Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190406A
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00:10 Father, God, we come humbly bowed
00:12 at the foot of the throne, 00:13 just thanking You for another day of life. 00:16 Lord, this morning we ask 00:17 that You give us a breakthrough, 00:19 a breakthrough in the way that we see You, 00:21 a breakthrough in the way 00:22 that we see this world around us. 00:25 Lord, a breakthrough in the way that we believe in You. 00:28 We ask that You invite... 00:31 We invite Your Holy Spirit to come and join us, 00:33 we invite Your angels to come and sing with and through us 00:36 as we praise You, as we honor You, 00:38 as we glorify Your name, we ask You 00:39 to be here in the midst as we worship You Lord, 00:42 and we ask that our worship and our praise be honorable. 00:46 We ask all these things in Your Son's precious name, 00:49 amen. 00:51 Good morning, church family. 00:54 It is a pleasure to be here with you this morning. 00:57 If some of you didn't know, 00:58 there is the worship and music conference 01:00 going on this weekend, and it has been a blast. 01:03 It's been so wonderful, and we've been able to share 01:06 in diversity, in our differences, 01:08 in music, and genres, and styles. 01:10 And this morning I want to share 01:12 with you a new song, the song is called "I Believe." 01:15 And so I invite you to stand on your feet 01:17 as we sing this song to God, I Believe, okay. 01:21 Because in the verse Luke 12:22, 01:24 it says, do not worry about what you will wear 01:28 or what you will do about your life, why? 01:30 Because we believe and we should believe 01:32 that God, our heavenly Father has a plan for your life. 01:36 So stand on your feet with me 01:38 and let's sing this song to our Lord and Father. 01:59 Jehovah, You 02:02 I trust, in You, Oh Lord 02:08 Jehovah, You 02:11 I trust, in You, I believe 02:17 I believe You 02:20 I trust, in You, Oh Lord 02:26 Jehovah, You 02:29 I trust, in You I believe, I believe 02:36 You are the God of miracles 02:40 You are the God of wonders 02:45 You are the God all powerful 02:49 I believe, I believe 02:53 I believe, I believe 02:59 I believe, I believe 03:05 Now, I need you guys to try this with me, 03:06 do you believe, do you'll hear it, 03:08 you know it now. 03:09 Try it. 03:10 Jehovah, You I trust I trust in You In You 03:16 Oh Lord Oh Lord, 03:19 Jehovah, You I trust 03:22 I trust, in You 03:26 Sing I believe. 03:27 I believe, I believe You 03:31 I trust in You In You 03:34 Oh Lord Oh Lord, 03:37 Jehovah, You I trust I trust, in You 03:44 Sing I. 03:45 I believe, I believe You are the God of miracles 03:51 You are the God of wonders 03:55 You are the God all powerful 03:59 I believe, I believe 04:04 I believe, I believe 04:10 I believe, I believe 04:16 Okay, this next part. 04:17 We're going to sing so long, bye bye to all of our fears, 04:20 all of our troubles. 04:22 If you're in college, bye bye to all those exams, right? 04:24 Okay, let's sing bye bye to my pain and my sorrow, 04:28 so long bye bye. 04:29 Here we go. 04:32 One time. 04:33 So long, bye bye 04:36 Wave your hands with me, so long. 04:38 So long, bye bye 04:40 I don't believe you, come on, take a look. 04:42 Goodbye to my pain And my sorrow 04:47 So long, bye bye 04:49 I know there are some kids out there. 04:51 So long, bye bye 04:54 Young at heart, believe God. 04:56 So long, bye bye 04:59 Yes! 05:00 Goodbye to my pain and my sorrow 05:03 So long So long, bye bye 05:07 So long, bye bye So long, bye bye 05:11 So long, bye bye So long, bye bye 05:15 Good bye, fear Bye Bye 05:17 You ain't welcome here Bye bye 05:20 Good bye pain Bye bye 05:22 In Jesus' name Bye bye 05:24 So long, bye bye 05:28 So long, bye bye 05:32 Goodbye to my pain and my sorrow 05:36 So long, so long, bye bye 05:39 One more time. 05:41 So long, bye bye 05:45 So long, bye bye 05:50 Goodbye to my pain and my sorrow 05:54 So long, bye bye 05:56 You are the God... 05:58 You are the God of miracles You are the God of 06:02 You are the God of wonders 06:07 You are the God all powerful 06:10 I believe, I believe 06:14 I believe, I believe 06:21 I believe, I believe 06:34 Amen. Amen. 06:36 And because we believe we have 10,000 reasons to sing, 06:40 praise, and honor, and glory to God, 06:42 and I know you know this song, 06:44 so let bless the Lord with our voices, 06:46 and with our souls, and with our hearts, okay? 06:57 He's worthy to be praised. 07:03 Bless the Lord, oh my soul Oh my soul 07:09 Worship His holy name 07:15 Sing like never before Oh my soul 07:21 I'll worship Your holy name 07:27 The sun comes up It's a new day dawning 07:34 It's time to sing Your song again 07:39 Whatever may pass 07:42 And whatever lies before me 07:47 Let me be singing When the evening comes 07:56 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 08:00 Oh my soul 08:03 Worship His holy name 08:08 Sing like never before Oh my soul 08:14 I'll worship Your holy name 08:20 You're rich in love And You're slow to anger 08:27 Your name is great And Your heart is kind 08:32 For all Your goodness 08:35 I will keep on singing 08:40 Ten thousand reasons For my heart to find 08:45 Sing bless. 08:48 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 08:52 Oh my soul 08:55 Worship His holy name 09:00 Sing like never before Oh my soul 09:06 I'll worship Your holy name 09:12 And on that day When my strength is failing 09:19 The end draws near And my time has come 09:24 Still my soul will sing Your praise unending 09:32 Ten thousand years And then forevermore 09:41 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 09:45 Oh my soul Worship His holy name 09:53 Sing like never before Oh my soul 09:59 I'll worship Your holy name 10:05 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 10:08 Oh my soul Worship His holy name 10:16 Sing like never before Oh my soul 10:23 I'll worship Your holy name 10:28 I'll worship Your holy name 10:34 Yes, I'll worship Your holy name 10:52 You know, even though, 10:55 we are able to bless the Lord, 10:58 and we're able to praise Him, 11:00 for we already know what He is going to do for us. 11:02 Doesn't mean that we don't fall short 11:04 and lack a faith sometimes, 11:06 and doesn't mean that our hearts aren't hurting, 11:07 it doesn't mean that we aren't human, 11:10 but in our humanness we can still cry out 11:12 and come before the altar, to seek our Father, 11:15 and that's what He asks us to do. 11:17 Just come and talk to me, 11:18 and so that I'm inviting you to do here in this song, 11:21 I know that this is one we sing often, 11:23 but really think about the words 11:25 and know that God is calling you to the altar, 11:27 He doesn't want to be far from you. 11:28 He won't force you. 11:30 So you have come voluntarily. 