Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190406S
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00:10 >> Father God, we come humbly bowed at the foot of the throne, 00:13 just thanking You for another day of life. 00:16 Lord, this morning we ask that you give us a breakthrough -- a breakthrough in the way that 00:21 we see you, a breakthrough in the way that we see this world around us, Lord, a breakthrough 00:25 in the way that we believe in You. We ask that you invite -- 00:30 We invite Your Holy Spirit to come and join us. We invite your angels to come 00:34 sing with and through us as we praise You, as we honor You, as we glorify Your name. 00:39 We ask You to be here in the midst as we worship you, oh, Lord, and we ask that our 00:43 worship and our praise be honorable. We ask all these things in your 00:48 Son's precious name. Amen. >> Amen. 00:51 >> Good morning, church family. >> Good morning. 00:54 >> It is a pleasure to be here with you this morning. 00:56 If some of you didn't know, there is the 00:59 Worship and Music Conference going on this weekend, and it 01:01 has been a blast. 01:03 It's been so wonderful, and we've been able to share in diversity and our differences in 01:09 music genres and styles, and this morning I want to share with you a new song. 01:13 The song is called "I Believe." And so I would invite you to stand on your feet as we sing 01:18 this song to God -- "I Believe" -- okay? Because in the verse Luke 12:22, 01:24 it says do not worry about what you will wear or what you will do or about your life. 01:29 Why? Because we believe, and we should believe, that God, our Heavenly Father, has a plan for 01:35 your life. So stand on your feet with me and let's sing this song to our 01:40 Lord and Father. [ "I Believe" begins ] 03:05 Now I need you guys to try this with me. Do you believe? 03:07 Do you all hear it? Do you know it now? Try it. 03:10 [ Song continues ] 04:16 Okay, this next part, we're gonna say so long, bye-bye, to all of our fears, all of our 04:21 troubles. If you're in college, bye-bye to all those exams, right? 04:24 Okay. Let's sing, "Bye-bye to my pains and my sorrows. So long, bye-bye." 04:29 Here we go. One time. Wave your hands with me. 04:37 "So long." I don't believe you. Come on. Tell the Lord. 04:42 [ Song continues ] 04:49 Come on. I know there are some kids out there. [ Song continues ] 04:54 The young at heart, believe God. Yes. 05:00 [ Song continues ] 05:39 One more time. [ Song continues ] 06:34 Amen, amen. And because we believe, we have 10,000 reasons to sing praise 06:40 and honor and glory to God, and I know you know this song, so let's bless the Lord with our 06:45 voices and with our souls and with our hearts, okay? [ "10,000 Reasons" begins ] 06:57 He's worthy to be praised. [ Song continues ] 10:43 Amen. [ "O Come to the Altar" begins ] You know, even though... 10:55 we are... able to bless the Lord and we're able to praise Him, for we 11:00 already know what He's going to do for us, it doesn't mean that we don't fall short in lack of 11:05 faith sometimes and doesn't mean that our hearts aren't hurting. It doesn't mean that we aren't 11:09 human. But in our humanness, we can still cry out and come before 11:13 the altar to seek our Father, and that's what He asks us to do. 11:17 "Just come and talk to me." And so that's what I'm inviting you to do here in this song. 11:21 I know that this is one we sing often, but really think about the words and know that God is 11:26 calling you to the altar. He doesn't want to be far from you. 11:28 He won't force you, so you have to come voluntarily. So sing with me. 11:34 [ Song continues ] 13:55 You're already down here. You're already ready to lay your burdens before the Lord, so just 13:59 sing out with me. What a wonderful, what a glorious, what a marvelous 14:03 savior he is. [ Song continues ] 16:29 >> Well, happy first Sabbath of April, boys and girls. Nice to see you. 16:34 You're looking very springy today. You know, spring came between 16:37 the beginning and end of first service today. That's what was so cool. 16:41 It just came right in, 'cause it was cold when I came this morning, and then I went out 16:46 during the break, and "Ooh!" Nice to have you. Glad you're here. 16:50 Okay. So, today's story comes from one of my story scouts. 16:53 Her name is Sharon Dudgeon. She's the manager/director of 16:56 WAUS. 16:58 Comes from North Carolina -- Claremont, North Carolina. Anybody here from 17:02 North Carolina? Okay, here it is. It's about a pit bull. 17:06 You know what a pit bull looks like? Let's put a pit bull on the 17:08 screen right now. That's not the actual pit bull, but let's see if we can get it 17:11 on the screen here. Yep. Oh-ho, yeah. That's a pit bull. 17:16 Yep. And the pit bull's name is Rocky. 17:20 Mm-hmm. So, Rocky is out in his yard one evening, just a few days ago, 17:28 when along comes -- Let's see the next guest, please. 