WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Jubilee - Exposing Greed Publishing Date: 2024-11-03T05:04:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/jubilee-exposing-greed/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.840 You realize suddenly that our trucks, you'll see them. 00:00:12.840 --> 00:00:14.380 We have a living hope. 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:21.160 So five or six hours after I boarded the flight and I was on my way to London, she had another 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:24.320 mini stroke so she had to be readmitted to the hospital. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.840 So I'll leave again on Wednesday or Thursday. 00:00:26.840 --> 00:00:29.120 So I may not be here this Sunday. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:34.440 But I'm telling you man, for those of you who already know it, there's nothing like 00:00:34.440 --> 00:00:36.960 taking care of a parent who's taken care of you for ages. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:42.640 They put up with everything and now you get to put up with everything. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.460 And it's fun. 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:48.560 So in case I'm not here this Sunday, you know where I am. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:50.220 And so what should you pray? 00:00:50.220 --> 00:00:53.360 That she'll be ready when the Lord calls her home. 00:00:53.360 --> 00:00:55.580 Ready not in terms of salvation. 00:00:55.580 --> 00:00:57.400 That happened many years ago. 00:00:57.400 --> 00:01:02.080 Ready in terms of looking forward to it and unafraid. 00:01:02.080 --> 00:01:04.560 That's what I would pray for her. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.680 Because she's lived a rich 84, 85 years. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:09.680 So it's good. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:10.680 Cool. 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:17.080 So I want to talk about Jubilee, which is what we started two weeks ago and then last 00:01:17.080 --> 00:01:20.960 week Derek spoke about consider your ways, I think. 00:01:20.960 --> 00:01:25.000 And so here are the things we said Jubilee was. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.000 Jubilee was reset. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.000 Sorry? 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:42.000 Oh, I need to connect it again. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:48.000 Cool. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:02:01.400 Okay, so Jubilee, we said last time, was a reset. 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:04.960 God planned it so that we'd have a reset of things. 00:02:04.960 --> 00:02:07.160 So here were some of the things we said. 00:02:07.160 --> 00:02:09.440 I'm just going over them quickly. 00:02:09.440 --> 00:02:13.020 Jubilee was reset, meaning he would reset things economically. 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:15.400 He would reset things as a community. 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.760 He would reset things spiritually. 00:02:18.760 --> 00:02:19.760 Jubilee was release. 00:02:19.760 --> 00:02:27.840 And the strange thing is when Jesus comes and says, when he reads Isaiah 61, 1 to 3 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:32.320 in the synagogue, just before he starts his ministry, he's actually saying, listen, I 00:02:32.320 --> 00:02:33.680 am your Jubilee. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.620 I am the year of favor. 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:36.880 I am the year of Jubilee. 00:02:36.880 --> 00:02:39.080 As in, it's not going to happen once in 50 years. 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:41.840 I am here and I'm here to bring this to pass. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.800 And so Jubilee was release. 00:02:45.200 --> 00:02:48.880 When Jews were freed, people in bondage would return home. 00:02:48.880 --> 00:02:54.120 Jubilee was rest, both for the land and for people. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:55.880 We went over all this. 00:02:55.880 --> 00:02:57.960 Jubilee was recovery. 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:02.000 It was a recovery of a person's identity and a person's history because people would sell 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.480 their land because they had gone through poverty. 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:08.560 They'd sometimes sell their children as slaves. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:12.360 They would lose their heritage, lose their identity, and along would come once every 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:17.760 50 years, this magic button that God would push and everything was supposed to go back 00:03:17.760 --> 00:03:21.960 to place where lands would be returned, heritage would be returned. 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.440 And so it was recovery of identity and history. 00:03:25.440 --> 00:03:32.880 Jubilee was restoration where an inheritance that was lost would now be restored. 00:03:32.880 --> 00:03:34.180 Jubilee was radical. 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:36.680 It was God's way of disrupting status quo. 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:38.440 And here's the thing. 00:03:38.440 --> 00:03:43.240 Israel never practiced Jubilee because it was too hard. 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:45.240 Why was it too hard? 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:49.200 Because if you practice Jubilee, you'll have to stop being greedy. 00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:56.320 I mean, imagine amassing wealth for 50 years and now you're supposed to return it. 00:03:56.320 --> 00:03:59.040 I'm a businessman who's worked hard. 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:01.520 It's through diligence that I've gathered wealth. 00:04:01.600 --> 00:04:07.400 I've got Dilna's property because he had to sell his property because it cost too much 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:08.560 to take care of the dog. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:13.080 So he sold his property and now I have his house. 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:16.680 I have Tunis guitar. 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:22.440 I have Chawas degree. 00:04:22.440 --> 00:04:28.760 And so I keep amassing these things and legitimately, I haven't done anything wrong. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:33.560 I've taken things legitimately and now I've prospered. 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:40.680 And so having prospered now, every 50 years I'm supposed to return to him his land, to 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:44.600 him his degree, and to him his guitar. 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:47.880 Now it's an antique guitar because it's 50 years old. 00:04:47.880 --> 00:04:50.120 And so we return it to him. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:52.480 And everyone gets back what they've started. 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:56.920 And then for that 50th year, I'm not supposed to do any business. 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:01.720 I'm supposed to live on how God is going to bless me in the 49th year. 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:05.440 He says I'm going to bless you so much in the 49th year that through the 49th, 50th 00:05:05.440 --> 00:05:07.640 and 51st year, you won't have to worry. 00:05:07.640 --> 00:05:14.680 And for an entire year, my business shuts down. 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:20.480 So that is why it was impossible for Israel to live it because it would be the end of 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:23.640 greed. 00:05:23.640 --> 00:05:29.360 And so one of the things I've written there is Jubilee exposed human selfishness and greed 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:30.360 in a community. 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:37.760 And if Jubilee was a great reset, then greed was its greatest enemy then and now. 00:05:37.760 --> 00:05:46.480 And so I want to talk about greed, how greed is present amongst us in everyone's lives. 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:53.040 The problem with greed is it's never an evident instant sin. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:58.480 It's usually over a long period of time, it corrodes you. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:03.300 It's very hard to pinpoint something that happened in your life today that was greedy. 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:08.080 But if I took two years, I would find out many instances in your life where you were 00:06:08.080 --> 00:06:12.840 greedy and where I was greedy. 00:06:12.840 --> 00:06:20.760 Greed is what then prevents us from resetting things economically, communally, spiritually. 00:06:20.760 --> 00:06:23.560 Any questions before we go on? 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:27.280 Greed is the enemy of Jubilee. 00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:31.360 It's impossible to practice Jubilee if I don't deal with greed. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:35.640 And please don't think greed is something that the wealthy have. 00:06:35.640 --> 00:06:41.160 There are thousands and thousands of poor, greedy people. 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:42.840 It's not a wealth-related thing. 00:06:42.840 --> 00:06:46.320 It's a condition of the heart. 00:06:46.320 --> 00:06:49.320 Any questions? 00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:53.320 Okay. 00:06:53.320 --> 00:07:00.680 So, Jubilee exposes human greed and selfishness. 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.840 And the law never had the power to change it. 00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:07.360 The law exposed it but couldn't change it. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:13.800 The law exposed greed but couldn't change it. 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:15.560 But couldn't change it. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:21.480 And so, one of the things that had to happen is the Holy Spirit. 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:24.400 The Holy Spirit is the only one who can change it. 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:25.880 And why can he change it? 00:07:25.880 --> 00:07:29.120 Because it's an internal condition. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:34.480 Because it's an internal condition. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:38.400 And when you start with greed, you usually think, I don't have this. 00:07:38.400 --> 00:07:40.040 That person has it. 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:44.960 And I think one of the things that the Spirit of God wants to do is point out that, Jacob, 00:07:44.960 --> 00:07:48.000 you have greed. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.000 You have greed. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:55.520 And then start with me and then see if someone else has it. 00:07:55.520 --> 00:08:01.400 So as soon as I say greed, it's not a sin you identify with. 00:08:01.400 --> 00:08:04.760 You've never actually prayed saying, oh, Lord, forgive me for my greed. 00:08:04.760 --> 00:08:06.760 Strange, eh? 00:08:06.760 --> 00:08:08.040 That's not one of our prayers. 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:13.720 And yet, it's a common problem. 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:26.920 So the church today has to, by the Holy Spirit, translate this law into a walk that loves 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:30.920 God and loves your neighbor. 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.640 Jubilee was meant to reset things. 00:08:34.640 --> 00:08:39.400 And this reset will not work as long as greed exists. 00:08:39.400 --> 00:08:40.880 So that's what we look at today. 00:08:41.040 --> 00:08:46.360 So if you were to define greed, one, greed flows from the lie. 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:54.040 Greed flows from the lie that I need to gather. 00:08:54.040 --> 00:08:57.920 Greed flows from the lie that I must gather more. 00:08:57.920 --> 00:09:01.920 I must gather more. 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:13.320 Because God only supplies daily bread. 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:16.000 This is one of the lies behind greed. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:19.920 And you see this as something that has been happening for ages. 00:09:19.920 --> 00:09:24.880 So in Exodus 16, 20, he tells them, listen, I'll provide you manna every day. 00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:26.880 I'll provide you quail every day. 00:09:26.880 --> 00:09:28.680 But it isn't enough. 00:09:28.680 --> 00:09:30.920 So what do they do in Exodus 16, 20? 00:09:30.920 --> 00:09:33.320 You see them going out, and you see them gathering more. 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:38.600 And he tells them, listen, you gather more, and it'll turn into maggots tomorrow. 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:40.680 But they still gather more. 00:09:40.680 --> 00:09:45.800 And the next morning, they find out that it's all gone maggoty. 00:09:45.800 --> 00:09:48.600 And it wasn't a delicacy in Israel. 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.920 And so now the bread begins to rot. 00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:59.880 The point being, one of the reasons greed happens is because greed flows from the lie 00:09:59.880 --> 00:10:06.760 that I must gather for tomorrow because God only provides daily bread. 00:10:06.760 --> 00:10:14.360 Now your response is usually the human response, but we have to plan for tomorrow. 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:16.200 True, but let's just leave that aside for a while. 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:22.120 We're talking about greed, not about your ability to plan for tomorrow. 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.160 We leave that aside for now. 00:10:25.160 --> 00:10:28.920 But this lies at the heart of it. 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:34.840 That I must gather because God only provides for today what will happen to my tomorrow. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:35.840 That's one reason. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:41.640 So greed then is gathering for tomorrow because I must hoard it because what if something 00:10:41.640 --> 00:10:43.840 doesn't pan out tomorrow? 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:56.480 So greed hoards, greed hoards, greed acquires, greed possesses. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:16.280 And once this becomes a habit, once this becomes a habit, you keep what you make. 00:11:16.280 --> 00:11:22.560 Greed hoards, as in greed gathers or collects, greed acquires, as in greed possesses. 00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:29.280 And once you fall into the habit of gathering, acquiring, possessing, then you keep what you make. 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:38.000 It doesn't go out because it's always like once I retire, once this contingency is over, 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.360 once this emergency is taken care of, once my children go to school, 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.920 then I will distribute it and you keep what you make. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.240 This is an odd way to define greed, but this is why the reset was important. 00:11:53.520 --> 00:12:00.000 And if we go down this route, on one hand your lives will be thoroughly enriched, 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.360 on the other hand there will be no poverty in your community. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.800 It's an extreme measure, but it's an extreme God measure. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.440 I know you're waiting for more good news, so let me give it to you. 00:12:23.520 --> 00:12:29.360 Greed is a depraved, greed is a depraved, the Bible calls it depravity. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:39.120 Greed is a depraved hunger for social standing and wealth. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:51.040 Contentment, contentment in God is replaced with an appetite. 00:12:53.040 --> 00:12:57.040 Contentment in God is replaced with an appetite that is never satisfied. 00:12:57.280 --> 00:13:01.600 Contentment in God is replaced with an appetite that is never satisfied. 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:19.040 So like in the ancient Middle East when Jubilee was first commanded by God, as it is today, 00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:21.680 social standing and wealth go hand in hand even today. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:28.960 As we get more money, we move into fancier neighborhoods, our cars get better, 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.600 everything gets better because money and social standing are connected. 00:13:36.880 --> 00:13:42.160 And so greed is a depraved hunger for social standing and for wealth. 00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:46.000 So when Jesus would read Isaiah 61 3 and he said, 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:51.120 The spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:57.840 The poor were those that were completely undone from their social standing because of their poverty. 00:13:59.520 --> 00:14:02.720 These were ones that were oppressed, these were ones that had lost their dignity, 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.640 these were the ones that were sold into slavery, these were ones that had lost their property. 00:14:06.640 --> 00:14:12.480 The loss of property was the loss of a name because land was precious to Israel. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.840 Land was the litmus test for how Israel was. 00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:22.800 And so greed is depraved hunger for social standing and wealth 00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:26.880 and contentment in God is replaced with an appetite that is never satisfied. 00:14:29.280 --> 00:14:32.960 And we think it will be satisfied but strangely enough it is not. 00:14:33.920 --> 00:14:37.840 Unless there's a deliberate intent of heart against it. 00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:42.320 One has to deliberately decide, I have to deliberately decide this is not the route I'm going to go. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:47.120 Otherwise, as money, I'll need to change this mic guys, I think the battery is dying. 00:14:48.160 --> 00:14:49.680 I'll use the other mic. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.120 Or is there something wrong? Is the battery good? Because it's going up and down. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:01.120 Okay, I'll continue. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.080 Because it's going up and down. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:04.980 Yeah. 00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:10.880 So the appetite never goes away. 00:15:10.880 --> 00:15:16.640 One of the ways I know that there is greed in my life is there's always a desire to go further up, 00:15:16.640 --> 00:15:22.400 further up, further up, better neighborhood, higher apartment, nicer car, better clothes. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:27.120 It's this escalation. There's no end to it because there'll never be an end to it. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.320 There's no end to it. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.680 It's so natural for us that we don't think there's anything wrong with it. 00:15:35.680 --> 00:15:38.080 Should your fields prosper, praise God. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:44.640 It is not, I'll say this later, it is not how much a man makes, it is how much a man keeps. 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:48.480 So this is not a statement against prospering. 00:15:49.280 --> 00:15:50.720 God prospers for us. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:51.840 God is the best. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:52.880 God is the best. 00:15:52.880 --> 00:15:54.160 God is the best. 00:15:54.160 --> 00:15:55.360 God is the best. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:57.360 This is not a statement against prospering. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.280 God prospers people. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.800 But greed is something different. 00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:06.800 Don't equate greed with your wealth. 00:16:06.800 --> 00:16:09.040 This is not a sermon on how to get poor. 00:16:09.040 --> 00:16:13.040 This is a sermon on how to get rich and then what you do with your riches. 00:16:14.640 --> 00:16:16.000 It's a condition of the heart. 00:16:20.560 --> 00:16:22.000 Let's keep defining greed. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.400 Greed is not synonymous with the wealthy. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.320 Greed is not synonymous with the wealthy. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:36.160 It is because the poor are greedy too. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:41.680 There are poor, greedy people. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.600 So don't equate it with the wealthy because we often think, 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:51.040 are the wealthy greedy? 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:52.160 I am not greedy. 00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:53.840 They are the ones that are greedy. 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:57.840 Can you imagine Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.840 redistributing their wealth every 50 years? 00:17:00.880 --> 00:17:01.920 That'd be crazy, eh? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.080 Mr. Buffett would have to give back all the companies he acquired 00:17:06.800 --> 00:17:07.680 every 50 years. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:16.000 This is why capitalism will not survive if Jubilee is instituted. 00:17:18.080 --> 00:17:19.840 This is not an American value. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:21.920 And it's not our value either. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.040 This is one sin that goes so under the radar 00:17:27.040 --> 00:17:29.280 that we don't even think we have a problem with it 00:17:29.280 --> 00:17:32.080 till someone who's poorer than us looks at us and says, 00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:33.440 oh boy, you are greedy. 00:17:36.800 --> 00:17:38.080 And even that is relative. 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:46.320 Greed diverts work, greed, sorry, greed diverts 00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:54.240 greed diverts money from kingdom work. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:57.440 Trust me, man, I don't want to teach this. 00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:02.640 I want to teach on rest. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:07.360 I had such great notes on rest. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.800 Greed diverts money from kingdom to luxuries. 00:18:10.800 --> 00:18:15.920 Greed diverts money from kingdom work, from kingdom work 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:21.520 to personal luxuries. 00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:31.920 That applies equally to the pastor 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.440 and the people in the church. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:36.720 There is a tendency to think that 00:18:37.120 --> 00:18:43.200 there is a tendency to think that if you earn money 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:46.880 and you spend it on something luxurious, that it is okay. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:50.000 But if the pastor earns an income 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.600 and he spends it on something luxurious, it's not okay. 00:18:53.600 --> 00:18:55.600 Because the pastor is using your money. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:56.640 Not true. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.320 Take that stuff in a pipe and don't smoke it. 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:04.240 But we can't make that distinction. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:10.640 But the fact remains that greed diverts money 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:12.880 from kingdom work to luxuries. 00:19:14.560 --> 00:19:15.360 Here's another one. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.560 Greed is self, greed loves self-indulgence. 00:19:21.360 --> 00:19:28.400 Greed spawns, greed spawns self-indulgence. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:41.360 At the cost of the well-being of others. 00:19:45.600 --> 00:19:48.400 Go to Luke, sorry, go to Matthew 23. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:49.840 Matthew 23. 00:19:51.520 --> 00:19:52.480 Matthew 23. 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:09.120 What's 25 for instance? 00:20:09.840 --> 00:20:11.280 Matthew 23, 25. 00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:17.040 Both you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, 00:20:17.040 --> 00:20:18.960 for you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.720 but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.520 Greed and self-indulgence go together. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:28.480 Greed and self-indulgence go together. 00:20:29.120 --> 00:20:34.080 So my self-indulgence shows my greed. 00:20:35.600 --> 00:20:37.760 Your self-indulgence shows your greed 00:20:37.760 --> 00:20:39.840 and all of us have it to some extent or the other. 00:20:41.600 --> 00:20:43.120 What are we being called to? 00:20:43.120 --> 00:20:45.200 An extreme way of kingdom living. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:46.640 Is it uncomfortable? 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.360 Absolutely. 00:20:48.320 --> 00:20:49.360 Can it be avoided? 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:50.400 Yes. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:54.240 But today we're not avoiding it. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:58.000 Go to Luke 12, Luke 12. 00:21:01.280 --> 00:21:03.600 If I get a single hallelujah in this message, 00:21:03.600 --> 00:21:04.480 I'll be surprised. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:09.280 Luke 12, verse 19. 00:21:09.280 --> 00:21:11.200 Luke 12, verse 19. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.080 Well, let's start at Luke 12, verse 13. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:19.280 Two things happen. 00:21:19.280 --> 00:21:21.120 One is a real instance, one is a story. 00:21:21.120 --> 00:21:22.640 Both are happening with Jesus. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:24.320 Luke 12, verse 13. 00:21:25.600 --> 00:21:27.040 Someone in the crowd said to him, 00:21:27.040 --> 00:21:30.480 Tita, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 00:21:32.080 --> 00:21:34.880 But he said to him, man, who made me a judge 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:36.320 or an arbitrator over you? 00:21:37.280 --> 00:21:40.480 And he said to them, take care and be on your guard 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:42.640 against all covetousness or greed. 00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:47.920 For one's life does not consist in the abundance 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.800 of his possessions. 00:21:49.520 --> 00:21:51.280 And in response to what had been asked, 00:21:51.280 --> 00:21:52.800 now he tells them a parable. 00:21:53.280 --> 00:21:54.880 And he told them a parable saying, 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.360 the land of a rich man produced plentifully. 00:21:57.360 --> 00:21:59.760 And he thought to himself, what shall I do, 00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:01.920 for I have nowhere to store my crops. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.080 Legitimate thing, he's a businessman, a farmer, 00:22:04.080 --> 00:22:06.400 a rich farmer, he has nowhere to store his crops. 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:08.160 And he said, I will do this. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.720 I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.760 and there I will store all my grain and all my goods. 00:22:13.760 --> 00:22:16.160 And I will say to my soul, soul, 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:18.800 you have ample goods laid up for many years. 00:22:18.800 --> 00:22:21.120 Relax, eat, drink, be merry. 00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:22.400 But God said to him, fool, 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.480 this night your soul is required of you. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:27.520 And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? 00:22:27.520 --> 00:22:29.840 So is the one who lays a treasure for himself 00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:31.360 and is not rich towards God. 00:22:31.360 --> 00:22:33.840 And the crazy thing is, it is not possible 00:22:33.840 --> 00:22:36.800 to be rich towards God without being rich towards people. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.080 So what he is doing is normal. 00:22:40.080 --> 00:22:42.720 He's collected a lot, now he needs to build barns. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.240 But then the condition of his heart or the greed is exposed 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:49.280 in him building bigger barns so that he can store it up. 00:22:49.280 --> 00:22:54.280 So that he can be self-indulgent at the cost of many others 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.240 in the community who perhaps don't have anything to eat. 00:22:59.280 --> 00:23:00.880 Which was normal in those days. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:14.420 You rarely identify greed with yourself. 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:16.880 You rarely identify greed. 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:18.800 You rarely identify greed. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:21.720 You know the only time we identify greed 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:23.200 is when we go for a buffet. 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:27.640 When it comes to greed for food, it's called gluttony. 00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:29.400 Starts with the same G word. 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:31.120 That's when you feel like, oh my God, 00:23:31.120 --> 00:23:34.200 I was greedy over those prawns or bok choy, 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:35.600 which is my favorite thing. 00:23:35.600 --> 00:23:36.440 Yeah. 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:41.120 And so you rarely identify. 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:44.240 That's why Nick and I get along so well. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.760 You rarely identify. 00:23:48.760 --> 00:23:51.560 When Nick invites me out for dinner, 00:23:51.560 --> 00:23:52.960 I always have an excuse. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.960 You rarely identify greed in yourself. 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:07.440 But you see it in others, 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:12.440 in others who have what you don't. 00:24:16.800 --> 00:24:18.880 Strange how this disease works. 00:24:22.320 --> 00:24:23.320 You don't see it in yourself. 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:24.920 You rarely see it in yourself. 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:26.680 But you always see it in someone else 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:28.960 who has what you don't have. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.400 They seem greedy. 