11:32 So sing with me. 11:37 Are you hurting and broken within 11:42 Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin 11:47 Jesus is calling 11:52 Have you come to the end of yourself 11:57 Do you thirst for a drink from the well 12:02 Jesus is calling 12:09 O come to the altar 12:14 The Father's arms are open wide 12:18 Forgiveness was bought 12:22 with The precious blood of Jesus Christ 12:34 Leave behind... 12:38 Leave behind your regrets and mistakes 12:43 Come today, there's no reason to wait 12:47 Jesus is calling 12:53 Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy 12:58 From the ashes, a new life is born 13:02 Jesus is calling 13:09 O come to the altar 13:14 The Father's arms are open wide 13:18 Forgiveness was bought with 13:23 The precious blood of Jesus Christ 13:28 O come to the altar 13:32 The Father's arms are open wide 13:37 Forgiveness was bought with 13:42 The precious blood of Jesus Christ 13:54 You're already down here. 13:56 You're already ready to lay off your burdens 13:58 before the Lord, so just sing out with me, 14:01 what a wonderful, what a glorious, 14:03 what a marvelous Savior He is. 14:11 Oh what a Savior 14:15 Isn't He wonderful 14:20 Sing alleluia, 14:24 Christ is risen 14:30 Bow down before Him 14:34 For He is Lord of all 14:39 Sing alleluia, 14:42 Christ is risen 14:48 Oh what a Savior 14:53 Isn't He wonderful 14:57 Sing alleluia 15:01 Christ is risen 15:07 Bow down before Him 15:11 For He is Lord of all 15:16 Sing alleluia 15:19 Christ is risen 15:27 O come to the altar 15:31 The Father's arms are open wide 15:36 Forgiveness was bought with 15:40 The precious blood of Jesus Christ 15:45 O come to the altar 15:49 The Father's arms are open wide 15:54 Forgiveness was bought with 15:59 The precious blood of Jesus Christ 16:14 Bear your cross as You wait for the crown 16:19 Tell the world of the treasure You've found 16:29 Well, happy first Sabbath of April boys and girls. 16:32 Nice to see you. 16:34 You're looking very springy today. 16:36 You know, spring came between the beginning and end 16:38 of first service today. 16:40 That's what's so cool. 16:41 It just came right in 16:42 because it was cold when I came this morning 16:44 and then went out during the break 16:46 and ooh, nice to have you. 16:49 Glad you're here. 16:50 Okay, so today's stories comes from one of my story scouts. 16:53 Her name is Sharon Dujon. 16:54 She's the manager director of WAUS. 16:58 Comes from North Carolina, Claremont, North Carolina. 17:01 Anybody here from North Carolina? 17:02 Okay, here it is. 17:04 It's about a pit bull. 17:06 You know what a pit bull looks like. 17:07 Let's put a pit bull on the screen right now. 17:09 That's not the actual pit bull, 17:10 but let's see if we can get it on the screen here. 17:12 Yeah. 17:14 Oh-oh, yeah, that's a pit bull. 17:16 Yep. 17:18 And the pit bull's name is Rocky. 17:22 So Rocky is out in his yard one evening 17:25 just a few days ago. 17:28 When along comes, 17:29 let's see the next guest please. 17:31 Oh, do you know what that is? 17:34 That is an opossum or we just call him possum. 17:38 You know those possums. And guess what? 17:40 The moment Rocky saw the possum, 17:42 what do you think Rocky did? 17:44 I'm out of here. 17:45 He is straight for that possum. 17:47 And what do you think the possum did? 17:49 I'm out of here. 17:51 And he is running as fast as he can. 17:53 And that pit bull is coming faster and faster. 17:54 And the possum sees, oh, here comes a pipe. 17:57 Here comes an underground pipe. 17:59 I'm going in. 18:00 There went the possum. 18:02 Goodbye, Rocky. 18:04 Rocky comes, no way. 18:06 Now, the pipe is only a foot tall 18:08 and he's two feet tall. 18:10 That means he's gonna have to be on his belly, 18:11 but he gets down in his belly. 18:19 When his owner came out, Hey, Rocky, way. 18:22 Yo, Rocky, where are you? 18:24 No answer. 18:25 Wait a minute, 18:26 did I hear something like barking far away. 18:28 The owner began to walk up and down. 18:30 He walked away from the house. 18:31 And suddenly it sounds like 18:32 it's coming from under the ground, barking. 18:34 I wonder if that's Rocky, 18:36 calls 911, the fire engines come 18:38 and they begin to. 18:39 Is it Rocky? They look in the hole. 18:42 Hey, listen, he's in there. 18:44 Rocky was 100 feet into the pipe and he's stuck. 18:49 And they don't know where he is so they're seeing right here, 18:51 shall we cut it right here? No, he's not there. 18:53 How about right here? Nope, not there. 18:54 How about over here? No. 18:56 Finally they get 100 feet down, and they cut it open. 19:00 There is Rocky, they can tell, they can hear him. 19:03 In fact, let's put a picture of Rocky on the screen. 19:06 Can you see Rocky? 19:08 They've cut the plastic pipe 19:10 because fortunately he is in a plastic pipe. 19:12 And there he is trying to get out. 19:14 Good news, he got out. 19:16 Hallelujah! 19:17 Rocky got saved. 19:19 You know, sometimes when we chase something 19:21 that we're not supposed to be chasing, 19:23 we can get stuck. 19:24 You know what Jesus says, don't chase money. 19:26 Jesus says, don't chase money. 19:28 But if Jesus were talking, 19:29 telling the children story right now, 19:31 He'd say, Hey, boys and girls, don't chase toys. 19:33 I don't need you to chase toys 19:34 because we always have to have the next toy. 19:36 We see a toy at school. 19:37 Our friend has a toy. The neighbor has a toy. 19:39 Mommy, Daddy, I have to have more toys. 19:41 You already have 400. 