17:31 Ohhhhhh! Do you know what that is? That is an opossum, or we just 17:36 call them possums. You know those possums. And guess what -- the moment 17:41 Rocky saw the possum, what do you think Rocky did? "I'm outta here." 17:45 He is straight for that possum, and what do you think the possum did? 17:49 "I'm outta here." And he is running as fast as he can, and that pit bull is coming 17:54 faster and faster, and the possum sees -- "Oh, here comes a pipe! 17:57 Here comes an underground pipe! I'm going in!" Shoom! 18:00 There went the possum. "Goodbye, Rocky! Whoo-hoo!" Rocky comes -- no way. 18:06 Now, the pipe is only a foot tall, and he's 2 feet tall. That means he's gonna have to be 18:11 on his belly, but he gets down on his belly. Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi- 18:14 mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi- mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi! When his owner came out, 18:20 "Hey, Rocky! [ Whistles ] Hey, yo, Rocky! Where are you?!" No answer. 18:25 "Wait a minute. Did I hear something like barking far away?" 18:28 The owner began to walk up and down. He walked away from the house, 18:31 and, suddenly, it sounds like it's coming from under the ground -- barking. 18:34 "I wonder if that's Rocky." Calls 911. The fire engines come, and they 18:38 begin doing -- They said, "Rocky?" They'd look in the hole. 18:41 [ Imitates dog whimpering ] And they'd listen. "He's in there." 18:44 Rocky was 100 feet into the pipe, and he's stuck. And they don't know where he is, 18:50 so they're saying, "Right here? Should we cut it right here? No, he's not there. 18:53 How 'bout right here? Nope, not there. How 'bout over here? Nope." 18:55 Finally, they get 100 feet down, and they cut it open. There is Rocky. 19:01 They can tell. They can hear him. In fact, let's put a picture of 19:04 Rocky on the screen. Can you see Rocky? They've cut the plastic pipe, 19:10 because, fortunately, he's in a plastic pipe, and there he is trying to get out. 19:14 Good news -- he got out. Hallelujah! Rocky got saved. You know, sometimes when we 19:21 chase something that we're not supposed to be chasing, we can get stuck. 19:24 You know what Jesus says? Don't chase money. Jesus says don't chase money. 19:28 But if Jesus were telling the children's story right now, he'd say, "Hey, boys and girls, don't 19:32 chase toys. I don't want you to chase toys," because we always have to have 19:35 the next toy. We see a toy at school. Our friend has a toy. 19:38 The neighbor has a toy. "Mommy, Daddy, I have to have more toys!" 19:41 "You already have 400." "I have to have this one." Don't chase toys. 19:46 You'll get stuck. And it could mean your life. Oh! I am so glad that even when 19:52 we get stuck, Jesus knows where we're stuck, and you know what He does? 19:56 Electric saw. [ Imitates saw buzzing ] He can open up that place where 19:59 we're stuck and set us free. But, you know, as soon as he sets us free, He says the same 20:03 thing they said to Rocky. "Don't you ever go chasing possums again. 20:06 Do you hear me?" That's what He'll say. "Don't keep chasing that money! 20:11 It'll kill you!" Oh, Jesus, thank You for finding us and getting us set free. 20:20 Who wants to thank Jesus for being our set-free Lord? Let's just thank Jesus for being 20:25 our set-free Lord. What's your first name? >> Sam. 20:31 >> Would you please close your eyes and fold your hands as Sam is going to thank Jesus for 20:37 being our set-free Lord? Sam? >> Dear Jesus, thank You that 20:41 You're here with us. >> Mm-hmm. >> And please bless us and that 20:46 the Sabbath is here and that the Sabbath is the best day ever and that You're here with us... 20:52 >> Amen. >> ...and that... all the kids are here... 20:56 >> Mm-hmm. >> ...and that Pastor Dwight is safe... 21:00 >> Yeah. >> ...and his leg is all done... >> Amen. 21:03 >> ...and helped healed. We love You. Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Sam. 21:08 That was a precious prayer. All right. As Sam just said, as you're 21:12 going back to Mom and Dad, you say, "Thank you, Jesus. 21:19 >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪ No man can a-hinder thee 21:29 >> ♪ Ride on, ride on 21:33 ♪ Ride on, ride on >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus 21:38 >> ♪ No man can a-hinder thee >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus 21:46 >> ♪ Ride on >> ♪ No man can a-hinder thee ♪ He is King of kings 21:54 ♪ He is Lord of lords ♪ Jesus Christ, the first and last ♪ 21:59 ♪ No man works like Him >> ♪ He is King of kings ♪ He is Lord of lords 22:05 ♪ Jesus Christ, the first and last ♪ ♪ No man works like Him 22:09 >> ♪ Oh, ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ No man 22:15 >> ♪ No man can >> ♪ Can a-hinder me >> ♪ Can a-hinder me 22:19 >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on ♪ No man 22:24 >> ♪ No man >> ♪ Can a-hinder me >> ♪ King Jesus rides 22:28 a milk-white horse ♪ >> ♪ No man works like Him >> ♪ The river of Jordan 22:33 He did frost ♪ ♪ And no man works like Him >> ♪ King Jesus rides 22:37 in the middle