Chris Brown: How to Feast in a Famine

the heat has made ribbons of distortion up ahead it's uh it's an invisible curtain that you can't quite catch up to it's an ever reminder of how far your journey has yet to go and yet the time you're living it I don't know the science behind it I just know that ball of fire bounces off the parched earth in it it creates those waves and for days they've just been walking into it every time they stop for a night and start their fires he feels their weight on his shoulders even in the darkness he feels their stares they're all questioning they're all wondering does he know where he's going why this direction why are we leaving when we're not supposed to leave and will he cross the line it's not just their lives at stake there's a small voice from his dad in the back of his mind that's told them boy don't leave this land don't cross the line it was fathers dying wishes and along with it it's not clear and he's not sure how or why but he knows his decisions affect you and I and that's yet to be played out what he knows for sure is he's in the midst of a famine the heat has torched everything they tried to grow and the livestock is now growing thin and gone waters in desperate need and hard to find and the land he was supposed to stay in he now leads his people out and in the midst of his journey in the midst of his famine he will find an answer that he didn't even know he was looking for and bayside my hope my prayer this morning is that in the midst of watching his journey some of us will walk out of here finding an answer we didn't even know we're looking for and in only the way the lens of Scripture can it's already rushed us into the first four verses of Genesis chapter 26 so if you brought your own flat screen with you today Oh open it up I want you to see the rest of it yourself Genesis first book of the Bible so it's real easy to find chapter 26 open it or turn it on here we go you ready are you ready thank you the front three rows the rest of you can quietly slip out Genesis 26 verse 1 now there was a famine in the land besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Guerard it just sounds like more Bible II look Once Upon a Time some dude from somewhere went to some dude from somewhere and why do we really need to know but in that first sense that gives us context and content for everything now we know who is leaving what going where and meeting who and in the first verse that gives us everything we didn't know there's a famine in the land it's all dried up everything you hope for everything you wanted is gone and now it's pushing you to places that you thought you'd never go and the who is Isaac and I know where in chapter 26 but the first 25 chapters of Genesis are pretty simple page 1 verse 1 says you and I are here simply because there was once a big bang that put everything into being verse 1 says that big bang that science can't quite duplicate or explain was the voice of God that spoke things into being there's a crater behind creation there's an unmade maker' the reason you and I who we are why we are to do what we do on this ball of mud that spins so ferociously around a ball of fire in such a degree that we never get too close to burn up never too far away to freeze at a rate that never speeds up or slows down that keeps chubby guys like me firmly planted never getting gushy never float in a way that that has a design to it by chance that God spoke things page 1 into being page 2 that God has a purpose for you you're supposed to have an amazing relationship with God an amazing relationship with others I don't care how your parents said you've got here you're not a mistake I don't care what you feel about your life you're supposed to have purpose you have significant it's page three you don't have it unless the reality the Bible the great relationship with God is no longer there and the relationship with others is no longer there and the great question of all of history why why did God allow sin why did God allow choice if God knew we're gonna screw this up so much why would he do that why does he allow evil why does he allow hatred why does he allow death page three because God wanted us to love God want us to love each other and God wants to love him and love was a choice that's never been an emotion and if he gives us a choice to love there by definition has to be a choice to unloved and a choice to unloved as a choice to reject a choice to betray a choice to hurt a choice to abuse a choice to abandon and God's great desire for us to experience love had to allow an incredible tragedy for those that use the unloved and page three it's broken page four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve is simply the beginning of humanity man trying to find important significance in his family well that didn't work if we just have kids in the great family it'll be great Oh your kids abrupt problems amen page four biblical if we just have great relationships and man and woman page five relationships have turned to towards each other and we find more betrayal and hurt and relationships so page six seven eight let's focus on what we do on what we build on who we are on title and position on building nations on building empires on building success and it is all fallen short page 12 God says now that you know you cannot find real significance on your own I will send my son an answer in the world to show you how God loves you and to repair the brokenness in relationship but now God's got a problem how does he send his son into the world if he sends his son into any people group that people groups gonna claim we're the best we're favorite he goes I can't do that so I'm gonna start my own nation God says I'll start my own