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:41.600 In 1 Corinthians 6, 10, 00:24:41.600 --> 00:24:43.280 in 1 Corinthians 6, 10, 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.120 Paul says on behalf of God 00:24:49.120 --> 00:24:54.120 that the greedy will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:25:03.320 --> 00:25:05.800 The greedy will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. 00:25:05.840 --> 00:25:08.400 This is a problem for God. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.560 It goes against the grain of everything he wants to do. 00:25:10.560 --> 00:25:12.040 He says, I am your Jubilee. 00:25:12.040 --> 00:25:13.680 I'm your favor. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:15.040 I'm your year of favor. 00:25:15.040 --> 00:25:17.480 And then he expects Israel to behave that way. 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:21.080 And not once in 490 years it is believed 00:25:21.080 --> 00:25:23.480 that Israel practiced Jubilee fully. 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:24.320 Not once. 00:25:31.560 --> 00:25:33.280 And if you want to make America great again 00:25:33.280 --> 00:25:34.440 and make Canada great again, 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:35.840 you can't practice it either. 00:25:40.040 --> 00:25:41.440 Any questions before we go on? 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:42.760 We'll talk about how do we fight this. 00:25:42.760 --> 00:25:43.600 Go ahead, Dilna. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.600 Yeah, Joseph was a... 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:56.080 I mean, God gave him the idea, 00:25:56.080 --> 00:25:59.720 but my God, he deprived people like crazy. 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.440 He made nations into slaves. 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:06.680 So what he did in the context of Israel, 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:08.640 the future of Israel, 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.800 if Joseph hadn't been sent before the famine, 00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:12.160 Israel would not exist. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.280 They'd have been wiped out. 00:26:13.280 --> 00:26:14.760 So yes, Joseph played a part. 00:26:14.760 --> 00:26:16.640 But what he did, 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:18.120 if someone did it today, 00:26:18.120 --> 00:26:20.920 you would think of him as not very nice. 00:26:22.320 --> 00:26:25.680 I'm saying to you that you have a family to feed. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.720 Give me your land and I'll give you food. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:29.560 And I take your land. 00:26:29.560 --> 00:26:30.400 Then I take his land. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:31.400 Then I take his land. 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:33.360 By the time Joseph was done, 00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:35.520 all the nations belong to Pharaoh. 00:26:36.800 --> 00:26:38.120 Not cities, not towns. 00:26:38.120 --> 00:26:39.840 All the nations belong to Pharaoh. 00:26:39.840 --> 00:26:42.000 How we are different is we give grain 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:43.400 without asking for land. 00:26:46.800 --> 00:26:50.480 So yes, Joseph was critical for the survival of Israel. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.400 Without him, Jacob and his sons would have perished. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:59.400 But what Joseph did was bring nations into slavery. 00:27:02.360 --> 00:27:04.800 Yeah, so that's one area where I would not 00:27:04.800 --> 00:27:07.800 encourage Joseph economics. 00:27:07.800 --> 00:27:10.800 Like Bidenomics, Joseph, yeah. 00:27:10.800 --> 00:27:11.640 Yeah. 00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:19.600 Yeah, in that he really devastated families and nations. 00:27:22.080 --> 00:27:23.440 I better not go devastated. 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:25.000 I'll just leave it at that. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:26.800 I don't know what else happened, 00:27:26.800 --> 00:27:29.520 but we know that lots of people lost everything. 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.520 For grain. 00:27:30.520 --> 00:27:31.720 But that's what happens, even. 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:34.720 You want to survive for food, for your family. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:36.200 You'll give anything up. 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:37.520 People sell their children. 00:27:42.520 --> 00:27:44.920 Yeah, is that any other question, Dilla? 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:45.760 Yeah. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:49.520 So how do we fight greed? 00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:50.840 How do we fight greed? 00:27:50.840 --> 00:27:52.240 Any other questions, guys? 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:54.520 Go ahead. 00:27:54.520 --> 00:27:56.120 Green is not meant to be. 00:27:56.120 --> 00:27:57.720 Green is not meant to be. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:02.720 I would say greed is about T3. 00:28:03.360 --> 00:28:06.800 Time, treasure, talent. 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.400 And if you want to throw in an S, strength. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:17.400 So greed is when one decides that these three or four things 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.600 will be mine and it will not be distributed freely, 00:28:21.600 --> 00:28:23.440 because I have to gather this. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.120 And I have to gather this and keep it for myself, 00:28:31.120 --> 00:28:34.520 and I will not generously sow it. 00:28:35.520 --> 00:28:38.920 Then it actually applies to all four things, 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:40.120 all three things. 00:28:40.120 --> 00:28:41.920 Time, treasure, talent. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:48.920 Or if you do give it, you'll put a price to it. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:54.920 Your time will cost, your treasure will cost, 00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:58.320 will cost as in there'll be interest on it, 00:28:58.320 --> 00:29:00.880 and your talent will cost somebody else. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:02.080 Pay me and I'll do this. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:12.120 So how do we fight greed? 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:16.840 So the first way we fight greed is fight it with the word. 00:29:16.840 --> 00:29:21.320 Fight it with the word. 00:29:21.320 --> 00:29:23.400 What do you mean fight it with the word? 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:25.600 You must see Christ every day. 00:29:25.600 --> 00:29:27.200 You must see. 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:28.800 Hey guys, here's the thing. 00:29:28.800 --> 00:29:33.800 This is so pervasive, so like smoke 00:29:37.800 --> 00:29:39.600 that it surrounds you. 00:29:39.600 --> 00:29:41.000 It's everywhere. 00:29:42.800 --> 00:29:44.920 You won't even know that you are in it. 00:29:46.600 --> 00:29:49.080 Your clothes smell of it, your mind smells of it. 00:29:49.080 --> 00:29:51.840 As students you come here, you smell of it. 00:29:51.840 --> 00:29:53.840 As ones who worked here, you smell of it. 00:29:53.840 --> 00:29:55.960 As ones born here, you smell of it. 00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:57.920 It is all around you, you can't see it. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:00.720 It's like invisible smoke, but we all smell of it. 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:01.760 It's pervasive. 00:30:01.760 --> 00:30:05.960 It just worms itself into any and everything we do. 00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:12.960 And that's why if I don't see Christ and the spirit of God 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:17.520 in the word every day, mammon will challenge me. 00:30:17.520 --> 00:30:20.120 At the end of the day, who do you want? 00:30:20.120 --> 00:30:23.840 Like what Jesus said is you cannot serve God and mammon. 00:30:23.840 --> 00:30:25.800 He didn't say you cannot serve God and the devil. 00:30:25.800 --> 00:30:27.920 That's an easy choice. 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.480 You cannot serve God and mammon. 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:35.480 Mammon as in the security that comes out of wealth. 00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:37.320 The standing that comes out of wealth. 00:30:39.120 --> 00:30:40.840 You cannot serve both. 00:30:40.840 --> 00:30:42.120 And it's all around me. 00:30:42.120 --> 00:30:45.480 So it becomes very hard to even think clearly 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.600 because you think and I think this is natural 00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:51.680 and it is what it means to be human. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:54.640 And God is saying this may be natural to humans 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:58.240 but I have called you out to behave differently. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:05.960 If I take this to heart and I'm trying to take it to heart, 00:31:06.800 --> 00:31:11.120 it'll change too many things in my life. 00:31:11.120 --> 00:31:13.000 And so at what point do we draw a line and say, 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:14.200 thus far and no further? 00:31:18.800 --> 00:31:21.800 I fight it with the word you must see Christ 00:31:21.800 --> 00:31:24.400 and this work of the Spirit, you must see Christ 00:31:25.600 --> 00:31:27.600 and the Spirit at work 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:32.320 in the gospels, 00:31:35.520 --> 00:31:36.520 in the word. 00:31:38.320 --> 00:31:42.320 Because if I don't mammon, 00:31:42.320 --> 00:31:44.720 if I do, if I do, 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:46.920 mammon will lose its influence. 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:53.920 Go to Psalm 119, verse 36. 00:31:57.520 --> 00:32:00.520 Psalm 119, verse 36. 00:32:03.320 --> 00:32:05.320 Psalm 119, verse 36. 00:32:06.320 --> 00:32:09.320 Psalm 119, verse 36. 00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:18.920 I'm reading from the Passion Translation. 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:20.920 I'll read from other versions too. 00:32:20.920 --> 00:32:25.920 Cause my heart to bow before your words of wisdom 00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:28.840 and not to the wealth of this world. 