of the air ♪ ♪ No man works like Him ♪ He calls His saints 22:42 from everywhere ♪ ♪ No man works >> ♪ No man works 22:44 >> ♪ No man works >> ♪ No man works >> ♪ No man works like Him 22:47 >> ♪ Oh, ride on, King Jesus ♪ No man can a-hinder me >> ♪ Ride on, ride on 22:59 >> ♪ King Jesus, ride on ♪ No man >> ♪ No man 23:03 >> ♪ Can a-hinder me >> ♪ Ride on, ride on >> ♪ Ride on, ride on 23:11 >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ No man can a-hinder me 23:19 >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride on 23:24 >> ♪ No man >> ♪ No man >> ♪ Can a-hinder me 23:28 >> ♪ Ride on, ride on >> ♪ Ride o-o-o-o-o-n >> ♪ Ride o-o-o-o-o-n 23:37 >> ♪ Ride on, ride on ♪ Ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Ride o-o-o-o-o-n 23:45 ♪ Oh, ride on, King Jesus >> ♪ Oh, ride on, ride on >> ♪ Ri-i-i-i-i-de on 23:54 ♪ Ride on, ride on, ride on >> ♪ On high >> ♪ On high 23:58 >> ♪ On hi-i-i-i-i-gh >> ♪ On hi-i-i-i-i-gh >> ♪ Ri-i-i-i-i-de 24:06 ♪ O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n >> Amen. >> Thank you. Thanks, choir. 24:19 Let nothing back. That was beautiful. Ride on. 24:24 Right on. It's actually "ride on." But you can say, "Right on" to 24:30 Jesus, as well. Right on. Do you ever picture Him coming 24:34 to you on a big white horse, saying, "I-I just -- I knew you were needing me, and I-I 24:38 happened to show up"? Sometimes I imagine that in my brain -- that He shows up on a 24:42 big white horse. "And I'm here to help you. I heard you. 24:48 Be at peace." Right on. Let's pray. Oh, Jesus, ride on. 24:55 Just keep riding. Hold us close. Take us with You wherever You're 24:59 going till You come. And this teaching... is Your teaching. 25:06 We're asking You, please, through Your mighty spirit, to make it clear to us. 25:12 In Your name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. 25:16 >> Let's share three short stories, all right? 25:18 Short story number 1 -- here it comes. 25:20 I was talking with a friend of mine who lives somewhere else in 25:24 this country the other day. I've known her for quite some 25:28 time. A friend, by the way, who has 25:32 done very well, if I might say. [ Chuckles ] 25:36 Yeah. Beautiful family... 25:40 great job, pulling in figures that I know nothing about. 25:45 I mean, nobody in her house -- Seriously, nobody in her house goes walking through the house, 25:49 saying... ♪ If I were a rich man [ Humming ] 25:53 ♪ Da-da-dee-dee dee-dee-dee-dee dee ♪ Nobody -- Nobody does it. 25:57 Why? They're already rich. Why would you hum that song? Beautiful wife, beautiful 26:04 mother, beautiful professional. But she got ahold of me the other day. 26:10 "I wish you'd pray for me. The responsibilities in my life right now are so hard to handle, 26:18 but especially," she went on, "the uncontrollable responsibilities that come when 26:23 you choose to live a certain standard of living." And then, in words that just 26:30 tugged at this little pastor's heart... "I wish I could be back at 26:36 Andrews, in my dorm room, and have a talk with myself." Mm. 26:44 I'm sorry. You can't go back. But you very well may have an important talk with yourself, 26:53 because guess what, girl -- you're not alone. What you just said has been 26:59 echoed by thousands across this country right now. Take the Pulitzer Prize-winning 27:04 journalist Charles Duhigg. Wrote a piece in January. My friend Melky spotted it, 27:11 sent it to me. Oh, my. I want to share -- This is story number 2 now. 27:15 I want to share a few lines from that piece. Here's how it begins. 27:21 "My first charmed week as a student at Harvard Business School." 27:26 Turns out he enrolled at Harvard University. He's an MBA student. 27:31 He goes to their 15th-year class reunion and how is gonna write about that reunion, okay? 27:38 But anyway... "My first week as a student at Harvard Business School late in 27:41 the summer of 2001 felt like a halcyon time for capitalism. At the time, for the 895 of us 27:47 first-yearers preparing ourselves for business moguldom, what really excited us was our 27:53 good luck. A Harvard MBA seemed like a winning lottery ticket, a 27:57 gilded highway to world-changing influence, fantastic wealth, and if those 28:02 self-satisfied portraits that line the hallways were any indication, a lifetime of deeply 28:08 meaningful work." Yeah! "So it came as a bit of a 28:13 shock" -- here we go -- "when I attended my 15th reunion last summer," just last summer, 28:18 "to learn how many of my former classmates weren't enjoying their professional lives. 28:24 In fact, they were miserable. I heard about one fellow alum who had run a large hedge fund 28:29 until being sued by investors, who also happened to be the fund manager's relatives. 28:34 Another person had risen to a senior role inside one of the nation's most prestigious 28:39 companies before being savagely pushed out by corporate politics. 28:45 Another had learned in the maternity ward that her firm was being stolen by a conniving 28:50 partner. Now, look, those are extreme examples, of course. 