group so no one can claim to be better than the others here's the problem God needs to pick somebody to start this nation out of so God looks around the land and he finds the greatest loser in that day and age his name's Abraham and I know some of you went to Sunday school you shouldn't talk about Abraham that way I would never the bible does calls him a loser the guy's got nothing going for him the guy's had no kids even though he and his wife were old and wrinkly they got nothing to pass on his name's not going anywhere there's no significance he hasn't accomplished anything in his life the book of Joshua says he cos a Satan worshiper from the hills of Babylon there's Abraham stop coloring in Sunday school with a halo behind his head this guy's got nothing and God said if I do something with that clown his friends are gonna believe in God and for the first time I have hope in the Bible and says Abraham you got nothing going for you leave what you have I'll make you into a great nation and Abraham steps out in faith and he does it and God said out of you I will build a family and now that family I will send a son and his boy Isaac 26 verse 1 has to leave the land that his dad said God will bless us in because a famine has taken everything away and now we have story ten minutes on verse 1 and we have 20-some verses it should only take about three hours here we go verse two you know like did we just do 25 chapters in Genesis yeah read it on your own there's more there but now we're in now the Lord appeared to Isaac and said do not go down to Egypt live in the land where I tell you to live stay in the land for a while and I will be with you Circle highlight underline and circle I will bless you Circle highlight underline for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands I'm gonna confirm the oath that I swore to your dad Abraham I'm gonna make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I'm gonna give them all these lands and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because circle Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements my commands might decrease my laws so Isaac stayed and Guerard on your note sheet I'm giving you like four bullet points it's more gonna talk about the famine right now faith in the midst of it finance family I'm gonna have nothing for you to fill in consider that whole thing blank for you neurotic note-takers you can write what you want the rest can just listen but I love the way it starts and his dad's dying breath Abraham said boy don't leave the land God's promise to do something with us in this land and then Isaac had to bury Abraham next to his mom Sarah in the same to whom and there's a famine have you been there have you been there let me get us there Isaac now owns more on his tent than what it's worth we're there the finances Isaac had six years ago his savings his retirement the kids college fund he prays to God they don't ask about it because it's gone the life that Isaac thought he was gonna have the home that he thought he was gonna live in forever the wealth that he thought he had has been torched in the famine so much so there's nothing to stay he walks away from the house he leaves the key in the door he declares bankruptcy and he just starts to move have you been there and he's walking parched beat up beat down and he's got to be thinking wait a second God I'm supposed to be on your side I'm the one with the promise you're supposed to be here why is this happening Edward lived in a day where you just looked around said God why if I'm your child if you're on my side why is this happening has it ever moved you to places you swore you never go before take jobs you said you'd never hope to take before and Isaac starts to leave the land and I love that God showed up and he goes boy boy way listen I am still with you and you still have my promise I'm doing something through you you still have my presence you still have my promise but then guy goes but Isaac you're in a famine okay God shows up and says Isaac listen to me you're in a famine okay okay so so Isaac's leaving everything he feels like his expectations he's not living up to where he is in life is not where he's supposed to be God should be blessing him God should be helping him out God where are you and God showed up and said Isaac you're in a famine and church some of you that is the only thing you need to get in your brain today somehow we are equating the situation we live in to whether or not God is with us and nothing could be further from the truth Isaac's like why everything's torched we can't go remember it's it's an agrarian society your wealth isn't what you grow and the livestock you have in a famine you've lost it and now he's walking away from God's promise God where you at God what's going on a guy goes whoa you're in a famine oh the amount of conversations I've had with church people the last few years Chris I don't get it we've lost this or out a job we're looking for work we can't find my husband's got these degrees and yet he can't be hired he's overqualified for what what's God doing and I'm like another Niren you're in a famine let me put it this way Bayside if everybody in this area had jobs that were paying them seven figures everybody and you're the only person unemployed it's a god thing probably a god thing if everybody's home in your neighborhood has quadrupled in the last three years and you're the only house that lost equity that's a god thing but if everybody is going through some tough times right now God shows up and says what in the world does your finances have to do with your faith buddy I am still here you have me and my promises you're in a famine Christian some of us need to get through that God shows up and