00:32:28.840 --> 00:32:33.720 Message, give me a bent for your words of wisdom 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:36.800 and not for piling up loot. 00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:41.800 NIV, turn my heart towards your statutes or your laws 00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:44.320 and not towards selfish gain. 00:32:45.840 --> 00:32:49.400 NLT, give me an eagerness for your laws 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:51.920 rather than a love for money. 00:32:53.040 --> 00:32:58.040 This tussle cannot be won if you do not have the word 00:32:58.360 --> 00:33:02.040 as a shield over your heart on a daily basis. 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:05.640 Because it is an instant idol every day. 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:08.840 It is the one idol that is worshiped by the Buddhists, 00:33:08.840 --> 00:33:10.840 the Christians, the Muslims, the Hindus, 00:33:10.840 --> 00:33:12.440 the Democrats and the Republicans, 00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:15.040 the Marxists and the Communists and the Socialists. 00:33:15.040 --> 00:33:16.440 It doesn't matter who it is, 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:19.440 everybody bows at the altar of mammon. 00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:23.840 So much so that Satan offers it to Jesus. 00:33:23.840 --> 00:33:27.040 If you bow to me, I will give you all the kingdoms 00:33:27.040 --> 00:33:28.840 and everything there is in the world. 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:31.640 It's pervasive. 00:33:33.040 --> 00:33:34.640 It's an instant idol. 00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:39.840 And it's everywhere, it's around you everywhere. 00:33:39.840 --> 00:33:43.040 We bow to it many times a day, only we don't realize it. 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:50.240 It is an instant idol and it dulls sacrifice. 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:52.440 It dulls sacrifice. 00:33:54.840 --> 00:33:57.840 As in, it dulls sacrificial giving. 00:33:58.840 --> 00:34:01.840 And it accentuates self-preservation. 00:34:10.040 --> 00:34:13.840 It dulls sacrifice and it accentuates self-preservation. 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:23.840 I don't know if you remember this thing I read you guys 00:34:24.640 --> 00:34:27.640 long ago about self-preservation. 00:34:27.640 --> 00:34:28.840 Let me read it out. 00:34:31.640 --> 00:34:35.640 I'll only read it out once, it's hard to digest. 00:34:35.640 --> 00:34:38.640 Self-preservation is the greatest enemy 00:34:38.640 --> 00:34:41.440 of boldness in believers. 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:46.440 And it spawns avoidance and indifference to the ways of God. 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:50.840 The sin of self-preservation is when we choose to prioritize 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:55.840 our own well-being, our safety, our comfort, our provisions, 00:34:55.840 --> 00:35:00.840 our plans, and even our very lives over the leading of the spirit 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:03.840 and the commands of Jesus in scripture. 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:08.840 Self-preservation seeks to predict the most favorable outcome, 00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:11.840 the one that keeps us safest and the most comfortable 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:16.840 and avoids doing right if doing right will bring us hardship or pain. 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:20.840 It justifies that Jesus would never ask us to lose our job, 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:23.840 miss a meal, or risk our lives. 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:26.840 It is perhaps the most basic instinct of our flesh 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.840 and I believe the most deadly to our faith 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:32.840 and our witness to the rest of the world. 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:35.840 Powerfully. 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:38.840 Sobering. 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:43.840 Fight greed with purpose. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:45.840 Fight greed with purpose. 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:49.840 So the first one is fight it with word, fight it with purpose. 00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:53.840 Fight it with purpose. 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:59.840 You see this in Genesis 14, verse 17 to 24. 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:02.840 Two kings are approaching Abraham. 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:06.840 One is the king of Salem, his name is Melchizedek, 00:36:06.840 --> 00:36:09.840 and the other is the king of Sodom. 00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:11.840 And both are approaching him. 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:16.840 He gives him bread and juice and gives it to Abraham 00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:19.840 and blesses him saying, may you prosper. 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:23.840 The other comes and says, Abraham, you can have all the money, 00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:25.840 just give me the souls. 00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:30.840 And Abraham raises up his hand and says to El Elyon, 00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.840 the creator or the mighty possessor of the universe, 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:37.840 he says, I will not take a dime from you 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:42.840 because my provider is the El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth. 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:46.840 I will not take so much as the strap of a sandal from you. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:52.840 When one has purpose, one begins to know how to resist 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:57.840 the pull of greed, of money. 00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:00.840 Now the guy who does this so well is Daniel. 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.840 So much so that an angel from the Lord comes and says to Daniel, 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.840 faithful man, you have set your heart on this 00:37:06.840 --> 00:37:09.840 and you have decided that you will purpose yourself 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:11.840 to find out what I have for Israel. 00:37:11.840 --> 00:37:14.840 And God has heard you and God is going to reward you. 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:17.840 Purpose has the ability to set you free from, 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:21.840 doesn't matter whether it's pornography or whether it's covetousness. 00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:25.840 Purpose is something that can fuel you to have a singular track 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:29.840 when you know what you're waking up for, 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:32.840 when you know what you've been called for. 00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:38.840 I mean, why is it that a woman who is perhaps okay about drinking, 00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:41.840 be it hard liquor or wine or anything, 00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:43.840 and a man who loves smoking, 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:47.840 both of them suddenly cease from smoking or drinking 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:49.840 because the woman is pregnant, 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:51.840 because they know it affects the child. 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:53.840 They know there's only one purpose. What's the purpose? 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:57.840 I have to bring a baby into this world that is completely healthy. 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:01.840 Bad enough that the world is hard to live in. 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:05.840 I am not going to do anything that will affect this baby. 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:07.840 And so for nine months, there will be no smoking, 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:09.840 there will be no drinking, there will be no touching wine, 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:10.840 there will be nothing. 00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:12.840 Doesn't matter whether you're Christian or not Christian. 00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:15.840 Why? Because now there's a reason. 00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:21.840 One of the ways you can keep greed away is if you do not forget your purpose. 00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:24.840 But the battle is to see, do you know what your purpose is? 00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:27.840 Because many have squandered it. 00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:31.840 Look at Judas, lost sight of his purpose. 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:34.840 Look at Gehazi, lost sight of his purpose. 00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:36.840 He was supposed to be the next Elijah. 00:38:36.840 --> 00:38:39.840 Judas was supposed to be one of the twelve that sits on the thrones 00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:41.840 that are appointed in heaven. 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:43.840 Look at Achan. 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:45.840 For a few Babylonian garments, 00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:50.840 he gives up entering into the promised land that was promised to his ancestors years ago. 00:38:57.840 --> 00:38:59.840 Look at Demas. 00:38:59.840 --> 00:39:01.840 It's said of him, Paul writes of him, 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:04.840 Demas has returned to the world, he has deserted me. 00:39:08.840 --> 00:39:12.840 Look at Esau, the older brother, 00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:15.840 the one who is supposed to inherit the blessings of Jacob. 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:17.840 For porridge, he sells it. 00:39:17.840 --> 00:39:19.840 Look at Cain. 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:26.840 Guys who were greedy for something to the point that they lost sight of their purpose. 00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:33.840 A man without a purpose is at the disposal of people and circumstances around to hijack them. 00:39:36.840 --> 00:39:39.840 A man without a purpose, when I say man it means both man and woman. 