huge difference. 54:02 And that's what this text is all about. 54:05 "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 54:08 and all these things shall be added." 54:10 We must qualify ourselves and prepare ourselves, 54:13 but don't ever put your preparation 54:15 ahead of your God. 54:17 That's a dangerous thing 54:18 because can we hit one more real quickly? 54:21 The next text tells us why. 54:23 Let's go there. 54:24 Question number 11. 54:25 Got to get this. 54:27 "What is the attitude of those 54:28 that think they are the source of success?" 54:30 Deuteronomy 8:17, 54:32 Deuteronomy 8:17, "The attitude..." 54:35 And when you get a chance to read the whole, 54:38 read the whole of Deuteronomy chapter 8. 54:40 It's powerful. 54:41 It brings together 54:42 what happens to the children of Israel. 54:44 They had their houses, their lands, their possessions, 54:47 their properties, their wealth, their clothing, their food, 54:50 they had all these things, 54:52 and then look what happens. 54:54 Look what happens. 54:56 Deuteronomy 8:17. 54:58 The adage of those that think 55:00 that they are the source of success. 55:02 Deuteronomy 8:17, 55:04 look what the Bible says. 55:05 "Then you say in your heart," 55:08 what do they say, "My power, 55:10 and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth." 55:15 That's what they say. 55:16 He says when you get your houses 55:17 and you live in them, 55:19 your land, and you eat of it, 55:21 your crops, and you're blessed by it, 55:22 and then you say, "My hand, and my power, 55:26 and my might have gotten me this wealth." 55:29 Ain't that sad? 55:31 All the Lord has to do is just let your heart 55:35 pause for five seconds, 55:37 longer than it needs to, in the hospital. 55:40 All that possessions don't do anything. 55:41 I've never met anybody in the hospital that said, 55:44 "I wish I worked more." 55:47 I've never met a soul that said, 55:48 "I wish I had more stuff." 55:50 "I just want my health. 55:52 I just want my... 55:53 I'll give anything for my health." 55:55 Yeah, yeah. 55:58 Yeah. 55:59 "I need more time with my family. 56:01 I'll do anything to get my time with my family, 56:03 my health back, I'll do anything. 56:05 If I could get out of the hospital, 56:07 I'll go to church, I promise." 56:12 Your power and your might, 56:14 you've worked yourself, 56:15 and some people have strokes before their time 56:18 because they're working themselves into a stroke, 56:21 and their bodies can't handle 56:23 their tenacious desire to possess. 56:26 Let's hit the last one. 56:27 We're going to end on Deuteronomy 8:18. 56:30 Since you're already there, 56:31 what have many successful people forgotten? 56:33 Here it is, 56:34 what have many successful people forgotten? 56:37 Here it is. 56:38 Verse 18. 56:39 "And you shall remember the Lord, your God, 56:41 for it is He..." 56:44 Deuteronomy 8:18. 56:46 Thank you. 56:47 "You shall remember the Lord your God, 56:49 for it is He who gives you," what? 56:51 "Power to get wealth, 56:53 that He may establish His covenant, 56:56 which He swore to your fathers, 56:58 as it is this day." 57:01 God has covenanted to provide all of our need. 57:04 Amen somebody? 57:05 But He says, "Don't forget." 57:08 You shall remember something 57:10 that this society has forgotten 57:12 is they forgot to remember the Lord. 57:15 He's the one who blesses us 57:16 and gives us power to get wealth. 57:18 Isn't that a powerful thing? 57:19 You think you're the one that gets your success? 57:21 Get sick and see what happens. 57:24 All of a sudden, you have an accident 57:26 and see what happens. 57:27 Then all of a sudden, you're calling on the Lord. 57:30 My wife and I have testament to this sense. 57:32 We've been sick before, 57:34 but I'm going to say like David the Psalmist. 57:35 I'll transition tonight and end on this note. 57:39 This is confession. 57:41 I was young, now I'm old. 57:43 I've never seen the righteous forsaken, 57:45 nor they are seen begging for bread. 57:47 Can we say amen to that? 57:49 If you remember the source of our successes, 57:51 you never have to worry about your needs. 57:54 God will provide them far greater than you can. 57:57 Friends, if it doesn't make sense, 57:59 keep on studying. 58:00 One day, it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. 58:05 Let us pray. |
Revised 2019-05-23