19:42 I have to have this one. 19:44 Don't chase toys, you'll get stuck. 19:47 And it could mean your life. 19:51 I am so glad that even when we get stuck, 19:54 Jesus knows where we're stuck. 19:55 And you know what He does? 19:56 Electric saw... 19:58 He can open up that place 19:59 where we're stuck and set us free. 20:01 But you know as soon as He sets us free, 20:02 He says the same thing they said to Rocky. 20:04 Don't you ever go chasing possums again? 20:06 Do you hear me? 20:09 That's what he'll say, don't keep chasing that money. 20:12 It'll kill you. 20:13 Oh, Jesus, thank you for finding us 20:17 and getting us set free. 20:20 Who wants to thank Jesus for being our set free Lord? 20:24 Let's just thank Jesus for being our set free Lord. 20:28 Show. 20:29 What's your first name? 20:30 Sam. 20:32 Would you please close your eyes 20:33 and fold your hands as Sam is going to thank Jesus 20:37 for being our set free Lord, Sam? 20:40 Dear Jesus, thank You that You're here with us. 20:43 And please bless us and that the Sabbath is here 20:47 and that the Sabbath is the best day ever, 20:50 and that You're here with us. 20:53 And then all the kids are here. 20:57 And that Pastor Dwight is safe, 21:01 and he's lead us all on, and helped, healed. 21:06 We love you. Amen. 21:07 Amen. Thank you, Sam. 21:08 That was a precious prayer. 21:10 All right, as Sam just said 21:11 as you're going back to your heart 21:12 and you're going back to mom and dad, 21:14 you say thank You, Jesus. 21:19 Ride on, King Jesus 21:24 No man can a-hinder me 21:30 Ride on, ride on 21:34 Ride on, King Jesus 21:39 No man can a-hinder me 21:43 Ride on, King Jesus, ride on 21:47 No man can a-hinder me 21:52 He is King, He is Lord 21:57 Jesus Christ, the first and last 21:59 No man works like Him 22:01 He is King, He is Lord 22:05 Jesus Christ, the first and last 22:07 No man works like Him 22:09 Oh, ride on, King Jesus 22:14 No man can a-hinder me 22:19 Ride on, King Jesus, ride on 22:23 No man can a-hinder me 22:27 Jesus Christ, the first and last 22:30 No man works like him 22:32 Oh, ride on, King Jesus No man works like Him 22:36 King Jesus rides a milk white horse 22:38 No man works like Him 22:41 Because there're sins from everywhere 22:43 No man works like Him 22:47 Oh, ride on, King Jesus 22:52 No man can a-hinder me 22:57 Ride on, King Jesus, ride on 23:01 No man can a-hinder me 23:06 Ride on, ride on 23:10 Ride on, King Jesus, ride on 23:15 No man can a-hinder me 23:19 Ride on, King Jesus, ride on 23:24 No man can a-hinder me 23:28 Ride on, ride on 23:32 Ride on, ride on 23:37 Ride on, ride on 23:41 Ride on, ride on 23:46 Ride on, in Jesus 23:50 Ride on, ride on 23:55 Ride on, ride on 23:58 Ride on 24:03 Ride 24:06 On 24:12 Amen! 24:17 Thank you, Sanctuary Choir for that track. 24:20 That was beautiful. 24:22 Ride on, right on. 24:26 It's actually ride on. 24:29 You can say ride on of Jesus as well. 24:31 Ride on. 24:33 Do you a picture of Him coming to you on a big white horse, 24:36 saying, I just, I know you'll need me 24:38 and I happen to show up. 24:39 Sometimes I imagine that when I'm praying 24:41 that He shows up on a big white horse. 24:44 And I'm here to help you. 24:46 I heard you. 24:48 Be at peace. 24:50 Ride on. 24:51 Let's pray. 24:53 Oh, Jesus ride on, just keep riding. 24:57 Hold us close, take us with You 24:58 wherever You're going till You come. 25:01 And this teaching, it's your teaching. 25:06 We're asking you please for Your mighty spirit 25:10 to make it clear to us. 25:12 In your name we pray, amen. 25:16 Let's share three short stories. 25:17 All right, short story number one, 25:19 here it comes. 25:20 I was talking with a friend of mine 25:22 who lives somewhere else in this country. 25:26 The other day, I've known her for quite some time. 25:30 A friend, by the way, who has done very well 25:33 if I might say. 25:36 Yeah. 25:38 Beautiful family. 25:40 Great job pulling in figures that I know nothing about. 25:45 I mean nobody in her house... 25:47 Seriously nobody in her house 25:48 goes walking through the house saying, 25:50 if I were a rich man. 25:56 Nobody, nobody does it, why? 25:57 They're already rich. 25:59 Why would you hum that song? 26:01 Beautiful wife, beautiful mother, 26:04 beautiful professional. 26:06 But she got a hold of me the other day. 26:10 I wish you'd pray for me. 26:14 Responsibilities in my life right now 26:16 are so hard to handle 26:18 but especially she went on, 26:20 the uncontrollable responsibilities 26:22 that come when you choose 26:24 to live a certain standard of living. 26:28 And then and words are just tugged 26:30 at this little pastor's heart. 26:35 I wish I could be back at Andrews in my dorm room 26:38 and have a talk with myself. 26:44 I'm sorry you can't go back, 26:48 but you very well may have an important talk with yourself 26:53 because guess what, girl? 26:56 You're not alone, 26:58 what you just said has been echoed 26:59 by thousands across this country right now. 27:02 Take the Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, 27:05 Charles Duhigg, 27:08 wrote a piece in January, 27:09 my friend Milkie Panaise spotted and send it to me, 27:12 oh, my. 27:14 I want to share, this is a story number two now. 27:16 I want to share a few lines from that piece. 27:19 Here's how it begins. 27:21 My first charmed week as a student 27:24 at Harvard Business School turns out. 27:27 Enrolled at Harvard University, he's an MBA student. 27:31 He goes to their 15th year class reunion 27:35 and now is going to write about that reunion. 27:37 Okay. 27:38 But anyway, my first week as a student 27:40 at Harvard Business School late in the summer of 2001, 27:42 it felt like a halcyon time for capitalism. 27:44 At the time for the 895 of us first yearers, 27:49 preparing ourselves for business moguldom, 27:51 what really excited us was our good luck. 27:54 A Harvard MBA seemed like a winning lottery ticket, 27:57 a gilded highway to world changing influence, 28:00 fantastic wealth, 28:01 and if those self-satisfied portraits 28:03 that lined the hallways were any indication, 28:06 a lifetime of deeply meaningful work. 28:09 Yeah! 28:11 So it came as a bit of a shock. 