28:54 Most of us were living relatively normal, basically content lives, but even among my 28:59 more sanguine classmates, there was a lingering sense of professional disappointment. 29:05 They talked about missed promotions, disaffected children, billable hours in 29:10 divorce court. They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, tedious, or 29:14 just plain bad. One classmate described having to invest $5 million a day, 29:20 which didn't sound terrible, until he explained that if he put only $4 million to work on 29:25 Monday, he had to scramble to place $6 million on Tuesday. And his co-workers were 29:31 constantly undermining one another in search of the next promotion. 29:34 It was insanely stressful work done among people he didn't particularly like. 29:40 He earned about $1.2 million a year and hated going to the office. 29:49 'I feel like I'm wasting my life,' he told me. 'When I die, is anybody going to 29:53 care that I earned an extra percentage point of return? My work feels so totally 29:59 meaningless.' He recognized the incredible privilege of his pay and status, 30:04 but his anguish seemed genuine." He goes on. "'If you spend 12 hours a day 30:09 doing work you hate, at some point, it doesn't matter what your paycheck says,' 30:14 he told me." Charles Duhigg commenting, "There's no magic salary at 30:21 which a bad job becomes good. He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have 30:25 loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this 30:30 pay cut impossible. 'My wife laughed when I told her about it,' he said to me." 30:36 End of story. Title of the piece -- here it is -- 30:40 "Wealthy, Successful, and Miserable." So, which one is it? 30:47 ♪ If I were a rich man Or wealthy, successful, and miserable? 30:55 Story number 3 -- once upon a time, there was a man who did very well with his investments. 31:02 Jesus told a story about him, and we're gonna track this story 'cause it's one of those "wow" 31:06 stories. Open your Bible with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 12. 31:09 Luke chapter 12. Jesus' story about this investor, agrarian investor. 31:20 Here we go. Luke chapter 12. You don't have a Bible, it's too dark where you're sitting, it'll 31:23 be on the screen. These lights... this is it. 31:29 This is the next four weeks. And then we move out. But we'll be back. 31:35 We'll be back at the end of the summer, and you're gonna love it when you come back. 31:39 All right. This is Luke chapter 12. I'm in the NIV -- 31:42 Did I tell you that? -- Verse 16. 31:52 [ Laughing ] Wow! You should have seen it! That huge green John Deere 31:58 combine is just chewing up the back 40 like it's going out of style, and every truck he could 32:04 rent is pulling under that huge spout that is shooting down yellow gold grain. 32:12 Next truck, please. Next truck. At the end of the day, there's so many rental trucks at the 32:17 farmyard, there's not room for one more. Oh, man! That night... 32:23 this farmer sat down at his mahogany desk... that trusty old adding machine 32:30 that's been his all these years. He says, "Let me just calculate the numbers." 32:35 And as he's running his fingers -- "I'm gonna try that again." 32:37 As he's running his fingers, he's realizing, "I have more cubic yards of golden grain than 32:42 I have cubic space of silos. What am I gonna do?" Verse 17. 33:04 "Yes, indeed. That's what I'm gonna do." He has no clue, of course, as 33:08 you and I do, overhearing the story -- he has no clue that he's using the first-person 33:14 singular possessive pronoun "my," "my," "my." It's on his lips. 33:21 Now, we can't fault him. This is his grain. It was his farm. 33:24 Let's not be too hard on the man. But Jesus is telling us 33:28 something about him. Let's read verse 18 again. Hmm. 33:57 Hallelujah. Oh. Late that night, after crunching the numbers for the 34:03 sixth time to make sure they're right, the man goes up the rickety stairs, crawls into bed 34:10 with his slumbering wife, and he is feeling so good, he just starts humming... 34:15 ♪ If I were a rich man ♪ Ya-da-da-da da-da doo-doo-doo-doo dee-dee-dee-dee 34:21 doo, yes ♪ And he drifts off to sleep. While he's snoring... 34:28 the curtains at his window stand stiff... when all of a sudden, those 34:35 stiff curtains begin to mysteriously tremble, and as they tremble, they seem to part, 34:41 and coming on a midnight breeze is the presence that fills that dark space. 34:46 The presence has a voice. And the voice speaks to the slumbering man in verse 20. 35:06 And with that pronouncement, the man jerks awake. He clutches his chest, and 35:11 before he can awaken his wife [Snaps fingers] he's dead. The end. 35:19 Wow. Why would Jesus tell such a somber, scary story? 35:26 Turns out that the punchline to all three of these stories is the very same punchline. 