says wait wait wait wait you still have me you still my promises and your life sucks congratulations about to get worse glad we had the talk and that's where he's at with Isaac SSI it's like moving to the North Pole and every day you're like god why is it so cold God wives are so cold in my life right now and gods like you're in the North Pole that's the culture you're living in but our American Church has equated our finances with faith and nothing could be further from the truth we want to be followers of Christ we just don't want to have his life we deserve better than Jesus somehow that doesn't sound right saying it but our prayers reflected God I'm a follower of your son I just demand you give me a better life than you gave your boy how have we gotten there by taking verses out of context by drinking out of your little Jesus jug every morning that says he richly provides you with everything for your enjoyment bring it on well enjoy your Jesus junk we can take a lot of statements out of context God says no no I brought my son in the world to show you my love for you to die on the cross to pay for your sin so that I can use you not to build your kingdom but the build is and some of us right now we're going through some really difficult times and God goes nothing with your faith the blessing is you still have God's presence and you still have his promise well is that his promise to make me rich no his promise is to use you his promise is to work through you his promise is to walk with you through the famine Isaac you're blessed and you've just lost everything don't confuse the two and watch where he goes and by the way let me just say it is so much better to be in a tough life with Christ tend to be wealthy without him Church some of you are going through a difficult time right now if you are a follower of Christ may I remind you this life is as close to hell as you will ever get that's it this is as close to hell as you will get and forever we have heaven and God says I'll walk with you through hell because you ain't going there and Isaac finds himself from the land of Guerard and verse 7 when the men of that place ask him about his wife it's weird to have you looking right here for an ad diga I'm looking at my Bible and I have these eyes and I'm right here do you want you can pull the chair up here if you want and just sit together here we go just do that it's weird it's like peripheral vision here we up in front row verse 7 for the ATD when the men of that place asked him about his wife he said no she's my sister because he was afraid to say she's my wife you see he thought the men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah because she's beautiful what do you know ok so he leaves the promised land he moves in the enemy territory the Philistine camp and as he goes in there he knows something about these guys these guys have a reputation for killing dudes if they have hot wives and he looks to Rebekah in the Bible already said a couple chapters ago she's a hot woman it's all women are hot I hope you get it don't believe the magazine racks and so we walked into town with her and he's like and the guys come on city who aren't you worried from he's all my name's Isaac we're from the famine and they're like in who is this he's like she's my sister and you know Rebecca just spud he knows she's staring he's like don't look at her don't look at her don't look at him what and now side note ladies if you happen to me married to a guy that occasionally says some really dumb stuff it's biblical and so here we go I'm like hey once again I'm in the Bible I'm an idiot where's he get this from if you've read the chapters before dad lied about his wife twice in fact when he went to Egypt he was so afraid they were gonna kill him because of Sarah he let another guy take his wife as his wife for a while by the way even though the Bible says it that's not what we do it's descriptive of what we don't do what an idiot he was and the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree and Isaac gets in a jam even though God just said I'm gonna bless you don't worry about it he goes out and he lies and when Isaac had been there a long time Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked down from a window and he saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah and Abimelech summon Isaac and said she's really your wife exclamation point why did you say she was your sister and there's the scene I just got a lot of people we've learned the chapters before he's got so many men he can have an army of about 1200 already that's how big the tribe is he's leaving at this point I'm sure they're camped outside the city he and Rebecca got a little two-bedroom place inside the city for the time being they're on their balcony they're doing what couples are biblically mandated to do if you got a King James Bible it said the king looked down and saw them sporting with each other that's cool no I'm an athlete and so the King looks down and he sees the brother and sister in a Beno in in a wild game of ping-pong and he's like you should be blamed ping-pong with your sister like that and so he calls him up into the castle and they come up and he's like what is she your wife issues what kind of jacked up Kentucky family are you guys and he's like come down here oh I should have gone there I'm sorry I shouldn't I could have picked any I could have picked Tennessee Arkansas I'm sorry and it's not I'm if you're here from Kentucky I'm just joking it's we don't mean that I apologize to you and your sister wife and so he calls him up he goes what's going on and Abimelech and Isaac answered and said because I thought lose my life on account of her and the bimmel exed what is this you've done to