What happens?
So stewardship. This is part two. So why is my stewardship important to God? Why is my stewardship important to God? Why is it so important to God? Why is He so hung up on it? Why so many parables about it?
Why is my stewardship so important to God? Why does He speak so often about it?
The answer is right at the beginning, Genesis 1.28. It's my identity. Stewardship is my identity. If you go to Genesis 1.28,
Genesis 1.28. Hey, Brandon? Thanks. Genesis 1.28, and here's what it says.
And God blessed them and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, have dominion over it, the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, every living thing that moves on earth.
Behold, I've given you every plant yielding seed. And then He goes on to say, Everything that I've made are placed in your hand.
And so stewardship is actually the identity of man. Man was created to steward what God had made. Man was created to steward what God had made.
Guys, here's the thing. There are some things that God does that He tells you right off the bat, usually in the book of Genesis in the first 11 chapters.
In the first 11 chapters, you will have an idea of what God really intended. Genesis 12 starts another section with Abraham.
But if you look at the first 11 chapters, you'll have God's intent. And in the very first chapter, some of the first words spoken is, Hey, I've created everything.
I'm the owner of everything, but I'm placing it in your hands and in the hands of your descendants forever to look after. In our very identity, we are actually stewards.
So what's another way of defining stewardship? We are the ones that look after God's property. We are the ones that look after God's property.
We are the ones that look after God's property. Stewardship is man's responsibility to manage God's property.
Man's responsibility to manage God's property. When I say manage, it always involves increase. Manage is not stagnant. When we think of managers, we probably think, he just has to look over things, make sure everything runs.
Now, when God talks about managing, he's talking about increase. Why would he waste so much breath on so many parables if he didn't want to drive home this point?
So every time any man is responsible in managing what God has placed in your hands, God thrills because it goes back to original intent.
So it doesn't matter whether it's a baby or a car or a flower pot. It doesn't matter whether it's money or a responsibility at work or at church.
It's not connected with being paid. So it's not a job. Every time someone does this, well, God thrills.
And so this process of responsibly managing God's property begins when I surrender ownership over everything, one thing at a time.
Stewards do not own. For a father and mother to actually come to a point of thinking that this child must be stewarded well.
This child was given to me by God to raise in a particular way so that God accomplishes all of God's ends to this child and that I will refuse all my life to exert ownership over this child and its future is very difficult.
And strangely enough, all our children grow up, what's the first word they learn? Mine.
Strange, you never teach them that word, but that's the first word they learn. Mine, mine, mine.
Everything in the world is geared towards ownership. So it's a difficult thing, eh? Because it goes against the grain of stewardship.
The idea of dominion was perverted by thinking that dominion was supposed to exert power and ownership. No.
The kingdom belongs to a king and he sets people over things so that if they follow his ways, the things he set them over will increase.
Go forth, multiply, reproduce, replenish, subdue.
If I go about it the right way, the thing he's placed me over will prosper.
Will prosper.
Doors will open.
Increase will come.
And joy will burst forth.
Joy is an important aspect of all this. All those parables end with, come into my joy.
And if you notice, when a steward does well, what does God say? Well done, good and faithful servant.
What is he saying well and good and faithful over? He's saying it over stewardship, guys.
We think it's about Christian life, it's not. It's saying every parable that ends with well done, good and faithful servant is a commendation on stewardship.
That I place things in your hand. You did well with them. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come into my joy.
It's not well done, good and faithful preacher. Preach a crack attack sermon that was as long as it took the water to dry up.
That's not what he's saying.
So it's surprisingly about stewardship.
And so if I do well with the things I'm in charge of, this is what happens. If I don't, because there is an if I don't, eh?
If I don't, then the responsibility, please hear this, responsibility I have will be taken away.
And given to someone who's not as qualified as me, but is faithful.
Selah.
This part is true too.
We often look at this and we think, oh, this is not the father's nature. It is absolutely the father's nature. You do this with your kids often.
If you have more than one kid or if you have grown up kids, you'll see that one doesn't matter how often you try to help the kid, that's in what you do.
You give it over to another kid. It's not that you love the kid less, but faithfulness is a critical element of the kingdom of God.
It's taken away. I've had this happen to me, man.
But because I was not I was not doing what God had asked me to do with my responsibility.
He let me experiment with it, not experiment. He let me have a go at it for about one and a half years and then it shut down completely.
I still not come back.
It is still not come back.
Sometimes God gives it back because he sees the change of heart.
Sometimes he says what he said to Moses. Enough. You're not going across. Stop it.
Both are from the nature of a father.
Any questions before we go on?
I love that there are consequences with God.
It's not a question of love, but it is a question of consequences and I've paid it.
Like I say, the greatest gift about growing old is a hindsight to see the consequences you could have not suffered.
Here's one last statement before we look at a scripture.