28:13 Here we go. 28:14 When I attended my 15th reunion last summer, just last summer 28:18 to learn how many of my former classmates 28:20 weren't enjoyed, or enjoyed, 28:23 enjoying their professional lives. 28:24 In fact, they were miserable. 28:26 I heard about one fellow alum who had run a large hedge fund 28:29 until being sued by investors 28:30 who also happened to be the fund manager's relatives. 28:34 Another person had risen to a senior role 28:36 inside one of the nation's most prestigious companies 28:40 before being savagely pushed out by corporate politics. 28:45 Another had learned in the maternity ward 28:47 that her firm was being stolen by a conniving partner. 28:52 Now look at, those are extreme examples. 28:54 Of course, most of us were living relatively normal, 28:56 basically content lines. 28:58 But even among my more sanguine classmates, 29:01 there was a lingering sense of professional disappointment. 29:05 They talked about missed promotions, 29:07 disaffected children, 29:08 billable hours in divorce court. 29:11 They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, 29:13 tedious or just plain bad. 29:15 One classmate described 29:17 having to invest $5 million a day 29:19 which didn't sound terrible, until he explained 29:22 that if he put only $4 million to work on Monday, 29:25 he had to scramble to place $6 million on Tuesday, 29:29 and his co-workers 29:31 were constantly undermining one another 29:32 in search of the next promotion. 29:34 It was insanely stressful work, 29:36 done among people he didn't particularly like. 29:40 He earned about $1.2 million a year 29:44 and hated going to the office. 29:49 "I feel like I'm wasting my life," he told me. 29:51 "When I die, is anyone going to care 29:54 that I earned an extra percentage point of return? 29:57 My work feel so totally meaningless." 30:01 He recognized the incredible privilege 30:02 of his pay and status, but his anguish seemed genuine. 30:06 He goes on, 30:08 "If you spend 12 hours a day doing work you hate, 30:10 at some point it doesn't matter what your paycheck says," 30:14 he told me. 30:18 Charles Duhigg commenting, 30:20 "There's no magic salary 30:21 at which a bad job becomes good. 30:23 He had received an offer to start-up, 30:25 and he would have loved to take it, 30:26 but it paid half as much, 30:28 and he felt locked into a lifestyle 30:29 that made this pay cut impossible. 30:31 "My wife laughed when I told her about it," 30:34 he said to me. 30:36 And the story, title of the piece. 30:39 Here it is, wealthy, successful, and miserable. 30:45 So which one is it if I were rich man, 30:51 or wealthy, successful, and miserable. 30:55 Story number three. 30:57 Once upon a time, there was a man 30:58 who did very well with his investments. 31:02 Jesus told a story about him. 31:04 And we're going to track this story 31:05 because it's one of those wow stories. 31:07 Open your Bible with me 31:08 to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 12. 31:10 Luke Chapter 12. 31:14 Jesus' story about this investor, 31:17 agrarian investor. 31:20 Here we go, Luke Chapter 12. 31:21 You don't have a Bible, 31:23 it's too dark where you're sitting, 31:24 that'll be on the screen. 31:25 These lights, is it. 31:30 This is the next four weeks. 31:33 And then we move out. 31:35 We'll be back. 31:36 We'll be back at the end of summer, 31:38 you gonna love it when you come back. 31:39 All right, this is Luke Chapter 12. 31:41 I'm in the NIV, did I tell you that, verse 16. 31:43 "And Jesus told them this parable:" 31:45 They're the words on the screen. 31:46 "The ground of a certain rich man 31:49 yielded an abundant harvest." 31:52 Wow! 31:54 You should have seen it. 31:55 That huge green John Deere Combine 31:59 is just chewing up the back 40 like it's going out of style. 32:03 And every truck he could ret 32:05 is pulling under that huge spout 32:07 that is shooting down yellow gold, green. 32:12 Next truck, please. Next truck. 32:14 At the end of the day, 32:16 there's so many rental trucks in the farmyard. 32:18 there's not room for one more. 32:20 Oh, man, that night. 32:23 This farmer sat down at his mahogany desk. 32:28 That trusted old adding machine 32:30 that's been his all these years. 32:32 He says, let me just calculate the numbers. 32:35 And as he's running his fingers, 32:36 and let me try that again. 32:37 As he's running his fingers, he's realizing 32:39 I have more cubic yards of golden green 32:42 than I have cubic space of silos. 32:45 What am I going to do? 32:47 Verse 17, "And so he thought to himself, 32:50 'What shall I do? 32:51 I have no place to store my crops.' 32:54 Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. 32:58 I will tear down my barns and I will build bigger ones, 33:01 and there I will store my surplus grain." 33:03 Yes, indeed, that's what I'm going to do. 33:06 He has no clue, of course, there's you and I do 33:09 overhearing the story. 33:11 He has no clue that he's using the first, 33:14 the first person singular, 33:16 possessive pronoun, my, my, my, it's on his lips. 33:20 Now, we can't fault him. 33:22 This is his grain. 33:23 It was his farm. 33:25 Let's not be too hard on the man. 33:27 But Jesus is telling us something about him. 33:31 Let's read verse 18 again. 33:37 "Then he said to himself, 'This is what I'll do. 33:40 I'll tear down my barns, and I'll build bigger ones. 33:43 Yes, I will, and there I will store my surplus grain. 33:45 And I'll say to myself, 33:48 'You have plenty of grain laid up for many years." 33:51 Take it easy boy. 33:52 "Eat, drink and be" what? 33:55 "Just be merry." 33:57 Hallelujah. 34:00 Late that night, 34:01 after crunching the numbers for the sixth time 34:05 to make sure they're right. 34:07 Man goes up the rickety stairs, 34:09 crawls into bed with the slumbering wife 34:11 and he is feeling so good. 34:14 He just starts humming if I were rich man... 34:22 Yes, and he drifts off to sleep. 34:25 While he's snoring, 34:28 the curtains at his window stand stiff. 