00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:47.840 A man without a purpose is a person who is at the mercy of circumstances and people around him. 00:39:52.840 --> 00:39:54.840 The battle is to see. 00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:58.840 See what you've been called for. 00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:01.840 See what you're supposed to pour your life into. 00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:05.840 And then when someone offers you a million dollars, you can say no. 00:40:08.840 --> 00:40:10.840 Any questions on that before we move on? 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:23.840 Lot lost because he wanted the fertile grounds of Sodom 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:25.840 when he was being asked to flee further. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:33.840 Fight greed by giving. 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:41.840 There are three types of giving. 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:45.840 There's disciplined, regular giving. 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:51.840 There's sacrificial giving. 00:40:53.840 --> 00:40:55.840 And there is spontaneous giving. 00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:05.840 And all three must be practiced in this order. 00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:15.840 Disciplined, regular giving is what one has, one decides beforehand. 00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:17.840 This is what I will give. 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:18.840 This is what I'll give. 00:41:18.840 --> 00:41:20.840 And there's disciplined, regular giving. 00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:26.840 We're not talking about tithing here because it's up to you whether you give 2% or 10% 00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:29.840 as long as you give tearfully. 00:41:31.840 --> 00:41:33.840 But disciplined, regular giving is one. 00:41:34.840 --> 00:41:40.840 Second is sacrificial giving where Paul says to the church in Macedonia, 00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:44.840 you guys were poor but in your poverty you gave sacrificially. 00:41:44.840 --> 00:41:46.840 There's sacrificial giving. 00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:48.840 And that's something I want to address. 00:41:48.840 --> 00:41:55.840 When you come in here as students in particular, you may be super tight for money 00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:00.840 because what you have, almost all of it goes into paying your fees. 00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:04.840 But regardless, you have to be very careful. 00:42:04.840 --> 00:42:08.840 What you have, almost all of it goes into paying your fees. 00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:12.840 But regardless, learn to give. 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:16.840 Even if it's $2, learn to give. 00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:17.840 Teach your children. 00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:22.840 As soon as your child can count till five, give your children an allowance. 00:42:22.840 --> 00:42:24.840 Why give them an allowance? 00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:26.840 So that they can learn to give. 00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:27.840 Teach them. 00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:29.840 Teach them when they are two and a half, when they are three, 00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:31.840 when they can go A, B, C, D, and one, two, three, four. 00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:33.840 Teach them how to give. 00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:36.840 Give them an allowance of two bucks a month and then teach them what? 00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:37.840 Twenty cents is. 00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:39.840 Start with the Old Testament standard. 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:41.840 Teach them how to give. 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:46.840 Because many of us don't know how to give and hold back when times are tough 00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:49.840 because it was not natural for us to give when we were kids. 00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:56.840 You're not giving them an allowance because they ironed your shirt 00:42:56.840 --> 00:42:58.840 and burnt a hole through it. 00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:02.840 You're giving them an allowance so that they can learn to give. 00:43:04.840 --> 00:43:07.840 Draw fancy envelopes for them. 00:43:07.840 --> 00:43:13.840 Tell them it's either for Jesus or for somebody or for the church or for somebody. 00:43:13.840 --> 00:43:18.840 Man, teach a two and a half year old that, imagine what will happen. 00:43:18.840 --> 00:43:22.840 And to the students who are here, to the young that are here, 00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:27.840 where you don't have jobs yet that give you much, where you have temp jobs, 00:43:27.840 --> 00:43:30.840 and you're barely making ends meet, 00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:35.840 and every time fees come up or the month comes up, you're scared of what will happen. 00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:37.840 I'm saying to you, give. 00:43:37.840 --> 00:43:42.840 You're not asking for 10% or 2% or 1%, but give. 00:43:43.840 --> 00:43:46.840 Because it breaks greed. 00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:49.840 I'm not even saying give to the church. 00:43:49.840 --> 00:43:51.840 I'm saying give. 00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:55.840 This is not a money grab sermon. 00:43:55.840 --> 00:43:58.840 Somehow this church does well without taking up an offering. 00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:01.840 And you are the ones that make it happen. 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:03.840 You're a generous group of people. 00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:05.840 But we're not talking about generosity. 00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:07.840 We're talking about the destruction of greed. 00:44:17.840 --> 00:44:20.840 These three have to be practiced. 00:44:20.840 --> 00:44:25.840 Discipline regular giving, sacrificial giving, spontaneous giving. 00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:31.840 Spontaneous giving is, I mean I saw this at Paul's church in South Africa. 00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:32.840 Spontaneous giving. 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:34.840 They have a basket that they put in front of the church, 00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:36.840 and I thought we should start this too, 00:44:36.840 --> 00:44:39.840 where they got a few baskets in front of the church, 00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:42.840 and they have this written on it because they love. 00:44:43.840 --> 00:44:45.840 Because they love. 00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:51.840 And what happens is during worship, people come and they spontaneously give. 00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:58.840 It's not legislated, it's not coaxed, but someone will get up. 00:44:58.840 --> 00:45:02.840 And they'll sometimes come dancing, sometimes come sheepishly, 00:45:02.840 --> 00:45:05.840 but they'll throw something in there because they want to spontaneously give. 00:45:09.840 --> 00:45:12.840 I'll give time for questions after this point. 00:45:14.840 --> 00:45:18.840 We must practice spontaneous participatory giving. 00:45:18.840 --> 00:45:21.840 Because most of our giving is electronic and nothing wrong with that, 00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:25.840 but it would be a good idea where it becomes part of worship. 00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:28.840 Because you're letting go of something to show that you love. 00:45:28.840 --> 00:45:30.840 You're letting go of something to show that you love. 00:45:30.840 --> 00:45:33.840 Either him or his people or his cause. 00:45:33.840 --> 00:45:35.840 I love you, therefore I give. 00:45:35.840 --> 00:45:36.840 I don't need this. 00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:39.840 Or even if I need this, I love you, therefore I give. 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:42.840 Any questions before we go on? 00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:46.840 Yep. 00:45:49.840 --> 00:45:51.840 Sorry, can you say that again? 00:45:57.840 --> 00:45:59.840 Does it need to be money? 00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:03.840 It doesn't have to be money, but money is the hardest thing to give away. 00:46:03.840 --> 00:46:06.840 Because it's the one thing that you think you have earned. 00:46:08.840 --> 00:46:10.840 Talent, you don't think you have earned. 00:46:11.840 --> 00:46:14.840 Treasure, you always think you've earned it. 00:46:14.840 --> 00:46:15.840 The sweat of your brow. 00:46:15.840 --> 00:46:18.840 The thing with money, why is money so hard to give away? 00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:21.840 Because there's nothing else that we think we have gotten free. 00:46:21.840 --> 00:46:24.840 I mean, we think we've gotten everything free, but money. 00:46:24.840 --> 00:46:26.840 Money we worked for. 00:46:26.840 --> 00:46:30.840 My talent, if I can sing, God gave it to me. 00:46:32.840 --> 00:46:33.840 Time, I have it. 00:46:34.840 --> 00:46:36.840 Money, that I worked for. 00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:39.840 It's the hardest thing to give away. 00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:43.840 So, yes, one should give talent, treasure, strength. 00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:46.840 But one should not leave out money. 00:46:46.840 --> 00:46:49.840 And the amount is not what we are talking about. 00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:52.840 And surprisingly, we're not even talking about just the church. 00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:04.840 Why does God give you the power to not give you money? 00:47:06.840 --> 00:47:07.840 Say that again? 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:12.840 Why does God give you the power to not give you money? 00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:16.840 Good question. 00:47:18.840 --> 00:47:23.840 Why can't spontaneous giving also not be electronic? 00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:28.840 This is not a crass answer. 00:47:28.840 --> 00:47:30.840 It might sound a silly answer. 