Stewardship loves what isn't yours.
It envisions and it nurtures at cost.
Nurtures at cost.
So stewardship loves what isn't yours. That's the first one.
It envisions and it nurtures at cost. What do I mean by that?
First, to understand that what I have in my hand, I cannot own.
You cannot own your house. You cannot own your business. You cannot own your gifts. You cannot own the church. You cannot own your ministry.
You cannot own your children. You cannot own.
We must defeat the idea of ownership. We must shift to stewardship.
What you cannot own. It's an essential part of...
I'm not saying if you buy a house, the title deed is not yours. I'm talking about in here and in here.
One of the oddest stories to pick for stewardship is in Exodus chapter 2.
And so Moses is floating down a basket and Miriam is running on the side watching the basket float down the river.
And then Pharaoh's daughter is there. She knows this child is not hers.
She knows this child is Hebrew. She actually says, this must be one of the Hebrew children.
And she knows what happens to Hebrew children. They get slaughtered.
But she takes Moses. She's the one who names Moses.
Moses' name came to happen to come to pass because this woman really cares for this child.
She takes him, educates him, knows that one day it will come out, but that's okay.
She makes this child her own.
But at the same time, she has the wisdom that comes with stewardship to say, who can wean this child?
Because this child needs to be fed.
And then comes Miriam and says, can I get a Hebrew woman to do it?
And who does she bring? The child's mother.
One of the strangest stories about stewardship.
And she raises Moses the best she can, not knowing that for the first 40 years,
she's just brought Moses into the prime of who he should be.
It isn't an ordinary man unfamiliar with the ways of Egypt that enters the courts of Pharaoh.
That is familiar ground for him.
The next one is envision.
Stewardship requires me envisioning what God has given me in my hand.
Is this what you've given me?
What will this egg become? What will this acorn become?
What will this seed become?
Begin envisioning.
Stewardship requires that I see what the church will become, what Tuni will become, what Nick will become, what Joshua will become.
I have to see it to the best of my ability.
You have to envision.
One of the people who did that was Mordecai.
In Esther chapter 2 it says, and Mordecai raised a young girl called Hadassah who was beautiful to look at,
but her father and mother had died and when she came of age, he adopted her.
And when the king sent out the decree, which was basically hiring a harem,
he goes and he tells her, listen, don't give your Hebrew ancestry out.
Then he goes and walks up and down every day outside the palace trying to find out what's happening.
He was a guy who could envision a future.
And finally, stewardship nurtures at cost.
As in, it pays the price to bring to fullness that which has been placed in your hand.
It pays the price.
1 Samuel 18, verse 4.
Jonathan knows that David is going to be king.
He also knows that he is going to be the next king by right.
And what does Jonathan do?
His dad gets angry at him.
But in 1 Samuel 18, 4, it says, Jonathan took off his robe, took off his belt, took off his sword.
These are the things that he did.
He took off his robe, took off his belt, took off his sword.
These are precious parts of a royal insignia.
And he takes it and hands it over to David.
What is he doing?
He's saying, listen, I know that I am next in line to be king,
but I also know that you are the one that God has chosen.
Nurturing someone else's potential at cost.
And do you think it will always be rewarded or people will appreciate it or people will think, great job?
No.
Big deal.
Stewardship is a pouring out of your life, not striking a bargain.
Any questions?
It's a beautiful thing and it's super important to God.
I didn't know it was so important to God.
Please take small things and take big things.
Sometimes the diligence some of you show while you do small things puts the rest of us to shame.
It sometimes irritates us because of the attention you pay to doing things well.
That's okay.
Any questions?
Cool.
Let's look at scripture that we were looking at last time.
It's Luke 16, 9 to 13.
Luke 16, 9 to 13.
Let's look at that.
Luke 16, 9 to 13.
Here's what it says.
Whoever can be trusted with very little.
This is Jesus' words.
You know he does in mince words.
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.
Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Case in point, John chapter 12, verse 6, Judas.
Judas could not be trusted with very little.
In John chapter 12, verse 6, it says, he used to go around every so often, he'd put his hand in the collection and take some money out.
It was just normal for him.
So it isn't surprising that a man who was dishonest and could not be trusted with mammon, which is the most inferior of things, could not then be trusted with the most precious thing in the universe, the son of God.
And it's always a slow burn when it comes to stuff like this.
We don't realize how it slowly erodes character.
It's never all of a sudden.
Ooh la la, another 112 minutes.
Luke 16, 9 to 13.
Next verse.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
And it is in that context that he says, verse 13, no one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.
So the choices are, and we have these choices, and there are people that have made choices, but we can change them.
The choices are A, can you be found trustworthy?
Can I be found trustworthy and faithful to the principles, the practices, the principles, the principles?
Of the kingdom, when we handle dishonest, idolatrous mammon.