34:33 When all of a sudden, 34:35 those stiff curtains begin to mysteriously tremble. 34:39 And as they tremble, they seem to part 34:41 and coming on a midnight breeze 34:43 is the presence that fills that dark space. 34:46 The presence has a voice. 34:49 And the voice speaks to the slumbering man, 34:51 verse 20. 34:54 "But God said to him, 'You fool! 34:58 This very night 35:00 your life will be demanded from you. 35:02 Then who will get 35:04 what you have prepared for yourself?' 35:06 " And with that pronouncement the man jerks, awake. 35:09 He clutches his chest 35:11 and before he can awaken his wife, 35:14 he's dead. 35:17 The end! 35:19 Wow! 35:22 Why would Jesus tell such a somber, scary story? 35:26 Turns out that the punch line to all three of these stories 35:29 is this very same punch line. 35:32 The punch line about this alum 35:34 who's feeling very overwhelmed these days 35:36 over the price tag of her success. 35:39 The punch line to the 15th year class reunion 35:41 of Harvard MBAs 35:42 and the punch line to the suddenly rich farmer, 35:45 interestingly and very raring, rarely 35:48 does Jesus not only include a headline to a parable, 35:52 but a tagline. 35:54 And when you take the headline and the tagline 35:57 and you put them together, you get the punch line. 36:01 Let's check them out. Grab your study guide. 36:02 Come on, senior worship bulletin, 36:04 pull your study guide out right now. 36:05 While you're doing that, we'll put it on the screen 36:07 for those who are watching at this moment. 36:10 It's a little series, a little mini series called, 36:12 "How to survive the coming economic crisis." 36:14 This is part two, part one, 36:16 it's already there on the website. 36:18 Part two, "If I were a rich man." 36:20 You look for the word study guide. 36:21 The two word study guide. 36:23 Click on there, you'll have the same study guide as us. 36:25 You want to get the headline, the tagline and the punch line. 36:30 Let's get the headline 36:31 because we haven't even read it yet. 36:33 It's what leads into the story. 36:35 So go up to verse 13, this is Luke 12:13, 36:37 "Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, 36:39 'Teacher, tell my brother 36:41 to divide the inheritance with me.'" 36:44 I want to tell you something. 36:45 Jesus is very smart here. 36:47 You never want to get in the middle of a food fight 36:51 called the battle over inheritance. 36:53 You can't win, stay out of it. 36:56 And Jesus is very bright and He does. 36:59 So "Jesus replies," verse 14, 37:01 'Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?' 37:05 Then he said to everybody in the crowed, 37:07 'Watch out! 37:08 Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, 37:11 for life does not consist 37:13 in an abundance of possessions.'" 37:15 Jot that down, that's a headline, jot it down. 37:18 There it is in your study guide, 37:19 headline, "Watch out! 37:21 Be on your guard against all kinds of greed." 37:26 Hit the pause button right there 37:27 'cause I hate that word greed. 37:29 I hate that word greed, don't you? 37:31 Greed feels yuck, it feels dirty. 37:33 A greed feels like, give me, give me, give me, 37:36 give me, give me, give me, give me. 37:38 Guess what? You know what greed it? 37:40 Give me, give me, give me, give me, give me. 37:41 It is that. 37:43 In fact, here's a definition from a dictionary, 37:45 "Intense selfish desire for something, 37:47 especially wealth, power, and food." 37:51 Greed! 37:54 Watch out! 37:56 Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. 37:58 But the headline continues. 37:59 Keep your pen moving. 38:00 Here's the second half of it. 38:02 "For life does not consist 38:04 in an abundance of possessions." 38:07 Ladies and gentlemen, please note 38:09 that Jesus is not instructing us 38:11 that life doesn't consist of possessions, 38:12 of course we have possessions. 38:14 You have and I have, it's a sin to have possessions, 38:16 but life does not consist in the abundance, 38:20 this accumulating, this accumulating, 38:23 no, it doesn't. 38:26 The key word is abundance that you just scribbled in. 38:30 There's a website, believe it not, 38:31 a website entitled "Happify." 38:34 Now, here's how I spell it, H-A-P-P-I-F-Y. 38:38 Happify.com. 38:40 And at that website 'cause they're dealing with, 38:41 there's a whole discipline today by the way 38:43 in the academy called the Economics of Happiness. 38:48 The scientists are now studying happiness. 38:49 We're running out of it so fast that they're going to find out 38:52 what do we do to hold on to this, okay. 38:55 So at happify.com, 38:57 you have it in your study guide. 38:58 Jot this down, fascinating to me. 39:01 Another happiness factor, 39:02 that's all they talk about is happiness. 39:04 "Another happiness factor 39:05 is what positive psychologists," 39:08 that's a realm of psychology, 39:09 refer to as the," jot it down, "hedonic treadmill." 39:14 Now, hedonic means, you know, hedonism is pleasure seeking. 39:18 So it's called the hedonic treadmill. 39:21 What about he's talking about. 39:22 Well, keep reading, 39:23 "Through the same process of habituation," 39:26 a lot of big words here, 39:28 I didn't even know what that word meant, 39:29 I had to look it up. 39:31 But it's a psychological term. 39:32 And here's what, and I've put in brackets for you. 39:33 What is habituation mean? 39:35 It means a decrease in our response to a stimulus 39:37 after being repeatedly exposed to it. 39:39 That's what a drug addicts experiences. 39:41 So one time, oh, that's a great high, 39:43 but the second time not quite as high, 39:45 but third time not quite as high. 39:46 So what does the drug addict do? 39:48 He has to keep upping the dose. 39:51 Pleasure, hedonic treadmill, upping the dose. 39:55 We do that when we accumulate things. 39:58 This is the point they're making, 39:59 in fact, keep reading. 40:00 "Through the same happening process of habituation, 40:03 the happiness associated with a new purchase, 40:06 a new job, or a new house soon fades. 