00:47:31.840 --> 00:47:38.840 Why can't we worship regularly on YouTube? 00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:45.840 Why can't we sit at home and send our avatars to worship, which is possible now? 00:47:45.840 --> 00:47:49.840 Because there is something in participatory worship. 00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:52.840 And so there is something to participatory giving. 00:47:52.840 --> 00:47:57.840 Where someone comes down the aisle as a cheerful giver. 00:47:57.840 --> 00:47:59.840 You don't know what he's giving. 00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:00.840 Maybe it's only a diamond. 00:48:00.840 --> 00:48:04.840 You're like the widow who had just one mite to give. 00:48:04.840 --> 00:48:07.840 But there's something about participatory giving that we are supposed to practice. 00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:12.840 And while there's nothing wrong with electronic giving, trust me, spontaneous giving is better practice. 00:48:12.840 --> 00:48:15.840 Where you suddenly feel, I've got to do this. 00:48:15.840 --> 00:48:17.840 Father, I love you and I love the people I'm with. 00:48:17.840 --> 00:48:19.840 Or I love the cause they're talking about. 00:48:19.840 --> 00:48:20.840 Out you go. 00:48:20.840 --> 00:48:21.840 It takes gutsy. 00:48:21.840 --> 00:48:25.840 Anything that is public takes courage. 00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:33.840 Yeah. 00:48:33.840 --> 00:48:34.840 And so we balance both. 00:48:34.840 --> 00:48:36.840 We don't make a big show. 00:48:36.840 --> 00:48:39.840 You come dancing and say, look at this guys. 00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:40.840 And then you don't do that. 00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:42.840 Again, I'm being super crass. 00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:47.840 But so on one hand, you have to balance and let your right hand not know what your left hand is doing. 00:48:47.840 --> 00:48:51.840 But spontaneity is when it is something that erupts in your heart. 00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:55.840 Just like Jesus also said, when you pray, pray quietly. 00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:58.840 Don't pray like those guys who stand at the corners and speak loudly. 00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:04.840 But there are times when he says, men, lift up holy hands and pray. 00:49:04.840 --> 00:49:10.840 When they fast, do not let them know that you're fasting. 00:49:10.840 --> 00:49:13.840 But there are other times where you're supposed to lament before God. 00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:15.840 There's a weeping that's involved. 00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:17.840 So it's not either or. 00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:18.840 It's both held in tension. 00:49:18.840 --> 00:49:24.840 And at the end of the day, the heart matters like crazy. 00:49:24.840 --> 00:49:26.840 And that is so hard to judge. 00:49:26.840 --> 00:49:28.840 And sometimes you can get judged wrong. 00:49:28.840 --> 00:49:33.840 Out comes Derek in his green suit and throws some green bills into a green box. 00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:37.840 And you think, oh, he's just being green. 00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:41.840 And then you realize, no, his heart was really... 00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:43.840 Green. 00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:44.840 Yeah. 00:49:44.840 --> 00:49:46.840 Green. 00:49:46.840 --> 00:49:48.840 Not my fault. 00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:50.840 You wear that. 00:49:50.840 --> 00:49:59.840 So where are the pity giving, honor giving, and privilege giving? 00:49:59.840 --> 00:50:00.840 Pity giving? 00:50:00.840 --> 00:50:01.840 Pity giving and honor giving. 00:50:01.840 --> 00:50:02.840 Okay. 00:50:02.840 --> 00:50:06.840 So if you looked at the categories of giving, here are they quickly. 00:50:06.840 --> 00:50:09.840 Give to the place that you are being raised in. 00:50:09.840 --> 00:50:11.840 Give first fruits. 00:50:11.840 --> 00:50:13.840 Give tithes. 00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:16.840 And by tithes, I don't mean 10%. 00:50:16.840 --> 00:50:18.840 I'm saying give... 00:50:18.840 --> 00:50:20.840 Guys, here's the thing. 00:50:20.840 --> 00:50:24.840 If this is a pizza and you want to give like God wants to give, 00:50:24.840 --> 00:50:28.840 everyone will get a tiny little slice that they can't even chew. 00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:31.840 So increase the size of the pizza. 00:50:31.840 --> 00:50:37.840 If you take 10% and try to divide it 40 ways, my math is not good enough. 00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:39.840 But increase the size of the pizza. 00:50:39.840 --> 00:50:42.840 Go extra large. 00:50:42.840 --> 00:50:48.840 Now people get a decent size, which is why we've got to stop thinking in terms of 10%. 00:50:48.840 --> 00:50:51.840 That's just Old Testament standard that we begin with. 00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:53.840 It's a good place to begin. 00:50:53.840 --> 00:50:55.840 But it's not the best place to stay. 00:50:55.840 --> 00:50:57.840 And it's not the best place to stay. 00:50:57.840 --> 00:51:08.840 So look at the different areas you can give to the place you're being raised. 00:51:08.840 --> 00:51:11.840 I don't even say fed being raised. 00:51:11.840 --> 00:51:14.840 Give first fruits. 00:51:14.840 --> 00:51:18.840 As in let's say you get a bonus tomorrow. 00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:22.840 Take whatever you want out of that and give tithes. 00:51:22.840 --> 00:51:25.840 And by tithes I don't mean 10%. 00:51:25.840 --> 00:51:28.840 I just mean regular giving. 00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:35.840 Give alms to the poor. 00:51:35.840 --> 00:51:41.840 Give to orphans, widows. 00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:45.840 That is true religion according to James 1.27. 00:51:45.840 --> 00:51:51.840 Give for emergencies, floods, places that are devastated. 00:51:51.840 --> 00:51:53.840 Acts 11.28 talks about it. 00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:58.840 Give to poorer churches. 00:51:58.840 --> 00:52:01.840 Give to the spreading of the Gospel. 00:52:01.840 --> 00:52:04.840 The Gospel is free and must remain so. 00:52:04.840 --> 00:52:09.840 Give to people who have broken or poured out sweat and blood into your life. 00:52:09.840 --> 00:52:17.840 Give to those who have broken bread and wine into your life. 00:52:17.840 --> 00:52:20.840 Like Abraham gives to Melchizedek. 00:52:20.840 --> 00:52:23.840 Glean. 00:52:23.840 --> 00:52:27.840 Gleaning was a principle from Deuteronomy 24, 19 to 21. 00:52:27.840 --> 00:52:31.840 Hey, all those dresses and suits that you no longer fit into 00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:35.840 and believe that you will fit into because you will go to the gym four years from now, 00:52:35.840 --> 00:52:36.840 give them away. 00:52:36.840 --> 00:52:41.840 You're not going to lose weight. 00:52:41.840 --> 00:52:44.840 It ain't happening. 00:52:44.840 --> 00:52:49.840 Yeah, time to give it away, Dawn. 00:52:49.840 --> 00:52:50.840 The things I've hold... 00:52:50.840 --> 00:52:54.840 I mean there are shirts that are in my closet that are really nice, hey, 00:52:54.840 --> 00:52:57.840 that I have worn and I've take photographs in. 00:52:57.840 --> 00:53:00.840 But I'm not going to get into them anymore. 00:53:00.840 --> 00:53:05.840 Like I get into them till here. 00:53:05.840 --> 00:53:12.840 And then the crockery, the fancy spoons and stuff that belong in a museum 00:53:12.840 --> 00:53:16.840 that your grandmother gave you, give it away. 00:53:16.840 --> 00:53:19.840 Precious China. 00:53:19.840 --> 00:53:21.840 You're never going to use it. 00:53:21.840 --> 00:53:26.840 You don't even bring it out because you're scared that Dawn will drop the cup. 00:53:26.840 --> 00:53:27.840 Give it away. 00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:32.840 Gleaning was this idea from Deuteronomy 24 where God would say to people, 00:53:32.840 --> 00:53:38.840 hey, once you pluck the fruit from your trees, do not pluck everything. 00:53:38.840 --> 00:53:41.840 Let people come and pluck the rest. 00:53:41.840 --> 00:53:45.840 And after they pluck the rest, let the birds come and eat what remains. 00:53:45.840 --> 00:53:47.840 Do not go and pluck everything. 00:53:47.840 --> 00:53:51.840 Gleaning is giving away. 00:53:51.840 --> 00:53:53.840 And there's so much we can give away. 00:53:53.840 --> 00:53:57.840 Good shoes, they don't give away bad stuff. 00:53:57.840 --> 00:54:01.840 Not the ones with holes in it, like soulless shoes. 00:54:01.840 --> 00:54:05.840 No, you want to give away good stuff. 00:54:05.840 --> 00:54:13.840 I give away good stuff to one person in this church like crazy. 00:54:13.840 --> 00:54:16.840 And I keep getting two. 00:54:16.840 --> 00:54:18.840 And then pay your debts. 00:54:18.840 --> 00:54:22.840 Pay your debts. 00:54:22.840 --> 00:54:24.840 These are different ways you can give. 00:54:24.840 --> 00:54:28.840 I've got one more point I want to make and then we'll do the rest later. 00:54:28.840 --> 00:54:32.840 This is an important one and I won't go beyond that. 00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:34.840 Fight greed. 00:54:34.840 --> 00:54:42.840 Fight greed by building safeguards. 00:54:42.840 --> 00:54:52.840 Fight greed by building safeguards against bigger bonds. 00:54:52.840 --> 00:54:55.840 Fight greed by building safeguards against bigger bonds. 00:54:55.840 --> 00:55:01.840 As in it is natural as we begin to live here that you begin to prosper, 00:55:01.840 --> 00:55:03.840 that you keep increasing, that you keep prospering. 00:55:03.840 --> 00:55:09.840 And you have to find a way to prevent yourself from building bigger bonds. 00:55:09.840 --> 00:55:15.840 Otherwise we'll just keep getting ritter and ritter. 00:55:15.840 --> 00:55:19.840 So how do we go about that? 00:55:19.840 --> 00:55:28.840 Can you turn the prosperity of your fields, 00:55:28.840 --> 00:55:40.840 your investments into a blessing for others? 00:55:40.840 --> 00:55:45.840 How? 00:55:45.840 --> 00:55:52.840 Increase your percentage of giving. 00:55:52.840 --> 00:56:00.840 Otherwise you will get richer and richer. 00:56:00.840 --> 00:56:04.840 The issue is not what you make. 00:56:04.840 --> 00:56:12.840 The issue is not what you make. 00:56:12.840 --> 00:56:21.840 The issue is not what you make. 00:56:21.840 --> 00:56:28.840 It's what you keep. 00:56:28.840 --> 00:56:32.840 The issue is not what you make, it's what you keep. 00:56:32.840 --> 00:56:41.840 Second Corinthians 8, 00:56:41.840 --> 00:56:47.840 verse 9, 00:56:47.840 --> 00:56:49.840 I'm not commanding you to do this, 00:56:49.840 --> 00:56:55.840 but I'm testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of other churches. 