God is not saying when you read the parable about this servant who went about forgiving people's debts so that when he knew he was going to get fired,
and so he thought, let me go reduce people's debts so that when I get fired, I can go to them and they'll remember what I did for them and invite them home.
And on one hand, Jesus is not commenting the dishonest servant, but he's calling him shrewd.
And this is the principle that we are supposed to get out of it.
So the question is, are you trustworthy and faithful to the principles and the practices of the kingdom when you handle dishonest, idolatrous mammon or money?
What does it look like to be trustworthy and faithful with dishonest mammon or idolatrous mammon?
Well, how about Deuteronomy 8.18? What does it say?
Deuteronomy 8.18 says, God gives me power to gain wealth. Is that part of your psyche? Is that how you think?
Let's take another scripture. Malachi 3.10.
Do you bring your tithes and offerings into the storehouse? So you may say, oh no, no, no, no, tithes is in the Old Testament. I don't believe in tithes anymore.
To begin with, tithes was 23.3%. It's good that you don't believe it.
Then let's go to 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6 to 8. He who sows sparingly, reaps sparingly.
And if you are generous, then I will supply all you need for every good work so that you may abound in it with great sufficiency.
You can pick whichever scripture you want to suit your fancy, but this is how we behave trustworthily or faithfully with the principles and the practices of the kingdom when we handle dishonest idolatrous mammon.
Let me give you another scripture.
How about 2 Corinthians 9, 6, 8? That's what I just called out. How about Isaiah 58, 7?
That I will use my resources to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to bring the homeless home, and to help those that are impoverished. Isaiah 58, verse 7.
Is this part of my psyche or is this something I do for Richmond outreach?
Let's take another one.
Matthew 22, 21.
What does it say? Give to Caesar what is Caesar, give to God what is God.
So how about the taxes? How about people who want you to pay in cash so that they can avoid paying taxes?
How about stuff like this? I remember once being at Jeremy's dad's shop. He used to run a printing franchise.
I was at Jeremy's dad's shop and a guy comes in and he's trying to convince Jeremy's dad, listen, just take cash.
You don't have to pay tax. I don't have to pay tax. And he's being quite convincing.
And it was quite a large order. And I saw Jeremy's dad stand there and say, no, you can take the order somewhere else, but I will be charging you both taxes.
Simple things like that. These are either written into my psyche or they are not.
The question is, what is non-negotiable for me when it comes to handling idolatrous mammon and dishonest wealth?
Because that's the category that money falls into.
But do I practice kingdom principles when handling it? That's the question.
Let's take another scripture.
1st Timothy 6, 6.
I don't remember that one.
1st Timothy 6, 6.
It says, godliness with contentment is great, gate grain, great gain.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Am I someone who knows what it is to be content or is it always a hunger for more?
A little more, a little more, a little more, slightly bigger, slightly more flashy, a little more.
We talked about this last week.
Let's take another one.
Psalm 112, verse 5 to 11.
Psalm 112, 5 to 11.
It says, a good man, a man who trusts God is a man who's generous.
He distributes his wealth all over the place. He gives freely and graciously.
Therefore, he's never afraid of bad news.
He doesn't live in the fear that anything bad will happen because he trusts Jehovah and he knows Jehovah will take care of him.
Last one, Matthew 6, 31.
Take a stop running after the things the pagans run after.
Unbelievers run after that which you wear, that which you eat, where you live.
These things your father knows.
Can you not run after that?
Can you begin to focus on the one thing that is important, the king and the kingdom?
And all these things that others run after will be added to you.
Here's the question, church.
Is that how my life is? Are those the principles I operate by?
And if that is not so, then I'm not operating by trustworthy principles and patterns of the kingdom when it comes to handling dishonest wealth.
And at some point, I'll negotiate or I'll be affected by it or my focus will not be king and kingdom.
It'll be other things.
Money has the ability to color the psyche of a person.
Please don't think that because I give to the church that this is not my case.
This is far deeper than that. It goes deep in.
So much of stewardship is actually not about money.
It's about what we think of God, how we relate to God in the context of money.
What's untrustworthy dealing?
So this was, so now we look at what does it look like?
The other choice we have.
The other choice is untrustworthy and idolatrous mindsets when handling wealth.
Even though I'm a citizen of the kingdom.
What does that look like? How about James 5, verse 3? James 5, verse 3.
I'm surprised at some of the verses we haven't seen before.
James 5, verse 3.
It's very strange that in verse 4, the one that will deal with my hoarding,
the one that will deal with my not paying you your due,
the one that will deal with my exploitation of the labor that you gave me,
is not Jesus Christ the Lord. It's not Jesus Christ the Savior.
It is not Jesus Christ the gentle one.
It is Jesus Christ the Lord of hosts, the Lord sub-aust, the avenger, the warrior.