40:09 Trying to recapture and retain feelings 40:11 of excitement and happiness 40:13 results in the pursuit of more new things, 40:15 which becomes a never-ending task, 40:17 like being on a continuous treadmill." 40:20 You got to keep buying more, 40:22 and more, and more to get the same high. 40:26 Hedonic treadmill. 40:30 Welcome to the third millennium. 40:32 We're all on it. 40:34 We have to have more. 40:36 I just have to have more. 40:39 Like little rats, 40:41 we keep running, and running, and running 40:42 after the next new possession, the next new pay increase, 40:44 the next new pleasure, the hedonic treadmill. 40:46 That's what Jesus is talking about right here. 40:48 Read verse 15 again, 40:50 "Then he said to them, 'Watch out! 40:52 Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, 40:55 life does not consist 40:56 in an abundance of possessions." 40:59 It's this hedonic treadmill that Jesus is warning us about, 41:02 stay away from it. 41:04 In fact, let me tell you a story about a farmer 41:05 once who had a great crop. 41:10 And he sets up his story with that headline. 41:12 So that's the headline. 41:14 Now we got to get the tagline, 41:15 because if you put the headline and the tagline together, 41:17 you get the punch line. 41:18 So what's the tagline? 41:20 Well, let's drop down to the end of the story. 41:21 We'll read the last line of the story one more time. 41:23 Verse 20, "But God said to him, 'You fool!'" 41:26 It's the only place in all the scripture 41:27 where God calls a man a fool. 41:30 "You fool! 41:32 This very night 41:33 your life will be demanded from you. 41:35 Then who will get 41:36 what you have prepared for yourself?" 41:38 Now here it comes. 41:39 "This, Jesus says, is how it will be 41:41 with whoever stores up things for themselves 41:44 but is not," how does that line end. 41:47 Is not what? 41:48 Rich. Come on. 41:50 How does it end, rich toward whom? 41:53 "Rich toward God?" 41:54 Did you jot that down please, tagline "This is how it will be 41:58 with whoever stores up things for themselves." 42:01 It's not wrong to store up things 42:02 because I'm going to give it away to the neighborhood, 42:04 I'm going to send it to ADRA. 42:05 It's not wrong to store up things 42:06 but if it's all for yourself, it's wrong. 42:09 You're being rich toward yourself 42:10 when you, in fact, Jesus says, 42:12 "You need to be rich toward God." 42:16 My! 42:19 Rich toward God. 42:21 Are you serious, Jesus? 42:23 Listen, how could I possibly be rich toward God 42:26 when I can't even be rich toward me. 42:30 Let me give you another website, 42:32 Investopedia, 42:33 a website that deals with investments and investing. 42:37 In February, it ran a most interesting analysis. 42:39 Get in all of these, it's in your study guide. 42:41 According to the Credit Suisse, that's this giant 42:45 International Bank in Switzerland. 42:49 They put out a Global Wealth Report 2018. 42:51 According to that report, 42:53 the top 1%, so write that number in. 42:54 The top 1% of adults 42:56 account for more than 47% of household wealth globally. 43:00 Now this raises an interesting question: 43:02 Who exactly are the 1% worldwide? 43:06 The surprising answer: If you're an American... 43:09 Now, somebody of you're saying, 43:10 "Look it, Dwight, I'm not an American, okay?" 43:12 So get over it. 43:13 Know, if you're living in America, 43:15 that's exactly what it means. 43:16 If you're living in America 43:17 and you're living like an American and you are, 43:20 if you're an American, watch this. 43:22 You don't have to even be close 43:24 to being uber-rich to make the list 43:26 and income of $32,400 annual income. 43:31 $32,400 a year will allow you to make the cut. 43:35 So if you're an accountant, some of you are, 43:38 if you're a registered nurse, married to one, 43:40 or even an elementary school teacher, 43:43 congratulations. 43:44 The average wage for any of these careers 43:46 falls well within the top 1% worldwide." 43:53 My! 43:54 It turns out, we were richer than we thought. 44:00 Are we? 44:01 Yeah. 44:03 But the reason we're up in that 1%. 44:06 The article goes on to note, is because 44:10 of the extreme poverty on this planet. 44:15 And because everybody else is so low, 44:20 it makes us look high. 44:23 We got to carry that world on our hearts 44:25 a little more than we do. 44:27 Don't you think? 44:30 We're rich. 44:32 But it isn't that we're so rich that they're so poor. 44:35 But when Jesus, when Jesus commands us, 44:38 I want you to be rich toward God. 44:40 He isn't commanding a certain level of earning. 44:42 No, no, no, He's calling us to a certain level of giving. 44:45 This is all about giving. 44:46 In fact, jot this down. 44:47 Let's put the headline and tagline together. 44:49 When you combine the headline in his parable 44:51 with the tagline of his parable, 44:53 you very quickly come to his punch line, 44:55 one word, write it in, Give! 44:59 That's the punch line. 45:02 Give! 45:06 We kind of knew that was coming, didn't we? 45:08 What's the big deal about giving? 45:09 I'll tell you. 45:10 I've never read anywhere in literature 45:12 a more prescient description of the benefits of giving 45:15 than what you're about to read. 45:17 Ed Gungor in his book, 45:18 Religiously Transmitted Diseases. 45:24 He writes about giving. 45:25 You have it in your study guy. 45:27 "Giving touches a nerve in us that nothing else does." 45:33 It's the most sensitive nerve you have. 45:35 I've had people come up to me and say, 45:37 "Dwight, don't you ever preach about money again 45:38 or we're leaving?" 45:42 Why? 45:43 Because that nerve is so sensitive. 45:46 It immediately goes into toxic reaction. 45:52 "Giving touches a nerve in us that nothing else does. 45:54 We look a lot like God." Here's the good news. 45:56 "We look a lot like God when we do it." 45:58 John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He did" what? 46:01 "That He gave." 46:02 We look like God when we do it. 46:04 When you give, keep your pen moving, 46:06 you defy the fear. 46:08 And we all have this fear 46:09 that you won't have enough someday. 46:11 When you come to retirement, I'm not gonna have enough. 