35:31 The punchline about this alum who's feeling very overwhelmed these days over the price tag of 35:37 her success, the punchline to the 15th-year class reunion of Harvard MBAs, and the punchline 35:43 to the suddenly rich farmer. Interestingly and very rarely does Jesus not only include a 35:49 headline to a parable but a tagline, and when you take the headline and the tagline and 35:56 you put them together, you get the punchline. Let's check 'em out. 36:02 Grab your study guide. Come on. It's in your worship bulletin. Pull your study guide out 36:05 right now. While you're doing that, we'll put it on the screen for those 36:07 who are watching at this moment. 36:10 It's a little miniseries called "How to Survive the Coming 36:13 Economic Crisis." This is part 2. 36:15 Part 1 is already there on the website. 36:17 Part 2 -- "If I Were a Rich Man." 36:20 You look for the word "study guide" -- 36:22 two words, "study guide." Click on there. 36:23 You'll have the same study guide as us. 36:25 You want to get the headline, the tagline, and the punchline. 36:28 Let's jot the, uh -- Let's get the headline, because we haven't even read it yet. 36:33 It's what leads into the story. So, go up to verse 13. This is Luke 12:13. 36:43 I want to tell you something. Jesus is very smart here. You never want to get in the 36:49 middle of a food fight called "the battle over inheritance." You can't win. 36:55 Stay out of it. And Jesus is very bright, and He does. 37:15 Jot that down. That's the headline. Jot it down. 37:18 There it is in your study guide. 37:25 Hit the "pause" button right there, 'cause I hate that word "greed." 37:29 I hate that word. Don't you? Greed feels yucky. It feels dirty. 37:33 Greed feels like, "Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, 37:37 gimme." Guess what. You know what greed it? 37:40 "Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme." It is that. 37:42 In fact, here's a definition from the dictionary -- "intense selfish desire for 37:47 something, especially wealth, power, and food." Greed. 37:54 Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. 37:57 But the headline continues. Keep your pen moving. Here's the second half of it. 38:07 Ladies and gentlemen, please note that Jesus is not instructing us that life doesn't 38:11 consist of possessions. Of course we have possessions. You have them. I have them. 38:15 It's not a sin to have possessions. But life does not consist in the 38:18 abundance -- this accumulating, this accumulating, this accumulating. 38:23 No, it doesn't. The key word is "abundance" that you just scribbled in. 38:30 There's a website, believe it or not -- a website entitled Happify. 38:34 Now, here's how you spell it -- H-a-p-p-i-f-y. Happify.com. 38:40 And at that website, because they're dealing with -- There's a whole discipline 38:44 today, by the way, in the academy called "the economics of happiness." 38:48 The scientists now are studying happiness. We're running out of it so fast, 38:51 they're gonna find out, what do we do to hold on to this, okay? So, at Happify.com -- 38:56 you have it in your study guide. Jot this down. Fascinating to me. 39:00 "Another happiness factor" -- That's all they talk about is happiness. 39:04 "Another happiness factor is what positive psychologists" -- 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. What are the authors talking 39:21 about? Well, keep reading. "Through the same process of 39:25 habituation" -- A lot of big words here. I didn't even know what that 39:28 word meant. I had to look it up. But it's a psychological term. 39:31 And I put it in brackets for you. What does "habituation" mean? 39:35 It means a decrease in our response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it. 39:39 It's what a drug addict experiences. So, one time -- 39:42 "Ooh, that's a great high." But the second time, not quite as high. 39:45 The third time, not quite as high. So what does the drug addict do? 39:48 He has to keep upping the dose. Pleasure. Hedonic treadmill. Upping the dose. 39:55 We do that when we accumulate things. This is the point they're 39:58 making. In fact, keep reading. 40:20 You've got to keep buying more and more and more to get the 40:24 same high. Hedonic treadmill. 40:29 Welcome to the third millennium. We're all on it. 40:34 We have to have more. "I just have to have more." 40:38 [ Sighs ] Like little rats, we keep 40:40 running and running and running after the next new possession, 40:43 the next new pay increase, the next new pleasure. 40:45 The hedonic treadmill -- that's what Jesus is talking about right here. 40:48 Read verse 15 again. 40:59 It's this hedonic treadmill that Jesus is warning us about. "Stay away from it! 41:04 In fact, let me tell you a story about a farmer once who had a great crop." 41:09 And he sets up his story with that headline. So, that's the headline. 41:14 Now we got to get the tagline, because if you put the headline and the tagline, you get the 41:18 punchline. So what's the tagline? Well, let's drop down to the end 41:20 of the story. We'll read the last line of the story one more time -- verse 20. 