It's strange. It's very deliberate.
It's almost a war-like footing suddenly. James 5, verse 3.
This is when I deal with money with an untrustworthy or idolatrous mindset.
How about 1 Timothy 6, verse 9?
1 Timothy 6, verse 9 bothers Christians if you read it.
You know, we all know 1 Timothy 6, verse 8 or 10. I'm not sure.
But we don't look at verse 9. Verse 10 says,
For the love of money is the root of all evil.
That one we know. Verse 9 is worse.
It just takes away any room to be greedy.
Look at what it says.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare,
into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
That's crazy. Am I not supposed to even desire to be rich?
Then what in the world am I going to do when I have to use the prosperity gospel?
It says even someone who desires to be rich.
I'd examine my heart. Jacob, do you desire to be rich?
Do you desire to have this and that and the other?
Anyone who desires to be rich falls into snares, falls into temptation,
falls into things that plunge you into great harm and do you harm.
That's just nuts, man. That's supposed to be a kingdom mindset.
This is what I mean by let the scriptures examine where we are.
Thank God you can't argue with me because these are scriptures.
Ecclesiastes 5.
Verse 10 onwards. Ecclesiastes 5.
I like saying Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 5.10.
Look at what it says.
Nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity.
When goods increase, they increase who eat them.
And what advantage has their owner but to see them with his own eyes?
Let me read it from the message.
The one who loves money is never satisfied with money,
nor the one who loves wealth with big profits, more smoke.
The more loot you get, the more the looters show up.
And what fun is that to be robbed in broad daylight?
Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep,
whether supper is beans or steak, but a rich man's belly gives him insomnia.
Here's a piece of bad luck I've seen happen.
A man holds far more wealth than is good for him,
and then loses it all in a bad business deal.
He fathered a child, but hasn't a cent left to give him.
I mean, have you even heard these verses?
This is a shift of thinking, man.
And if we do, the strange thing is, what happens?
God prospers the thing you're stewarding.
He opens doors. He gives you great joy.
And he brings increase because now he's not scared of giving you stuff
because you have a platform built that doesn't have these seeds.
When I talk about Jeremy's dad, I also mean Jacob's dad. I forgot.
Let's take another one. Proverbs 23, verse 4 and 5.
Proverbs 23, verse 4 and 5.
Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich. Restrain yourself.
Riches disappear in the blink of an eye.
Wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder.
One has to ask then, Jacob, do you wear yourself out trying to get rich?
Are you planning different methods to get rich?
There was a time in my life where I would travel and add zero money,
and it would be to places that were poor,
so you knew you wouldn't get an offering in those places.
And I remember at times when I would plan my return trip,
I would try and hit a Western nation on a Sunday,
and I would text the pastor in that church saying,
hey, I'll be in your city on Sunday.
Just thought I'll say hello if you want to grab a coffee.
And that was my way of saying I'll be in town on Sunday.
If you want to invite me to your church, I'd love to preach.
But I would say if I preached at these churches, they would give me an offering.
There are different ways that we wear ourselves trying to get rich.
Don't look at me like that. Sometimes you also make such mistakes.
I'll have to stop preaching from inside there if you look at me like that.
I got time.
Last scripture in this section, Proverbs 11, Proverbs 11, 24-26.
Proverbs 11, 24-26.
If I read it from the NIV.
Now you see the difference between being trustworthy and faithful to the principles of the kingdom
in handling dishonest wealth and idolatrous mammon
and ones who are not worthy of the same.
And the difference between being trustworthy and faithful to the principles of the kingdom
in handling dishonest wealth and idolatrous mammon
and ones who are idolatrous and dishonest in their mindset and practices when they handle wealth
even though they are a citizen of the kingdom.
And I would like to suggest to you that we should be one or the other
because the worst thing to do is to be in between.
Be one or the other.
Any questions?
Cool.
Let's look at Luke 16, 12.
Here's what it says.
If I, Jacob, haven't proven...
Write scriptures like this.
Put your name in there so you don't think of someone else.
If I, Jacob, haven't proven myself as trustable
in handling someone else's things
or someone else's responsibility given to me
then why should I be trusted?
Why should I be trusted?
With things of my own.
Who said this?
Jesus.
Embrace this. Let it go deep into our lives.
If I, Jacob, haven't proven myself as trustable in handling someone else's things
or in handling a responsibility that someone gave me
then why should I be trusted with things of my own?
I want to say to you that God deliberately uses this
to either bring increase or not bring increase.
Let me word it this way so you can take this to the bank.
My willingness
to manage in a responsible way
something that belongs to you
sets me up
to have something of my own
from God
who uses this method
to bring me to the bank.
Who uses this method
to give increase?
Guys, this is the truth.
There's just no way you can bypass this.