us one of our men might have slept with your wife you would have brought guilt upon us so Bimala gave orders to all the people anyone who molest this man or his wife shall surely be put to death so the King's Own wouldn't even edit you said she's your sister he's like I was afraid you'd kill me he said you realized the men of our area could have slept with her and you realized the guilt we would have had from you now there's something here so far the King has noticed Isaac and Rebecca it says when they've been there for some time there's something about the way they live that the King knows you have a God everyone has gods in this day and age you have some sort of God that if we harm you I think there would have been some bad juju on us he doesn't know who that God is he doesn't know anything about that God but he knows enough about Isaac and Rebekah to know if we did work with you what we usually do to other people you live in such a way we could have gotten guilt and the King makes the law no one touches his sister-wife and that's gonna be important by the way I love that the the one who follows God is the one being an idiot and the one who doesn't know God is doing the right thing Christian you are saved you are God's child simply by His grace mercy and forgiveness let's never think it's because we're better than anyone else or the world around us the ungodly dude is doing the right thing and it's the Christian once again that's making us all hypocrites because of the way he lives his life and by the way if you're brought here with someone begrudgingly and you're like I don't like Christianity why I know too many Christians I would just say you're right we are all a bunch of broken jacked-up people that are prone to failure who simply have met a God who will love us through our failure please don't judge our God by the way we're trying to walk on a journey with him that's good so there's a long maiden here we go Isaac planted crops in that land in the same year reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him and the man became rich and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy he had so many flocks and herds the servants that the Philistines now invade him whoa whoa whoa wait you just said finances aren't a blessing now it said God blessed him with finances yeah and so on let me tell you the difference God did something in his crops in a way that everyone around realized now we hate you God did something in this time in the area of Finance that you could not humanely do to plant a crop especially when it says the first year this hasn't been an ongoing crop this has been a first year plant to get 15 to 20 percent yield back would have been good 30 to 40 percent would have been a bumper crop to get a hundredfold back Ludacris unheard of laughable god thing let's be very careful when we equate wealth with blessings a lot of times we have to go and all God's blessed us what do you mean I got a job we're paying bills we're living comfortably that has nothing to do with blessings and put this way are there a lot of non-christians that have good jobs living comfortably paying bills so God's bless them to think of the wealthiest entertainers or people in our country is that because God's blessing them are there a lot of incredibly evil people doing wrong stuff that are incredibly wealthy is that God blessing them no that same math that we say Oh God's blessed us because we have funny means that God hates the Christians in the third-world country because they have nothing it's the same math and we know that's not true it's only in the wealthy churches of America we equate wealth with blessings now God does something here in such a way where he goes the rest the world doesn't do that I just did something in this guy's crop that the rest of the world can't touch that's a blessing that's a god thing everyone knows it and the change of finances does not bring a change of righteousness it just brings more problems what you need is not another 30 grand a year what you need is a heart that seeks contentment without 30 grand a year he gets blessed financially and he's about to go through some painful stuff they hate him and here's the journey 31 from 54 3 carry the to 1 we got an hour and a half so all the wells that his father's servants dug in the time of his father Abraham the Philistine stopped up filling them with earth then Abimelech came to Isaac and said move away from us you become too powerful for us we're about to talk about Wells I know you can't or church-going I hope somebody explains digging Wells in ancient culture to me well good you've got a great day the rest of you let me tell you why this is about to be important well is life water in a Middle Eastern agrarian society means existence everything is planted or livestock that's raised without water you have no future you have no hope well can be seen as wealth you got water you got wealth they hate his wealth so they fill up his wells they take away his water as well and the King says get out of here for the first time in years he's now got some success for the first time in the famine he's finally got a bumper crop and he's got a small army and when someone tries to kick you off a land that you worked hard for it's go time here it is so Isaac moved away from there oh it was kind of anticlimactic didn't you want to fight he just moved away from there he encamped in the valley of Guerard he settled there and Isaac reopened the wells that have been dug in the time of his father Abraham which the Philistines stopped up after his dad died and he gained the same names his father gave him now Isaac servants dug in the valley and they discovered a well of fresh water there but the herdsmen of Guerard quarrel