41:23 "But God said to him, 'You fool!'" That's the only place in all of 41:28 Scripture where God calls a man a fool. "'You fool! 41:31 This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have 41:36 prepared for yourself?'" Now here it comes. "'This,'" Jesus says, "'is how 41:40 it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not'" -- 41:45 How does that line end? It is not what? Rich. Come on. How does it end? 41:51 Rich toward whom? '"Rich toward God.'" Would you jot that down, please? 41:56 Tagline -- "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves." 42:01 It's not wrong to store up things 'cause I'm gonna give it away to the neighborhood, I'm 42:04 gonna send it to ADRA. It's not wrong to store up things, but if it's all for 42:07 yourself, it's wrong. You're being rich toward yourself when you, in fact -- 42:11 Jesus says, "You need to be rich toward God." "My. 42:18 Rich toward God? Are you serious, Jesus? Listen, how could I possibly be 42:25 rich toward God when I can't even be rich toward me?!" Let me give you another 42:31 website -- Investopedia, a website that deals with investments and investing. 42:36 In February, I read a most interesting analysis. Get a load of this. 42:39 It's in your study guide. 42:40 "According to the Credit Suisse" -- 42:43 that's this giant international bank in Switzerland. 42:49 They put out a global-wealth report in 2018. 42:51 According to that report, "The top 1%" -- 42:54 So, write that number in. "The top 1% of adults account 42:57 for more than 47% of household wealth globally. 43:00 This raises an interesting question -- who exactly are the 43:05 1% worldwide? The surprising answer? 43:08 If you're an American" -- Now, some of you are saying, 43:10 "Lookit, Dwight, I'm not an American, okay? 43:12 So get over it." No. If you're living in America, 43:15 that's exactly what it means. If you're living in America and 43:17 you're living like an American, and you are, "if you're an 43:20 American" -- watch this -- "you don't have to even be close 43:24 to being uber-rich to make the list. 43:27 An income of $32,400" -- annual income -- 43:31 "$32,400 a year will allow you to make the cut. 43:34 So if you're an accountant" -- some of you are -- 43:37 "if you're a registered nurse" -- I'm married to one -- 43:40 "or even an elementary-school teacher, congratulations. 43:44 The average wage for any of these careers falls well within 43:48 the top 1% worldwide." 43:52 My! Turns out we were richer than we thought! Are we? Yeah. 44:02 But the reason we're up in that 1%, the article goes on to note, is because of the extreme 44:12 poverty on this planet, and because everybody else is so low, it makes us look high. 44:23 We ought to carry that world in our hearts a little more than we do, don't you think? 44:28 [ Exhales sharply ] We're rich! But it isn't that we're so rich. 44:34 It's that they're so poor. But when Jesus commands us, "I want you to be rich toward God," 44:39 he isn't commanding a certain level of earning. No, no, no, no, no, no. 44:42 He's calling us to a certain level of giving. This is all about giving. 44:46 In fact, jot this down. Let's put the headline and tagline together. 44:49 "When you combine the headline in His parable with the tagline 44:52 of His parable, you very quickly come to His punchline" -- 44:55 one word, write it in -- "Give!" That's the punchline -- "Give!" 45:05 Well, 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. I've never read anywhere in 45:11 literature a more prescient description of the benefits of 45:15 giving than what you're about to read. 45:17 Ed Gungor, in his book "Religiously Transmitted 45:20 Diseases"... [ Laughter ] 45:23 ...writes about giving. You have it in your study guide. 45:27 "Giving touches a nerve in us that nothing else does." 45:32 It's the most sensitive nerve you have. 45:35 I've had people come up to me and say, "Dwight, don't you ever 45:37 preach about money again or we're leaving." 45:42 Why? Because that nerve is so 45:44 sensitive, it immediately goes into a toxic reaction. 45:50 Ooh. "Giving touches a nerve in us 45:53 that nothing else does. We look a lot like God" -- 45:55 Here's the good news. "We look a lot like God when we 45:57 do it." John 3:16 -- "For God so loved 45:59 the world" that He did what? That He gave. 46:02 We look like God when we do it. "When you give" -- keep your pen 46:06 moving -- "you defy the fear," 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." When you come to getting out of 46:15 college, "I'm not gonna have enough." When you come to having a baby, 46:18 "I'm not gonna have enough." That's the fear that keeps needling us. 46:24 "Don't give. Don't give. Hang on, girl. Boy, hang on to this. 46:27 You're gonna need this." Oh, when you give, you defy the fear that you won't have enough. 46:33 You insult greed" -- There's that dirty word. 46:36 "You insult greed, the impulse to acquire or possess more than 46:40 one needs or deserves. If you really believe that God 46:44 owns it all and that He is your source and provider, giving will 46:48 be a simple matter... 