46:13 When you come to getting out of college, 46:15 I'm not gonna have enough. 46:16 When you come to having a baby, I'm not gonna have enough. 46:19 That's the fear that keeps needling us. 46:24 Don't give, don't give, hey, on girl, 46:26 boy, hang on to this, you're going to need this. 46:29 When you give, you defy the fear 46:32 that you won't have enough, you insult greed. 46:35 There's that dirty word, "You insult greed, the impulse 46:38 to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves. 46:43 If you really believe that God owns it all 46:45 and then He is your source and provider, 46:48 giving will be a simple matter. 46:50 The arena of giving is the only place 46:53 where exactly what's going on in Dwight's heart 46:55 is being revealed." 46:57 God says to Gabriel, 46:58 "Hey, Gabriel, find out how much the boys given, huh? 47:00 And then tell me." 47:02 That number that he comes up with will tell me 47:05 the spiritual condition of Dwight's heart. 47:10 I'm sorry, but it's red hot. 47:13 And inst Dwight because the nerve 47:15 from giving go straight to your heart. 47:20 It's a very sensitive nerve. 47:22 Oh, but the last line is even better. 47:24 "According to Jesus, 47:26 giving keeps your heart in motion toward God, 47:29 and away from material things. 47:31 Your heart will follow the direction of your giving." 47:35 That's why the headline and the tagline 47:37 of this parable when you join them together, 47:38 they compose, give, give. 47:44 Please give Jesus says. 47:48 And when Jesus breaths just a few moments 47:49 after He ends this little story. 47:53 Profoundly makes the point 47:54 and this is so tender, I love this. 47:55 Just drop down. Now, he's talking. 47:57 Verse 22 says, He's only talking to His disciples. 47:59 It's just the people that are really close to Him. 48:01 All right, so that'd be you and me. 48:03 Luke 12:32, 48:06 "Do not be afraid, little flock," 48:08 Oh, I love that. That's a good shepherd. 48:10 That's a good shepherd saying hey, sheepies, hey, sheepies, 48:12 you, sheepies who follow me. 48:16 You're my homeboy, you're my homegirl, 48:20 you found me. 48:22 Do not be afraid, little flock. 48:23 I know this can cause fear 48:25 when you deal with this subject, 48:26 don't be afraid, 48:28 for your father has been pleased 48:29 to give you the kingdom. 48:30 You already have the kingdom. 48:32 It's not like you earned the kingdom 48:33 by giving a certain amount 48:34 and then, okay, let him in. 48:36 Come on, he really did well, that was a good gift. 48:37 You just got it. No, it's not that... 48:38 You already have the kingdom, you have everything. 48:42 Hmm. 48:43 So what should I do Lord? 48:44 Verse 33, 48:46 "Sell your possessions 48:49 and give to the poor. 48:52 Provide purses, and wallets, and portfolios 48:55 and checking accounts for yourselves 48:57 that will not wear out, 48:58 a treasure in heaven that will never fail 49:01 where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 49:04 For where your treasure... 49:06 Let's read this one out loud together. 49:07 We've known this since Sabbath school days. 49:08 Let's do it out loud together. 49:10 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 49:14 So give, give, give. 49:20 I said like, I said if there's a... 49:21 Can we make this hurt anymore? 49:23 Gabriel, what should I be doing? 49:24 Really tightening the screws here. 49:26 No, that's not it at all. 49:30 When you're rich toward God, your heart... 49:32 Look at this. 49:34 When you're rich toward God, 49:35 your heart is like this with Him. 49:36 You know why? 49:38 Because God's already a giver, 49:39 He's the biggest giver in the whole universe. 49:41 So when you give, you and God go like this. 49:42 He said, man we're this, you and me. 49:46 Why? 49:47 Because he said bank of heaven, I gave it all. 49:50 Have given you everything you have with joy. 49:53 I'm asking for everything you have 49:54 back to Me with gratitude. 49:57 Is that a switch, is that fair enough? 49:59 Fair enough. 50:00 We're gonna be like this, you understand that, 50:01 we're gonna be like this, you and me. 50:03 When you give, be just like God. 50:05 He loves? 50:06 Of course, He loves it Why wouldn't He? 50:09 How do I give Jesus? 50:10 Well, give to the poor who're all around you. 50:12 Come on, you got eyes, use them, give to the poor. 50:14 Yeah, but Jesus, what about, 50:16 what else, the needs that are in front of you, 50:18 there'll be needs all around you, 50:19 just give, just keep giving, you be like me. 50:23 Yeah, I don't know. 50:25 Dwight, I think you're really pushing this. 50:27 And besides, can I just talk to competently with you? 50:32 What right does He have to ask this from me? 50:37 I mean, come on. 50:39 I earned it. 50:41 I spent months building up this little kitty. 50:46 Now you're asking me to give from it. 50:53 Well, we just read Ed Gungor a moment ago. 50:56 I hate to keep repeating him, 50:58 but put them on the screen that, those last lines. 51:00 "The arena of giving is the only place 51:01 where exactly what's going on in your heart is revealed. 51:04 According to Jesus, giving keeps your heart 51:06 in motion toward God and away from material things. 51:09 Your heart will follow the direction of your giving." 51:14 You know what? Here's the truth. 51:16 This came... 51:18 We were producing this and it came then 51:20 and we already had this study guide printed, 51:21 I'm sorry, but this slide I want you to get it. 51:23 Would you just scribble it please? 51:24 Scribble it down in your study guide. 51:26 This is the take home line right here. 51:28 "The more you give, the closer you grow." 51:32 That's why God's big on giving. 51:33 Because the more you give, the closer you and God grow. 51:37 He doesn't need your tiny little quarters 51:41 and dollar bills. 51:43 I own the whole place. 51:45 Now, when you give, you become like Me, 51:48 and we go like this. 51:49 You and Me like this. 51:51 Man, we're like this. 51:52 Don't you let anything keep you from being close to Me. 51:54 The only thing that could make us 51:56 not be close to Him anymore 51:57 is when we quit giving. 