with Isaac and they said this waters ours so he had to name the well ESIC because they disputed with him so we had to go and dig another well but then they fought over that one also so he named it sitting up and then he moved down from there and he had to dig another well and no one quarreled over it and he named it rear but saying now the Lord's giving us a room and we will flourish and land but from there he had to move on and he went up to bear Sheva and that night the Lord appeared him and said I am the God of your father Abraham I love God's voice do not be afraid I am with you I will bless you I will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham and Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord and there he pitched his tent and there his servants started to dig a well I didn't get it either and when I get the parts of scripture and stories especially I just pulled up a big boulder and I sat on the boulder and I just tried to watch this guy he left the lamb a family where everything's been ripped off he got in the city he made a mistake he lied but he kind of came back with that I'm sure he's still playing for that with Rachel and so Rebekah and now they got something good finally going but didn't that's been ripped away from instead of fighting he just walks away from the fight he now goes out to the valley he digs he finds water some herdsmen come up and go this is ours he's got the army and he throws up his hands and he walks away from it he does another well they chase him from that he does another well they chase him from that he does another he's on his sixth well and he names them you got to look up the names the names our contention opposition conflict how's your well doing anybody going through a place in life where you just feel like man I'm facing opposition I'm facing friction we've got so much conflict he's being beat down and beat down and beat down and beat down and instead of standing and fighting like crazy he just leaves the wealth he leaves the water he leaves the water he raises enough venture capital he gets the startup cash he starts something else man he gets stabbed in the back and he just throws up his hands and he walks away oh my god you don't walk that was water he walks away walks away until finally from the seventh place he builds an altar and he goes guys were gonna worship then we're gonna build a well cuz he's gay he says guys I'm done trying to get ahead in this life from this point on we are gonna worship God first and then we're gonna worry about wealth and I'm sure as people are like wait wait wait we got to find water first don't work on building a church we got to find water first and Isaac goes I'm done with that lifestyle I'm done with saying God once you bless me I'll bless you I love so many Christians I just wish God would let me win the lottery I'd be able to do so much good for so many people and I'm like you're so full of it well how do you know because you're not doing good for anybody right now with what you have why do you trust with more oh but if I had plenty I'd gives them away oh but you do have plenty and we have this American II love god bless me so I can bless you and Isaac's been trying it and Isaac now comes and goes I will just bless you God regardless of whether or not we find water I will worship God regardless of the wealth they're not connected together and as he builds his tabernacle as he starts to worship a little dust cloud comes from the West watch these dudes meanwhile Abimelech had come to him from Guerard with a whose ass his personal adviser and fickle the commander of the forces and Isaac asked them why have you come to me since you were hostile to me and you sent me away get the scene this guy's been chased away by these clowns for six Wells this guy's been pushed out these are the guys that ripped off his land this is the king that said get out of here we want your bumper crop he left it this guy's been chased by these guides herdsman he's out in the middle of nowhere now ironically they've chased him back to the promised land and now he's trying to worship God they come and get the picture if a king the second in command and the commander of the army comes out it's not like you have three dudes you stun a donkey or two guys doubled up like Dumb and Dumber style you got an entourage on this if the King the second in command and the command an army you got a small army coming out and Isaac's done have you been there how much more can I take how much more can happen how much worse can it get and Isaac throws down a shovel and throws up man guys what do you want you've kicked my butt all the way out here what could you possibly want and watch their response and they answered we've seen clearly that the who Lord Big L or little L Big Al we see clearly that the Lord was with you so we said there ought to be a sworn agreement between us between us and you so let's make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm just as we didn't molest you but we've always treated you well in fact we sent you away in peace Frank Trigg my god forget your mug to me really really and now you're blessed by the Lord what you blessed by the Lord he's got nothing everything's been stripped away they have the good land they have his Wells his wealth and his crops and they come out in the middle of famine nowhere and say you're blessed we're not we have the wealth we're not blessed you've been ripped off for my six times and you got something we don't have back in town some time ago we knew you had some sort of God that could guilt us but we seem the way you've been ripped off and how you worship instead and now we want to treaty with the Lord they know his name Yahweh your God we want to treat him