46:50 The arena of giving is the only place where exactly what's going on in Dwight's heart is being 46:56 revealed." God says to Gabriel, "Hey, Gabriel, find out how much the 46:59 boy's giving, huh? And then tell me. That number that he comes up 47:04 with will tell me the spiritual condition of Dwight's heart." I'm sorry, but it's red hot, 47:12 and it's -- Why? Because the nerve from giving goes straight to your heart. 47:20 It's a very sensitive nerve. Oh, but the last line is even better. 47:34 That's why the headline and the tagline of this parable, when you join them together, they 47:39 compose "Give!" "Give!" "Please give," Jesus says. 47:48 And when Jesus breathes just a few moments after he ends this little story, He profoundly 47:53 makes a point, and this is so tender. I love this. 47:55 Just drop down. Now, he's talking -- Verse 22 says he's only talking 47:58 to his disciples. Shh! This is just the people that are really close to Him, 48:01 all right? So that'd be you and me. [ Laughter ] 48:03 Verse 32, Luke 12. "Do not be afraid, little flock." 48:08 Oh, I love that. That's a good shepherd. That's a good shepherd saying, 48:11 "Hey, sheepies. Hey, sheepies. You sheepies who follow me... you're my homeboy. 48:17 You're my homegirl. You're following me. "Do not be afraid, little 48:23 flock." "I know this can cause fear when you deal with this subject. 48:26 Don't be afraid." "For your Father has been pleased to give you the 48:29 kingdom." You already have the kingdom. It's not like you earned the 48:32 kingdom by giving a certain amount and then, "Oh, okay. Let her in. Come on. 48:35 He really did well. That was a good gift. You just got in." 48:37 No, it's not that at all. You already have the kingdom. You have everything. 48:41 Hmm. So, what should I do, Lord? 48:44 Verse 33. 49:04 Let's read this one out loud together. We've known this since 49:07 Sabbath-school days. Let's do it out loud together. "For where your treasure is, 49:11 there your heart will be also." So give! Give! 49:18 Give! It's like I was sitting up there, saying, "Can we make this 49:22 hurt any more? Gabriel, what should I bid? You'll really tighten the screws 49:26 here"? No. That's not it at all. When you're rich toward God, 49:32 your heart -- Look at this. When you're rich toward God, your heart is like with Him. 49:37 You know why? Because God's already a giver. He's the biggest giver in the 49:39 whole universe. So when you give, you and God go like this, He said, "Man, we're 49:43 this, you and me -- us." Why? Because he said, "Bank of Heaven. I gave it all. 49:49 [ Chuckles ] I've given you everything you have with joy. I'm asking for everything you 49:54 have back to Me with gratitude. Is that a switch? Is that fair enough?" 49:59 "Fair enough." "We're gonna be like this. Do you understand that? 50:01 We're gonna be like this, you and me." When you give, 50:04 you're just like God. And He loves it. Of course He loves it. 50:07 Why wouldn't he? "Well, how do I give, Jesus?" "Give to the poor who are all 50:11 around you. Come on. You've got eyes. Use 'em. 50:13 Give to the poor." "Yeah, but, Jesus, what about -- What else?" 50:16 "The needs are in front of you. There will be needs all around you. 50:19 Just give. Just keep giving. You'll be like me." "Yeah. Pssh. I don't know. 50:25 Dwight, I think you're really pushing this. And, besides, can I just talk 50:29 confidentially with you? What right does He have to ask this from me? 50:37 I mean, come on. I earned it. I spent months building up this 50:44 little kitty. And now you're asking me to give from it?" 50:53 Well, we just read Ed Gungor a moment ago. I hate to keep repeating him, 50:57 but put him on the screen -- those last lines. 51:14 You know what? Here's the truth. This came -- 51:17 We were producing this, and it came then, and we already had the study guide printed. 51:21 I'm sorry. But this line I want you to get. Would you scribble it, please? 51:24 Scribble it down in your study guide. This is the take-home line right 51:27 here. 51:32 That's why God's big on giving, 'cause the more you give, the closer you and God grow. 51:37 He doesn't need your tiny little quarters and dollar bills. "I own the whole place." 51:45 No. When you give, you become like Me, and we go like this. You and Me are like this. 51:51 Man, we're like this. Don't you let anything keep you from being close to Me. 51:54 The only thing that could make us not be close to Him anymore is when we quit giving, and you 51:59 know when you quit giving, 'cause giving a dollar to a child who walks by and saying, 52:03 "Man, I did a great thing today" -- you did a great thing, but that's not the giving. 52:08 That's not the giving Jesus is talking about. Everybody can't give the same 52:14 amount -- I understand that -- but everybody can sacrifice equally, can't we? 52:19 We can. People say, "Dwight, why do you even deal with this subject of 52:24 giving?" Do you know that of all the subjects -- all the subjects 52:27 that Jesus taught on, this is the most predominant subject, hands down, over anything else? 52:33 He keeps going back to giving and giving and giving and giving. 