There's no way I can bypass this.
No amount of prayer will help you bypass this one.
My willingness to manage in a responsible way
something that belongs to you
sets me up to have something of my own from God
who uses this method to give increase.
This is how he's decided he's going to do it.
A church, in your marriage, at work, with your children, with money,
in things, small things, big things, this is how he does it.
He's set up a system.
It's like software.
Only he can code it.
Can bring tremendous increase or can leave a stagnant?
Any questions?
I've been going over things
that either has been given to me by somebody else
or belongs to another that I now have to...
And it's a long list, man,
of things that I have to now correct.
I'm not looking forward to it.
I'm praying that they get raptured, then it's settled.
Sorry, say that again, Mark.
So, why do you use resources?
And they're younger than me. They've invested well.
But here's the question.
Has what you have now or have access to now
become something that prevents you from letting go?
Has what you have invested in become your insurance and your security?
So, it's not so much how well you invest or what you have.
It is now what happens.
Now that you have eight or nine houses, what are you going to do?
That's the question.
Like I said, money colors the psyche in here.
The heart and the mind is what gets colored.
So, we get caught in this cycle of,
yeah, I'll invest and more will grow, more will grow.
But to what end?
To what end?
So that one day...
I'll come to a point which will make us even more uncomfortable shortly.
But it's the condition of the heart.
God is not against investment.
In fact, in Ecclesiastes 11, 1 and 2, he says,
cast your bread upon the waters,
distribute it in seven, eight different places,
because one day it will come back to you.
If you read the message version of it, it says,
hey, invest in seven, eight different things,
because you don't know which may work and which may not work.
So, invest, cast your bread upon the waters,
and see how it comes back to you.
God is into investment.
He is one of the most profitable beings in the universe.
Everything he does brings a good return.
If God isn't in that and you know it,
then you should question why the passion.
But let's assume God is in that.
Go with your passion.
You know that God is in that.
But let's assume God is in that.
Go with your passion.
But what's the color of my heart?
Am I gaining wealth to save it for a rainy day?
Simple questions.
Am I gaining wealth to save it for a rainy day?
Great.
Good advice would be save for a rainy day.
What is a rainy day?
A rainy day is when everything breaks down and God won't show up.
So save for a rainy day.
Should we invest and keep money aside for our children?
Yes, one should leave an inheritance for one's children.
It's the right thing to do.
But what in my mind is the definition of a rainy day?
If my definition of a rainy day is Mark won't be there,
the church won't be there,
God won't be there when I hit a rainy day,
then my psyche has to be examined because I've got a problem in the way I think.
If I buy seven or eight houses so I can sell one house
for each nation God has given me,
great, buy eight more houses.
We've got 16 nations then.
But if it is I want to hold this and keep it so that my future is secure,
it's one of the strangest things.
Idolatrous mammon exchanges present stability for a future with God.
We'll get there.
Do you hold what you've been entrusted with loosely
or is it your insurance and treasure for the future?
Am I owned by the things I own?
Sometimes the father will test my heart.
Sometimes the father, not the devil, the father, not your wife, the father.
Sometimes the father will test my heart by directing me
to give away what is important to me.
Sometimes the father will test my heart by directing me to give away what is important to me.
He tests my heart.
Why does he test my heart when he already knows my heart?
Because he wants me to see what's in my heart.
Why does God test your heart if he already knows what's in your heart?
Why test it? Because he wants you to know.
Stewarding possessions. I'll give you examples so it gets clear.
Stewarding possessions requires throwing down the rod
and picking up the snake by its tail.
Exodus, chapter 4.
Moses has a rod in his hand.
It's a rod that he uses as a shepherd to ward away predators and to pull sheep to safety.
It's what he has. It's the most important possession in his life.
He probably found it in the desert, shaped it, carved it, sandpapered it with whatever he used then, and he's got this amazing rod.
Later on it becomes a rod of God where he holds it up and armies win and armies lose.
But at one point when Moses is confronted by God and God wants to completely change who Moses is,
he says throw down the rod and he throws it down.
And then he says pick it up by its tail because it turns into a snake.
Every so often, stewarding possessions requires throwing down the rod and picking up the snake by its tail.
And if I do it that way, then what I pick up begins to prosper.
And if I don't do it that way, it just tastes like a piece of wood.
Yep, we'll give examples. We'll give examples.
To start Acts 29, required that I would have to throw down the job I previously had.
I couldn't do both. So at one point you have to throw down something.
People here who started businesses, people who here have started ventures,
people here who've done things, realized that you can't move into something without giving up something.
So I had to throw down the previous job I had and then take on a job with only two people in the church.
And then the North American Baptist said they'd help us with money.
They started helping us with money.
Around the ninth month, we decided that if Acts 29 was to begin to move forward,
then we would have to learn how to be self-sufficient.