Oh what would you do Bayside what would you do the people that ripped you off six times come up and they want peace to lay suckers watch this so Isaac look to the heavens and call down the fire of God which fell like burning sulfur on these three guys it burned him with tar and pitch they fled back to town where their heads exploded in front of their people so let it be with all who opposes oh that would have been a good story now if you would have brought your Bibles you would have known that's not the way it is but that would have been a good story that's what I would have done you're the ones that have been suing me you're the ones that took away the company you're the ones that fired me you're the ones that happened you're the custody battle you're the ones again and now you want to know my I'm gonna show you my god wooosh not Isaac watch Isaac Isaac then made a feast for them and they ate and they drank and early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other and Isaac symptom on their way they left him in peace and that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug and they said hey we found water and he called it Shiva which means seven and to this day the name of the town has been bare Shiva these guys come and say through your hardship and your famine we've seen something different we want to treaty with your God we want peace with you and your God and Isaac's men are standing around don't you dare let them get away with this and as it goes boys bring out everything we got we're gonna sell the brain and I'm sure servants are all hey ice and coming to the key room we don't even have water here we don't even have a well yet cuz you wanted to worship first we don't have enough to get by this month and as it goes we're having a feast in this famine oh did you oh you didn't see this coming did you the entire time didn't you think it was about Isaac didn't you think this was about shut up you did too you thought it was about Isaac I watched this the struggle of hardship this entire time I thought it was he said nothing to do with Isaac oh I miss that it's like one of those movies directed by him night Shama Shama la la me and I didn't see this ending coming Isaac didn't see this coming and Isaac not realizes my six heartaches have been so you three kids oh my god we're gonna celebrate this and he doesn't even have life yet and the way God deals with people then is that the way God deals with us now it's why we read these stories obey sigh do you get it your struggle your heartache the famine the lifestyle they get ripped off broken down beat down it might not be about you it may be as Christians we can be light and the light is clearly seen in the darkest of days so that those around can go now I've seen blessing me blessed I got Jack and they go that's how I've seen blessing you have a presence and a promise of God with everything ripped away I want to know that God see when your life was all rosy and healthy and wealthy like a lot of the world we couldn't distinguish between you and anybody else but now we've seen God well I did a memorial service two weeks ago for a guy who finally lost his battle of cancer and before he died he made a video simply saying he's been husband he's been father he's been a coach he's been a boss and the greatest position God has ever asked him to play has been one with cancer because in cancer 9 people from the hospital have seen his God cuz in cancer three family members have come to church and with a smile on a balding face that's fluid-filled he says I'm going out playing the greatest role I've ever played oh that was a guy that understood purpose that was a guy that understood most of us live life as if we'd rather die rich than having reached and he realized this well isn't about me I've been put in a place where I can have the greatest impact and you look at Isaac and go well he lived happily ever after from that moment right look how it ends when Esau that's one of his sons was 40 years old he married Judith daughter Barry the Hittite and also bass methd Otter of Alanna Hittite they were source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah oh by the way your oldest son married two strippers and gave you an ulcer end of story and Isis got to be like God haven't we done enough and guys like that's what like having idiot adult children Isaac and Rebecca you know you're gonna minister to now a lot of parents are doing what do I do with my idiot adult children I bet you're gonna have an impact in that girl I don't want to play this role God goes that's life so let me give you three keys the feasting in the famine number one a little obscure parents this one's for us we have to choose to leave our family a savior not a sin we have to choose to leave our family a savior not a sin let me explain that Isaac lies because dad lies Isaac will have a favorite son because dad has a favorite son they're gonna pass on dad's failures because that's what the boys are gonna pick up on but Abraham later in life will get to walk with God where God just has to show up and say Isaac I'm the god of your father Abraham that's not a title that's a definition as a dad I found a new motto a goal for my life I want to live life in such a way that one day you can walk up to one of my three kids and say let me tell you about God and my kids will say what God in this day and age what God and all you have to say is the God of your dad and my kids will go I know that God not cuz he took me to church not because I had an hour with a youth pastor not because they put me in the children's ministry one morning but because every day my dad showed me something about that god parents where ask your kids tell me about your mom's God tell me about your