51:59 And you know when you quit giving 52:01 'cause giving a $1 to a child that walks by and say, 52:03 Man, I did a great thing today. 52:06 You did a great thing, but that's not the given. 52:10 That's not the given Jesus is talking about. 52:12 Everybody can't give the same amount, 52:14 I understand that. 52:15 But everybody can sacrifice equally. 52:18 Can't we? 52:19 We can. 52:21 People say, "Dwight, why do you even deal 52:23 with the subject of giving? 52:24 Do you know that of all the subjects, 52:26 all the subjects that Jesus taught on, 52:28 this is the most predominant subject, 52:32 hands down or anything else. 52:33 He keeps going back to giving 52:35 and giving, and giving, and giving. 52:36 Why? 52:37 Because it's the nerve, 52:39 it hit run straight to my heart, 52:40 it's the most sensitive nerve, 52:41 the nerve from here to here is strong. 52:46 And when you tell me that, when you threaten this, 52:48 my heart just kind of start shriveling. 52:50 And when you threaten this more, 52:52 and my heart just keeps shriveling, why? 52:53 Because this is how you open your heart up, 52:55 this right here. 52:57 This is not very nice 52:58 to do this on television, is it? 53:02 I quit doing it. 53:04 But when you go from here to your heart, that's it. 53:08 That's what Jesus is talking about. 53:12 The more you give, the closer you grow. 53:14 So the next time, now, seriously, the next time, 53:16 here's my... 53:18 I suggest, the next time you are alone with Jesus 53:20 and you'll be alone with Jesus in just a few hours. 53:22 The next time you're alone with Jesus, 53:24 here's what I want you to do. 53:25 I want you to ask Jesus and He will comply. 53:28 I want you to ask Jesus, Lord, show me Your hands. 53:30 All right. 53:32 Now, He's going to do this with you. 53:33 So you have to reach your hand out, both hands, 53:36 and you take His two hands and you hold His two hands 53:39 and you look down and don't look it, 53:40 don't look at the floor, don't look at the ceiling. 53:42 You look at His hands. 53:44 And you'll notice right near His wrist, 53:45 there's an ugly purplish, pinkish, 53:48 grayish kind of scar in both hands. 53:52 I want you to look at those scars. 53:55 And then I want you to look up into His face, 53:57 turn your eyes upon Jesus and you ask Him, 54:00 "Lord, how can we have those scars?" 54:05 And I promise you, I promise you, 54:07 this will be His answer to you, 54:09 because I gave everything I have for you, everything. 54:16 I gave it all, 54:18 if you've been the only boy on this planet, 54:19 I gave it all for you. 54:24 Next time you're alone with Jesus, 54:26 you just do that. 54:28 He will accommodate you. 54:32 A century ago a writer captured 54:34 this meaning of Calvary so poignantly. 54:37 I want to put the words on the screen for you. 54:39 "Let us surrender ourselves a living sacrifice, 54:41 and give our all to Jesus. 54:44 It is His, we are His purchased possession. 54:47 Those who are recipients of His grace, 54:49 who contemplate the cross of Calvary, 54:51 the scarred hands will not question 54:54 concerning the proportion." 54:55 Yeah, but I shouldn't be having to give that much, 54:57 but will feel 54:59 that the richest offering is all too meager, 55:01 all disproportionate to the great gift 55:04 of the only-begotten Son of the infinite God. 55:07 Through self denial, 55:08 the poorest among us will find ways 55:11 of obtaining something to give back to God." 55:16 The more you give, 55:20 the more you give, the closer you grow. 55:26 So I want to say to my younger friend, 55:28 wherever she is right now. 55:32 I want to say to her, girl, 55:36 you want to come back to college, 55:38 and be in that dormitory room 55:40 and give yourself a little talk. 55:42 I suggest spare your breath. 55:44 There's no need to do that. 55:47 You need to stay in this moment of time. 55:49 You need to sit down with Jesus, 55:50 you need to do this hand thing with Jesus. 55:53 And you ask Jesus to help you give your way 55:57 out of the life you're in right now. 55:59 Just start giving, just start giving, 56:01 just start giving, give your way out, 56:03 it may not mean changing your job, 56:05 it may not mean reducing your income, 56:07 but it will surely mean from henceforth 56:10 that you are going to be rich toward God, 56:13 it means that. 56:14 You just keep giving, and giving, and giving. 56:20 And that crisis, that existential crisis 56:23 that you're suffering right now, 56:24 that crisis is gone. 56:26 Why? 56:27 Because you've turned the attention off of you 56:29 to the God who has been rich toward you 56:32 and now you are rich toward Him. 56:35 It will go just like that. 56:37 And by the way the stresses that come 56:38 from not having enough money, 56:40 the stresses that come from having too much money, 56:44 they're relieved the same way, 56:46 you just give, and give, and give 56:50 until God say, that's enough. 56:53 You'll know, you'll know. 56:57 Christ does know, not for you, 57:01 because you are rich toward God. 57:09 Think of the last time someone said, 57:11 "I'm praying for you." 57:13 Didn't it give you a sense of peace and reassurance 57:15 that somebody cares for me? 57:17 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail 57:19 from one of our viewers saying, 57:20 "Yo, Dwight, I've been praying for you lately." 57:22 There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you. 57:24 So I want to offer you an opportunity to partner. 57:27 Let me, let us partner with you in prayer. 57:29 If you have a special prayer request 57:31 or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, 57:34 I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:37 It's simple to do. 57:38 You can call our toll-free number 877, 57:40 the two words, HIS WILL. 57:41 877-HIS-WILL. 57:44 That friendly voice that answers, 57:45 you tell him, you tell her what your prayer need is, 57:48 we'll join with you in that petition. 57:51 May the God who answers prayer 57:53 journey with you these next few days 57:54 until we're right back here together 57:56 again next time. |
Revised 2019-05-10