So we went and we threw down the money that was being given to us for four years after nine months
saying we do not want this job.
So we went and we threw down the money that was being given to us for four years after nine months
saying we do not want this money because we want to be a church that is self-governing,
self-reproducing and self-sustaining.
I'm thinking that if we want this global revival among the 20s and 30s to begin to spread across the earth
and if we want to set up 15 centers across the world where people can go get trained
and see another Acts 29 or another better version of Acts 29 in 15 parts of the world,
in South Africa, no, in Africa, Asia, America, all over,
then once again the time has come where I'll have to throw down the rod.
But I've been talking to the leaders saying,
What if I can step back from Acts 29 and no longer receive the money that you give me and start afresh?
Because what is required is so much greater that you can't begin to step into that
unless you let go of what you presently have.
So what if I continued being part of the church, I'd still teach, I'd still take 90 minutes of sermon,
but I refuse to then receive what the church gives me?
You know what that'll do? That'll open up so many things on the earth
because one of the things God loves doing is, Hey, you've been dependent on it,
let's become dependent on me again.
It takes away your dependence on bread and now you've got to make sure that you go out every day and collect manna.
What was the intent of manna?
It was again this idea of, Hey, can I make you reliant on me?
He humbled them in the desert so that they would learn that man does not live by bread alone,
as in what you earn by the sweat of your brow,
but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God
and you become reliant and dependent upon him again. Why not?
I'm kind of looking forward to it.
Maybe start in January or if I have the courage, start in December.
And throwing it out here in the open, I've taken another step of courage
because I've been thinking of this for about two months, but didn't have the guts.
This is how God begins to now increase and prosper.
And when your prosperity includes the people, think of the benefit guys.
God's provision is best released and retained his way.
It's what keeps you from being bitten by the snake called Mammon.
So I'm going to tell you about the
It's what keeps you from being bitten by the snake called Mammon.
God's provision is best released and retained his way.
It is what keeps me from being bitten by that snake Mammon.
What does Mammon do? It substitutes the provider,
It substitutes the provider, Jira.
It substitutes the provider with secure livelihood.
It substitutes stewardship with ownership.
It substitutes ownership with support.
And it substitutes a glorious, adventurous future
with stable, predictable present.
This is what Mammon can do.
Mammon can bring you to a place where it substitutes the provider, as in Jira, with secure livelihood.
Have you noticed how all of us, almost everybody in this room,
thinks that our provision comes from the work we do?
There's nobody here that doesn't think like that.
Occasionally we know better, but it's become such a part of our thinking, right?
My provision comes from the work I do.
And yet, if you go to Genesis chapter 1, 2 and 3, you will see that God did not connect provision and work.
Provision was him. Work was something he wanted us to do.
But we've connected it so that now work is held over our heads like a sword, man.
Is it wrong to be ambitious?
Yeah, is it wrong to be ambitious?
I don't think it's wrong to be ambitious. I think it's foolish to be ambitious.
Because my ambitions on the best day will be so limited compared to a dream that God gives.
My ambitions are super limited.
I could have never dreamed Acts 29 like this.
My ambitions were much better than this.
Oh my God, would I exchange this for my ambition? Absolutely not.
This is brilliant. I look forward to it. What am I looking forward to? I look forward to you.
It's brilliant. But my ambitions are much greater, man. It was nothing like this.
But thank God it didn't go that route.
Go ahead, Minna.
Absolutely.
Sorry, I'm excited to answer your question.
I have a question for you.
Can you imagine a child in the world who is really talented?
Yep. So imagine yourself as a little girl, okay?
And your dad has a dream for you.
And that dream is perfect.
It will address who you are, how you think, your talents, your gifts, your abilities, your passion, your interests.
It will address all of it.
Now, he wants you to find it.
And when you find it, then Meera begins to walk in it.
And she begins to plan it, because he says, hey Meera, by 2027, I want you to be here.
By 2029, I want you to be here.
And then he begins to send people into your lives, like this amazing preacher called Jacob and a few others.
And they begin to then contribute to your journey.
Your plan now is based on your father's dream.
And this little girl who didn't know that she would one day end up being a tennis star, winning all five Grand Slams, but her dad saw it.
And so he brought in the Amrit Raj brothers in India.
Then he brought in Pat Kesh, you won't know who that is.
And then Steffi Graf, and you end up becoming one of the top tennis stars in the world.
The important thing is to get a grasp of the dream so that he can begin to plan it with you.
And that is difficult work.
But once you get it, it's very hard then to miss.
You know, someone said this, it's not my quote, successful people are people.
How do you know a person has achieved success?
A person that has achieved success has begun to complete and fulfill the dream that God had for them before they were born.
That's a successful person.
A successful person is a person who has accomplished, fulfilled, completed what they were placed here for.