dad's God not the church that you go to is that all the definition they need to live life in such a way where I'm gonna pass on my habits my lying my cheating my whatever or to pass on my Savior secondly how to do that it's got to change a compass we got to be more concerned about our righteousness than my riches be more concerned about my righteousness than my riches righteousness that obedience to God doing the right thing according to God than riches and Isaac realized this well is not worth fighting for if I fight in this conflict if I fight in this contention if I fight in this opposition I'm gonna lose my righteousness my integrity my witness is not worth that well my witness is not worth that bid it's not worth that contract it's not worth paying that guy under the table it's not worth cutting the edges it's not worth lying to the IRS it's not worth the lies and the deceits now people I'm gonna be really honest with you if God gives us a scantron test do you want a to be righteous be wealthy or see all the above I'm choosing see I want to be a really rich guy who loves God but there are points in times where my righteousness doing the right thing is going to be in direct conflict with my riches and there can never be a decision at that point God regardless of my well I am worshiping and following you I put it this way same thing but just differently we got to be more concerned about our witness than our wealth our witness than our wealth once internally how do we make decisions one's external how are we gonna live does my life make me look good or does my life make my God look good oh I'm such an ego-driven idiot I want people to think I'm great and if they happen to oh my god that's sweet and we get it so backwards don't we I think at times I would rather have my father's blessings than be a part of his business and his business is to reach people not to make us rich so Isaac finally gets to number three an understanding that God's will for my life is far more about others than me I did not send his son to die on the cross to save you so that he could build your kingdom God killed his son by grace and mercy to pay the price of what I've done against him to call me son to call you son or daughter and then amazingly to use us to reach others for his kingdom and we've made it about building ours blessings is that we have the presence and promises of God not that finances are all taken care of ironically two days ago at the conference Ray said by the way I'm leaving my son is graduating and it's compassion Sunday everyone's gonna have a card on their chair can you do the drive-by guilting and I'm like no and you probably felt that you walked in and there's some picture of some skinny kid with a sad face sitting on a chair and someone wants your money to go somewhere and you picked the wrong guy to stand up and talk about this because I'm such a scam I'm such a cynic about these things I got a little kid Richard Sansa will you'll in Africa and I'm like really my bet is there's a whole bunch of these kids in East LA they take pictures of them in poor clothes and someone's making a racket off this stuff because I've seen it people I work with an organization that does projects all across the nations and I've seen it firsthand I've seen orphanages in other countries that have armed guards with shotguns at their gate and I go why do you need guys with shotguns at an orphanage and the director goes because they'll come in and steal things and I'm oh what are they stealing from an orphanage they steal our babies come on what he goes they steal kids two years old and younger I'm all who does and he goes the people downtown they get an abandoned building and when they hear the Americans are coming in they load the building up with small kids they bring the Americans in they show them I home hungry their kids are how much they need the Americans will commit to write checks to them and the people will skip town taking the checks and leaving their kids in the abandoned building and we'll go around Tom trying to pick up our infants again so we have guys with shotgun protecting the infants there's your organization I was in another village where a guy from town says I want you to see the guy in the hill no more he works with all the kids he goes no he buys kids I said what do you mean the Americans are coming I said how do you know he has kids I go look tell me what's happening here the village knows when the Americans come if you show up and play around this guy's Church he'll give you a meal and he'll give you what's worth about five cents each kid at the end of the day and he'll get two to three hundred kids and the Americans will come in and they'll set up crafts and they'll do fun stuff with the kids and everyone will go home teary-eyed and they'll take pictures and they'll promise to support this guy's mission and he pays the kids a nickel he feeds them he sends them back to the village and for the rest of the year he just lives off the American money and we know when the Americans visit because he buys the kids again and so six years ago ray knew that Ray knew I love God but I don't trust this junk at all and he goes would you go on a compassion trip with me and I'm like I'd love to because that's another organization I'd like to write off and like every organization they go out to a poor place we're in Nairobi Africa in the slums and they have all these kids do a song and dance and every kid's care for this kid only has one packet and only one family supports him and I'm like and so I left the song and dance and I wouldn't found the kids in the village that are supported and the first little kid I come off two small little African kid I'm like hey you're with compassion yeah and