00:56:55.840 --> 00:56:57.840 Here is my advice. 00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:01.840 And then he goes on to say in verse 14 and 15, 00:57:01.840 --> 00:57:04.840 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. 00:57:04.840 --> 00:57:07.840 Later they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. 00:57:07.840 --> 00:57:09.840 In this way things will be equal. 00:57:09.840 --> 00:57:13.840 As the scriptures say, those who gathered a lot had nothing left, 00:57:13.840 --> 00:57:16.840 and those who gathered only a little had enough. 00:57:16.840 --> 00:57:25.840 The issue is not what you make, the issue is what you keep. 00:57:25.840 --> 00:57:29.840 If you don't build and I don't build internal governors and external governors, 00:57:29.840 --> 00:57:34.840 as in if there is not something that I decide internally that this should not happen, 00:57:34.840 --> 00:57:37.840 I can't keep building bigger bonds. 00:57:37.840 --> 00:57:45.840 If I don't decide that internally and if I don't have limits from the external that will help me with this, 00:57:45.840 --> 00:57:46.840 then here's what will happen. 00:57:46.840 --> 00:57:50.840 My wants will become my needs. 00:57:50.840 --> 00:57:51.840 Hear me. 00:57:51.840 --> 00:57:55.840 Wants become needs as we build bigger bonds. 00:57:55.840 --> 00:58:03.840 I've seen this happen in my life, where my wants become needs. 00:58:03.840 --> 00:58:08.840 It's not what you make, it's what you keep that matters. 00:58:08.840 --> 00:58:18.840 As you increase in your wealth, are you distributing it so that you're ending up the same way you were five years ago? 00:58:18.840 --> 00:58:21.840 I found one odd thing happening with my bank balance. 00:58:21.840 --> 00:58:26.840 I had no problems if my bank balance was a hundred bucks because I had an overdraft of fifteen hundred. 00:58:26.840 --> 00:58:29.840 I'd be quite happy because I still had an overdraft of fifteen hundred. 00:58:29.840 --> 00:58:30.840 And then strange things began to happen. 00:58:30.840 --> 00:58:31.840 Money began to come in. 00:58:31.840 --> 00:58:34.840 As money began to come in, a hundred bucks was highly uncomfortable. 00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:36.840 It went to a thousand, went to five thousand. 00:58:36.840 --> 00:58:41.840 Now anything below five thousand or anything, and the same applies to everybody here. 00:58:41.840 --> 00:58:44.840 The moment it goes below five thousand, you begin to panic. 00:58:44.840 --> 00:58:45.840 It's like you become poor. 00:58:45.840 --> 00:58:47.840 Before, a hundred was still rich. 00:58:47.840 --> 00:58:49.840 Now five thousand is poor. 00:58:49.840 --> 00:58:51.840 What happened? 00:58:51.840 --> 00:58:54.840 Somehow you start amassing, you start collecting. 00:58:54.840 --> 00:58:59.840 What you earn or what you make or how you prosper is good. 00:58:59.840 --> 00:59:01.840 May God prosper you. 00:59:01.840 --> 00:59:08.840 But what you keep is what then determines my level of what I want to hold or be greedy about. 00:59:08.840 --> 00:59:14.840 This is an extreme way of living, but it is the Christ kingdom jubilee way of living. 00:59:14.840 --> 00:59:18.840 The other thing you have to do, especially if you're a minister or a pastor, 00:59:18.840 --> 00:59:24.840 is you have to let at least two or three people know how much is coming in. 00:59:24.840 --> 00:59:31.840 So if money is given in the church, it usually goes to the church and then it is given to me. 00:59:31.840 --> 00:59:32.840 So somebody knows it's given. 00:59:32.840 --> 00:59:34.840 What if money comes from outside of the church? 00:59:34.840 --> 00:59:37.840 I still have at least two people that I tell, this money came in. 00:59:37.840 --> 00:59:40.840 Why? Because people need to know what is coming in and going out. 00:59:40.840 --> 00:59:48.840 And if not, you begin to build bigger bonds because bigger bonds are built in secret. 00:59:48.840 --> 00:59:50.840 Nobody else knows about it. 00:59:50.840 --> 00:59:52.840 One of the things Toonie does, when Toonie receives money 00:59:52.840 --> 00:59:55.840 from anywhere outside of Acts 29, he immediately texts me and says, 00:59:55.840 --> 00:59:58.840 Jacob, this person sent me this money. 00:59:58.840 --> 01:00:01.840 And I'll say, eat, be merry, and share with me. 01:00:01.840 --> 01:00:06.840 No, I'm kidding. 01:00:06.840 --> 01:00:10.840 I say, eat, enjoy, enjoy what you have received. 01:00:10.840 --> 01:00:12.840 But why does he do it? He doesn't need to do it. 01:00:12.840 --> 01:00:19.840 He doesn't owe me an explanation, but it's the right way to go about it. 01:00:19.840 --> 01:00:21.840 Any questions? 01:00:21.840 --> 01:00:27.840 We'll stop here. We'll take the other points later. 01:00:27.840 --> 01:00:28.840 I wrote it this way. 01:00:28.840 --> 01:00:32.840 To have much is glorious only if you're distributing more 01:00:32.840 --> 01:00:36.840 and find yourself in the same place as when you had less. 01:00:36.840 --> 01:00:37.840 Hear me again. 01:00:37.840 --> 01:00:42.840 To have much is glorious only if you are distributing more 01:00:42.840 --> 01:00:47.840 and find yourself in the same place as when you had less. 01:00:47.840 --> 01:00:50.840 This goes with 2 Corinthians 8, 14 and 15. 01:00:50.840 --> 01:00:53.840 He who had much didn't have too much. 01:00:53.840 --> 01:01:01.840 He who had little had enough. 01:01:01.840 --> 01:01:05.840 It is good if your fields prosper, but what are you doing with it? 01:01:05.840 --> 01:01:08.840 The issue is not what you make, but what you keep. 01:01:08.840 --> 01:01:10.840 Any questions? 01:01:10.840 --> 01:01:16.840 I hope you don't do this every week. 01:01:16.840 --> 01:01:19.840 I'm talking about the tie and the thingy. 01:01:19.840 --> 01:01:24.840 Yeah, this is worse. 01:01:24.840 --> 01:01:29.840 Okay, can someone turn the video off? 01:01:29.840 --> 01:01:30.840 No, I'm kidding. 01:01:30.840 --> 01:01:32.840 We are concluding, so we'll get it done. 01:01:32.840 --> 01:01:41.840 So, as you prosper, so you divest. 01:01:41.840 --> 01:01:45.840 As you prosper, so you divest, like I'm doing right now. 01:01:45.840 --> 01:01:47.840 As you prosper, so you divest. 01:01:47.840 --> 01:01:51.840 Any questions? 01:01:51.840 --> 01:01:54.840 Is this an extreme position? 01:01:54.840 --> 01:01:57.840 Amen. 01:01:57.840 --> 01:01:59.840 Is this worth practicing? 01:01:59.840 --> 01:02:02.840 Amen. 01:02:02.840 --> 01:02:07.840 Any questions? 01:02:07.840 --> 01:02:09.840 Did they teach you this at Saurdh? 01:02:09.840 --> 01:02:14.840 Saurdh or wherever you went to do your fancy degree? 01:02:14.840 --> 01:02:23.840 It's pervasive, guys. 01:02:23.840 --> 01:02:27.840 It is inescapable, which is why some of these points have to be practiced. 01:02:27.840 --> 01:02:29.840 And as you do, God will increase. 01:02:29.840 --> 01:02:31.840 What does he want? 01:02:31.840 --> 01:02:32.840 What does God want? 01:02:32.840 --> 01:02:35.840 He wants the largest conduit through which his resources can flow. 01:02:35.840 --> 01:02:38.840 What does God want of you? 01:02:38.840 --> 01:02:40.840 What does God want of Derek? 01:02:40.840 --> 01:02:42.840 What does God want of Anthony? 01:02:42.840 --> 01:02:43.840 What does God want of Dilna? 01:02:43.840 --> 01:02:46.840 Can I make you the largest conduit? 01:02:46.840 --> 01:02:47.840 What does God want of Prashant? 01:02:47.840 --> 01:02:48.840 What does God want of Emmanuel? 01:02:48.840 --> 01:02:49.840 What does God want of Crystal? 01:02:49.840 --> 01:02:51.840 What does God want of Anna? 01:02:51.840 --> 01:02:58.840 Can I make you the largest conduit through which I can cause resources to flow into the world? 01:02:58.840 --> 01:03:04.840 Can your diameter increase as a pipe, as a conduit, so that I can cause resources to flow? 01:03:04.840 --> 01:03:12.840 How can he cause resources to flow except supplying it through you? 01:03:12.840 --> 01:03:18.840 And as he finds you faithful, you find your diameter increasing. 01:03:18.840 --> 01:03:25.840 So you will not lack, but you will not gather. 01:03:25.840 --> 01:03:28.840 This is Jubilee. 01:03:28.840 --> 01:03:34.840 And greed will oppose reset. 01:03:34.840 --> 01:03:40.840 I cannot preach this if I don't practice it. 01:03:40.840 --> 01:03:45.840 Let's pray. 01:03:45.840 --> 01:03:49.840 Jesus, this is hard. 01:03:49.840 --> 01:03:54.840 But that's why you are worth following. 01:03:54.840 --> 01:03:56.840 I want to live like this, Lord. 01:03:56.840 --> 01:03:58.840 I want to live like this. 01:03:58.840 --> 01:04:05.840 I don't want my wants to become my needs. 01:04:05.840 --> 01:04:13.840 Because what I get that matters is what I keep that matters. 01:04:13.840 --> 01:04:15.840 We want to become like this, Lord. 01:04:15.840 --> 01:04:16.840 I pray this for this church. 01:04:16.840 --> 01:04:18.840 You told us to start talking about Jubilee. 01:04:18.840 --> 01:04:19.840 So we are. 01:04:19.840 --> 01:04:24.840 But you've got to help us. 01:04:24.840 --> 01:04:33.840 So, Father, I just pray that if there are people that want to live like this, that they just rise to their feet. 01:04:33.840 --> 01:04:39.840 But be careful, because he'll take you at face value or feet value. 01:04:39.840 --> 01:04:43.840 This is how you want to live, rise to your feet. 01:04:43.840 --> 01:04:45.840 Some of you already live like this. 01:04:45.840 --> 01:04:49.840 I know it from personal interaction with you. 01:04:49.840 --> 01:04:53.840 I know you live like this. 01:04:53.840 --> 01:05:01.840 Some of us live like this, but we can live even better this way. 01:05:01.840 --> 01:05:07.840 Jesus, please do what you want with us. 01:05:07.840 --> 01:05:10.840 Please make this happen through us. 01:05:10.840 --> 01:05:16.840 If you ask us to learn about the Jubilee, surely it's not for head information. 01:05:16.840 --> 01:05:20.840 Israel had head information and they did not practice it. 01:05:20.840 --> 01:05:22.840 Will you look at these men and women? 01:05:22.840 --> 01:05:29.840 Some of them wealthy, some of them on their way to wealth, some of them not wealthy yet, but they are standing. 01:05:29.840 --> 01:05:40.840 I stand with them and I say, Jesus, please, Lord, break upon us by your Spirit so that the law of the Jubilee will be evident in our walk, O God, 01:05:40.840 --> 01:05:44.840 so that others will benefit because people here stood up. 01:05:44.840 --> 01:05:46.840 I bless this congregation. 01:05:46.840 --> 01:05:49.840 May you prosper them so that the world may prosper. 01:05:49.840 --> 01:05:58.840 Giving away so that even though we increase, we will be in the same place as if five years ago, six years ago. 01:05:58.840 --> 01:06:00.840 In Jesus' name I ask. Amen. 01:06:00.840 --> 01:06:04.840 Bless you guys. Thank you for listening and thank you for practicing it. 01:06:04.840 --> 01:06:08.840 If you need prayer, someone will be here to pray with you. 01:06:08.840 --> 01:06:13.840 And I'll see you most likely not next week, but the week after that. 01:06:28.840 --> 01:06:30.840 Amen.