Now the book calls them the happiest people on earth, people who found out why they were here.
That is what it looks like.
And it has a plan.
Do you know, this service might have looked spontaneous, but my God, I've been planning it from last night.
And then I'll come and pretend that it's all spontaneous.
It's not.
There's a lot of work that has gone in.
When to go into the water, which girl to bring first, what verse.
There's so many parts that go into it.
It's planned.
If a little service can be planned like this, imagine what else has to be planned.
Guys are going to Kelowna to be at Nie's church on Friday.
It has to be planned.
If it's not planned, it's irresponsible.
It's not good stewardship.
But can you plan his dream instead of planning your ambitions?
Can you plan his dream instead of planning your ambitions?
Because once you have it, then you can wait.
You know what allows you to wait through tough times?
When the going gets tough, the tough don't go back.
What's it when the going gets tough?
The tough get going.
When the going gets tough, the tough go back to their calling.
When the going gets tough, they go back to, ah, but I remember what God called me for.
I can wait a little longer.
And I can wait with half a smile on my face because it's coming.
You know, these 15 centers I'm talking about around the world, 12 years, man, you'll see.
New York.
You can ask Larissa, she's here.
It's growing, man.
But did it cost?
Yeah.
You know, when we rented a space there, you want to know about laying things down?
When we rented a space there, someone came and said, we'll pay for an entire year of the space.
And it was thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars.
And I'm sitting there and they are being generous.
They're being sacrificial.
They're being a blessing.
And they're saying, we want to pay for the entire year.
And I'm sitting there and God is saying, these guys are doing what I told them to.
But here's what I want you to do.
I want you to say no.
And I'm saying to the Lord, Father, that's not how testimonies end.
When you take a step of faith and someone comes and gives you an entire year's worth of things, take it.
But he said, no, they are being obedient to what I told them.
You be obedient to what I'm telling you because you have to pay a price for it.
Yeah.
Let's wrap up because the water is almost done.
Oh, shucks.
I hardly have a few minutes left.
He's coming to check if I'm telling the truth.
Couple of statements.
My relationship with money is a measure of his fatherhood.
My orphanhood and fear of abandonment.
Of his fatherhood.
My orphanhood.
And fear of abandonment.
Mammon renders many of us orphans.
orphans. Mammon renders many of us orphans. As in, money has the ability to render many of us as
orphans because my relationship with money is a measure of his fatherhood, of my orphanhood,
and the fear of abandonment. You think I'm not scared now that I've blurted out what I want to
do? You think I'm not scared? I'm super scared. What does it reveal? It reveals my orphanhood
and my fear. I won't work out.
What does it reveal? It reveals the extent of a scarcity mentality.
That exposes
my fear of lack and want.
In a church like this where there are strong believers who are generous,
it's very hard to face up to or to convince someone that we suffer from this.
I bring it up with people and they'll say, no, I don't have a problem. I give money. It's not
important. It's just a thing that we use and the usual cliches and scratching my head thinking,
no, man, we suffer this. We've got to overcome this.
It reveals the extent of a scarcity mentality. And what's a scarcity mentality?
It exposes the fear of lack and the fear of want.
It's very hard to steward when these are the things that drive me. The prosperity gospel is
driven by two things, lack and want. If lack and want were absent, you would not be able to preach
the prosperity gospel. You feed on people's lack and want, but you tell them that God will provide
if they so. Now what, Srivik?
Your daughter gets a free pass and not you.
Can you turn to Genesis 14 verse 17 to Genesis 15 verse 1?
Genesis 14 verse 17 to Genesis 15 verse 1.
After Abram returned from defeating Kedur-Laomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh.
That's the king's valley.
Then Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine.
He was the priest of God Most High and he blessed Abram saying,
Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and praised be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the people, keep the goods for yourself.
Abram said to the king of Sodom, with raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say I made Abram rich.
I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me to Anar, Eshkol and Mamre.
Let them have their share.
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.
Our stewardship, our stewardship over things that are natural, our stewardship over things that are natural, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, readies, read
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end isлись for the things unseen and supernatural.
understand, for the things unseen and supernatural.
on the tablet of your heart.
Guys, just like God decided that clouds will bring rain
and not leaves, the same way God has decided that this is how I'll do
things. If you can steward things that are
natural, things that are inferior, like money, if you can steward that well,
then Jacob, then Acts 29, I will then allow you or give you the ability to
become ready for the things that are unseen and supernatural.
That's what's happening in Genesis 14, 17 to 15.
One, my stewardship of the natural is a test. My stewardship
of the natural is a test for the supernatural.
Which means then guys that if I fail this test,
I will not be able to participate in it like I should.
Do you believe that? Because I find it hard to believe. I just think a whole
lot of worship and prayer should cut it.
That's our problem. We've got so many of these other options, right?