52:36 Why? Because it's the nerve. It runs straight to my heart. It's the most sensitive nerve. 52:39 The nerve from here to here is strong. And when you tell me that -- 52:47 When you threaten this, my heart just kind of starts shriveling. And when you threaten this more, 52:52 my heart just keeps shriveling. Why? Because this is how you open your heart up -- 52:55 this right here. This is not very nice to do this on television, is it? 52:59 [ Laughter ] I'll quit doing it. I'll quit doing it. 53:04 But when you go from here to your heart, that's it. That's what Jesus is talking 53:10 about. [ Chuckles ] "The more you give, the closer 53:13 you grow." So, the next time -- No, seriously. The next time -- 53:16 Here's my -- I suggest the next time you are alone with Jesus -- And you'll be alone with Jesus 53:21 in just a few hours. The next time you're alone with Jesus, here's what I want you 53:25 to do. I want you to ask Jesus -- and He will comply. 53:28 I want you to ask Jesus, "Lord, show me Your hands," all right? Now, he's gonna do this with 53:33 you, so you have to reach your hand out -- both hands. And you take His two hands and 53:38 you hold His two hands and you look down, and don't look at the floor. 53:41 Don't look at the ceiling. You look at his hands, and you will notice right near his 53:45 wrists there's an ugly purplish, pinkish, grayish kind of scar in both hands. 53:53 I want you to look at those scars, and then I want you to look up into His face. 53:57 Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and you ask Him, "Lord... how come You have those scars?" 54:05 And I promise you -- I promise you this will be His answer to you -- 54:09 "Because I gave everything I have for you." >> Amen. 54:15 >> "Everything. I gave it all. If you'd been the only boy on this planet, I'd give it all for 54:20 you." Oh. Next time you're alone with 54:25 Jesus, you just do that. He'll accommodate you. A century ago, a writer captured 54:34 this meaning of calvary so poignantly. I want to put the words on the 54:38 screen for you. 54:47 "Those who are recipients of His grace, who contemplate the cross of Calvary," the scarred hands, 54:53 "will not question concerning the proportion" -- "Yeah, but I shouldn't be having 54:56 to give that much. 55:25 So I want to say to my younger friend, wherever she is right now... 55:32 I want to say to her, "Girl... you want to come back to college, huh? 55:38 Be in that dormitory room and give yourself a little talk? I suggest spare your breath. 55:44 There's no need to do that. Mnh-mnh. You need to stay in this moment 55:48 in time. You need to sit down with Jesus. You need to do this hand thing 55:52 with Jesus. And you ask Jesus to help you give your way out of the life 55:57 you're in right now. Just start giving. Just start giving. 56:01 Just start giving. Give your way out. It may not mean changing your 56:05 job, it may not mean reducing your income, but it will surely mean from henceforth that you 56:11 are going to be rich toward God. It means that. You just keep giving and giving 56:18 and giving. 56:19 And that crisis, that existential crisis that you are 56:23 suffering right now -- that crisis is gone. 56:27 Why? Because you've turned the attention off of you to the God 56:30 who has been rich toward you, and now you are rich toward Him. 56:35 It'll go just like that. And, by the way, the stresses 56:39 that come from not having enough money, the stresses that come 56:42 from having too much money -- they're all relieved the same 56:46 way. You just give and give and give 56:49 until God says, "That's enough." You'll know. 56:54 You'll know. Crisis? No. 56:59 Not for you, because you are rich toward God. 57:08 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying 57:12 for you." Didn't it give you a sense of 57:14 peace and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:16 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers 57:19 saying, "Yo, Dwight. I've been praying for you 57:21 lately." There's nothing like knowing 57:23 someone is praying for you. So I want to offer you an 57:25 opportunity to partner -- let me, let us partner with you in 57:28 prayer. If you have a special prayer 57:30 request or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share 57:33 with us, I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly 57:35 chaplains. It's simple to do. 57:37 You can call our toll-free number -- 877 -- the two words, 57:40 HIS WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voice that answers, you tell him, you tell 57:46 her what your prayer need is, we'll join with you in that 57:49 petition. May the God who answers prayer 57:52 journey with you these next few days until we're right back 57:55 here together again next time. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-11-24