I'm all who supports you and the kid took off and I'm like he knows don't tell the truth to the Americans in about five minutes later this kid came running back and he caught me tugged on my shirt I turned around and he had a picture of a family he goes do you know Joneses and I ma no Joneses you go George is Michigan I'm on Michigan I said I'm I live in California he goes dad so you know Jones is I'm like it's a big place kid and he had a stack of letters from the Joneses and stuff they've colored and pictures of the family and kids they've sent to him and I'm like get out of here he's been set up and I visited village after village after village I've been in the country after country after country I don't work with compassion first time I've ever spoken in a church about compassion I just know every place I've gone every kid has one family every kid collects and treasures letters from one family and every kid gets food clothing they're in school and they're connected with the local church and if they don't show up a church they no longer get from compassion and you're like isn't that rude no compassion understands these kids don't need rice these kids need Christ rice will help you in this life but you're gonna live a long long time after this life they connect it to Christ and every place I visit I go into homes and they show me letters and one kid has one family so years ago I finally came home after my third trip i sat my three spoiled entitled rich kids down and I said each of you are picking a compassion kid partyer allowance every month will make a kid's life changed forever and when you cry cuz you don't have the latest video game I'm gonna sit you in front of that kids picture and tell me why you have a worse life than him and two Christmases ago they say if you want to give your kid a gift send an extra 25 bucks and I'm like there's the racket but since we've been writing letters I sent the extra 25 bucks for each kid and two months after Christmas in our next letter from our three kids Sam Samuel Janet and Irene from Ghana there's a picture of them holding a soccer ball two dresses a doll and they have a little sign that says thank you say 'la Thank You Karis thank you barek the name of my three kids and their Christmas gifts and I'm all crap that's the only organization that sponsors kids that I put my money in Jim and I don't want it to be a drive-by guilting some of you are like Chris we support so much outside of our family great I just know a lot of us are using the wealth that we have the ability we've been given from God to build our kingdom and we get to heaven he's gonna say what did you do with all I gave you and we're gonna stand there and go tada and we better be holding something something that we have that we used for his kingdom not ours and so I'm gonna close in prayer and I want you each to grab a kid on your chair pick it up I want you just to pray for that face now listen close I learned this walking into the national office in Haiti unannounced just dude from the street and I said come on one packet for every kid he goes Chris we're going out to photograph kids today that are waiting to be sponsored I'll walk you through the process do not leave this place with this packet if you're not sponsoring it this is the only packet the only packet in the world this kid has for sponsorship compassion we'll wait six to nine months if this drops off the shelf if they can't track any more before they issue your kid another packet so don't lose this if you want to sponsor it take it if you don't set it down it doesn't make you a second-class Christian because you're not walking out with a kid it's just an opportunity today for some of us to go I'm not doing anything with my wealth except for me I got to start making this about someone other than me and I sat in the slums of Nairobi and asked the pastor would your church hate my church if they knew how rich we were he says pastor Chris what do you mean if your church saw the homes my people lived in the flat screen TVs the cars we drive would your people hate us he put his hand on my shoulder he was busted Chris every Sunday my church prays for your church to get more rich I said dude your church should be praying for your church to get wealth he says we live in slum we cannot have any rich my church knows when your church gets more rich more of our kids will be sponsored and I said you don't you don't understand my church when we get more rich we get a better flatscreen because Jesus died to build my kingdom and he better start blessing me so God we hold these kids who did not ask me born where they were born who did not ask to live in the country they live in who are valued and loved just as us and somehow we have equated our wealth means we're blessed and they're not God we pray for each child that we're holding right now I'm looking at that God they would come to know you as an answer to life and in the midst of their famine they may know this world is the only hell they will ever face and forever they will have a glory in heaven and God I just asked that if our names on this that today would be a day we say you know what 30 some bucks a month I'm gonna do this you pick up a kid or another kid so that one day we can stand and say maybe it wasn't all about me God some of us it's just not financially wise to do this don't let us leave with guilt but let us pray for a kid that the next service someone will take this child thanks for the way you love us in spite of who we are and what we've made out of your life in Jesus name

Channel: Bayside Church

Views: 28,291

Rating: 4.927928 out of 5

Keywords: California (HUD County Place)

Id: Yn1kV18XU9I

Length: 54min 20sec (3260 seconds)

Published: Mon May 06 2013