Prayer, speaking tongues, go out, wear shirts that say Science, Miracles, and
Wonders. Do all this and it'll happen. All those are nice, but the basis is
something blooming else.
So the topic was true riches. What are we talking about? Here is a
list of true riches and we'll end with that
and continue next week. True riches. Here are true riches. This is what you get.
This is what Jacob gets when he stewards things that are natural.
This is what Acts 29 will get even if Jacob as a pastor begins to steward
things in the natural. Guys, it's always a trickle-down effect.
If Remy stewards that which is natural well,
Jaya, Hamari, and Judah get to benefit from Remy's stewarding because he's
first among equals. If I steward things in the natural well,
the entire church benefits and if I don't,
you benefit less. It's not that you don't benefit,
you benefit less. It's just a principle God has established.
It's like gravity. There's nothing you can do about it. See,
came down. It just works. So here are true riches, but these true riches
are kind of dependent on how you and I steward the inferior things. What are the
inferior things? The inferior things are anything that brings you, you know what
the word mammon means. Mammon doesn't mean just money. It means security.
It means money. It means wealth. It means things. It means property.
It means wages. It means livelihood. It's just all this and this is inferior.
Jesus is saying, if you can't, Jacob, if you don't know how to handle
inferior things, how am I going to give you superior things? How am I going to
give you true riches? So we end with what true riches are. Here's a list of true
riches. You can add more, but this is pretty exhaustive gift.
True riches are in the unseen realm, but they come into the
physical always. True riches, one, spiritual gifts.
Two, promises from heaven for the earth and sometimes for you directly.
Three, favor like Joseph had. That kind of favor. Four, revelation
and insight like Solomon had, like John had,
like Peter had. This revelation did not come to you from flesh and blood, but
came to you from the Father. And so I give to you the keys of the
kingdom. What you open will not be shut. What you shut will not be open.
Maturity comes with stewardship. Absolutely. As you begin to steward
things in the natural, surprisingly it's an affected anointing.
Have you noticed how there are some average singers who when they open their
mouth and sing, God turns up? How come? Because they're faithful, man.
Anointing. Chances to partner with the impossible. Chances to partner
for the impossible.
Heaven's purposes here on earth.
Your identity getting more solid.
Streams of glory. What do I mean by streams of glory?
Like the different revivals that have happened. Like when God turns up.
Like when God affects a small group of people or a nation. Like I said, one day
I want this to light up at night. But that's just a dream of mine.
Making things new where signs of miracles
and healings happen. This is what true riches looks like. Is there anybody here
who does not want this like crazy? And if you are one of those people who does
not want this like crazy, that's okay. But know that you don't want this like
crazy. I want this like crazy. And if I get this like crazy, the entire world
will be affected. The world around me will be affected.
Your children will be affected. This is the superior stuff.
This is the superior stuff. And this superior stuff comes when I steward
the inferior stuff well. We'll stop there.
Next week we will continue with stewardship.
Okay, let's pray.
That's crazy man. I timed it so well.
Jesus, that's a lot of stuff that's said. But if I'm struggling with
a wrong mindset with dealing with dishonest mammon, I just want to stand up
where I am. And Jesus, I just want you to know that I, Jacob, am standing up
because I'm not handling it well. And in the process, you won't be able to trust
me with true riches. So around this room, there are people that don't think
their relationship with money is right. I just pray that they stand.
Are there anyone with a scarcity mentality?
Afraid of lack, afraid of want? Any of these things we mentioned where
you're not stewarding the things well. I just pray that we stand where we are.
No pressure about some of us have the ability to handle it well. I'm just
talking about others like me who don't.
So Jesus, as you see us, I just ask that you would begin work in us
one thing at a time. For some of us, it may be. I'm not even going to go down
that route. Father, we need help. We're not standing up because we don't have
money. We're standing up because we don't know how to deal with it when we
have it and when we don't have it. We are standing up because there's fear of
lack. There's a fear of want. There's a fear of abandonment. There's an
There's an orphanhood mentality. Jesus, would you please help us? That's all I'm
asking. Would you help me? Would you help people in this room? You see us, right?
Please help us. We want to get this right. That's all I ask right now. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Guys, if you need prayer, there'll be people here to pray with you. I forgot to
announce that these offering boxes are here. Sometimes we forget to put them out.
And I wonder what it means when it says, give offerings hilariously. What would
that look like? What do you think it would look like?
Okay, let me ask you this question. The teaching is done. I'm just asking you a
question for my own... Can you imagine a situation where you gave laughing your
head off and you couldn't control it? Anyone? You guys did. That's great. Anybody
else? Like you were so happy you burst out laughing as you were giving. Okay, only
two people there. And those two can be quite crazy. So yeah, cool. Just a
question. Tuni, you can come up and stand with me if you want.