"Fixing Our Finances" - Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Pastor Jon Burgess

[Music] you know how we use money tells us a lot about who we are in fact the Bible speaks a lot about that because people are tempted often to take their gold and turn it into a god and we're so intent on making a living that we never make a life that's a lot a story of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament they they mix it up and what God designed to be a means to an end they make it into an end itself and money becomes a god but the Bible says that all of us have to make a choice about money in fact in the book of Mark chapter 8 it shows a tension that we're gonna need to deal with they read it with me would you for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul for what will a man give in exchange for his soul what role will money play in your life is it gonna be an end in itself or will it be a means to an end you see the choice is gonna be yours and before we talk about some principles to improve financial stewardship let's talk first about something that will hobble you before you even begin it's the word debt that's right debt in itself isn't wrong if it's budgeted and and it's affordable but there is often the fact of negative debt where we don't have enough to cover it and we could proceed in our way towards a a indebted lifestyle or we can resolve it and proceed in a way that's a healthier more prosperous life how you deal with debt so let's look at three primary causes of debt and here they are the first is actually an attitude it's a mindset it's the mindset of entitlement we live in a generation don't we have entitlement where we feel that the world owes us we have rights and we demand them because it's owed to us then that mentality start to spill over into every other area of our life and we feel everybody owes us but we don't realize that if this is so it's a two-way street in other words if we feel people owe us then we have to also realize that we owe them we owe everybody else whether it's respect or commitment or help or provision but more often than not entitlement becomes a one-way street that circles always back to moi to me proverbs 13 7 says this read it with me there is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing another pretends to be poor but has great wealth did you catch that the first reason we fall into debt is when we live with a mindset of entitlement and think we have to have everything right now because it looks good and we deserve it but here's an amazing revelation are you ready when God looks at the center of the universe he doesn't see you it's not about use not about me it's about God his kingdom his laws and his laws being kept and his ways being example so others can see Jesus in you and in me the second cause of debt is a lack of self-control Luke 16 says it this way therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth who will entrust the true riches to you you catch the bottom line the Bible was right there's not talking about gaining earthly wealth but what God is saying is the way we manage earthly wealth or steward worldly wealth will be sort of a boot camp towards preparing us for true riches because really it's not about money in that scripture it's about gaining the character discipline maturity the depth by managing money correctly that prepares us for true riches what's that well maybe the true riches would be a greater spiritual depth maybe a good family a pure heart a lasting legacy a wide-reaching and world impacting ministry maybe godly influence divine provision for your family you understand true wealth that's what true life is all about and we sort of mix it up and we say worldly wealth we lose everything else that's why the Bible says what prophets a man if he gains this and loses everything else God is saying no the way you manage this will help you to manage this and if we mistake this lesson we can fall into the trap of using God as a means to get what we want sort of like he exists to bless me prosper my business get me more sales more money a bigger house we often treat God like a genie it reminds me of a funny story of a man discovered an old bottle in the cellar and he uncorks it now Pops's genie the Christian genie of course and the genie says I'll give you one wish the man quickly without even hesitating says I want to be irresistible to women that they will caress me and keep me close pay attention to me and love me with all their hearts and the genie said really he said yes she said ok poof she turned him into a credit card that's how we sometimes treat God isn't it all joking aside the accumulation of wealth and possessions is not a worthy enough goal for the investment of your whole life there's so much greater riches than the ones you'll find at Ross or at Macy's er at Neiman Marcus or wherever you shop God wants to point us to the true riches not the fleeting and temporary ones but we need to make a choice because when money is stewarded well it's to be controlled the way the king wants it to be controlled you use what he's given you for the things of God and for your family when you learn generosity it's not a drain you realize that it's not an expense when you give it really is a source of income because God always gives back more than what I've given you just can't outgive God I promise you now now I see my giving not as an expense but as income giving is a great and biblical way to do this to not allow Mammon to control you so I give money can bless others they can bless yourself if you use it according to God's principles now here's a few tips for improving your stewardship and here's the first it's gonna be important the very first thing is you've got to establish your purpose or your calling I know what you're thinking my calling has nothing to do with money or finances but let me challenge you it really does you've got to know what your purpose on earth is for example Paul the Apostle said that I may apprehend that for which he apprehended me for in other words I want to get to what he created me to be now that will include of course your family your gifts your passion and of course it becomes then your ministry it's your life your purpose what do you think God has created you for who are you to influence what are you to do what are you to become what should you leave behind what should you be a part of and filled with others maybe it's a church or a ministry are there people that you're supposed to help like Moses and her did when they held up their hands pray over Joshua as he was winning with the Amalekites they had a prayer ministry what's your purpose you see you got a do what you do in order to please God first cuz he made you for a purpose it's not to make money first now remember this the psalmist says promotion cometh neither from the east nor the west nor from the south but God is the judge he raises one up and puts another down in other words the Bible is saying be diligent and faithful as if you were doing what you're doing unto God and not unto a boss or not to buy another possession or to fill a bank account God is the one who promotes and demotes so stay with what God is calling you to do develop that and he'll provide for your assignment so that it'll be fulfilled now to some he may give millions because they'll have a large assignment that God has given to them to fulfill and others he'll give lesser amounts because their role may not require a huge amount of money in fact the infusion to this person of a huge amount of money would actually distract them from their eternal purpose and their assignment their role see their role may be in service or in counseling and God knows the different roles and gifts that he is assigned and he's gonna provide accordingly but if we're not careful we're gonna compare with that person's assignment and gift and look at ours and say how come I'm not like them and feel dissatisfied when in actuality we shouldn't at all that's why God says don't be comparing because you're gonna compare with somebody that has a different assignment a different calling and you'll be distracted from yours God always will provide the funds to you and he'll provide it in such a way that through that you'll carry out your ministry your purpose your calling won't be like someone else's and it may not come as quickly as you'd like to but we're not here to tell God how fast he come he's here to tell us [Music] Aloha New Hope welcome to my office yeah this is where the magic happens well to be more accurate if I'm doing my job I'm hearing what the Spirit is saying to the church a lot of times I'm spending hours here working on the message studying meeting with my leaders planning and praying through what it is that God has for us and I thought it would be a good idea to start out here in my office just building off of what Pastor Wayne just said because a lot of us confuse what we do with who we are when Pastor Wayne talks about our callin he's talking about our vocation not our occupation my occupation is I my this is what I do I'm hired to be a pastor but Who I am that's my calling and our calling is all the same we've all been called to invest our lives into those around us that kind of help us understand this I want to ask you a question you've probably heard before if all of a sudden your office was on fire and you only had time to grab one thing what would that thing be that you would grab or maybe your home what would you grab so I look around my office here and and I've got some really cool stuff like Dave Sorensen he made me this model of the TIE fighter from Star Wars because I'm a total Star Wars geek right but I'm if I can only grab one thing I'm not gonna grab that I got this awesome guitar with a Coalwood back I love worshiping the Lord on this is a gift from new up Seattle I'm probably not going to grab that if I can only grab one thing I mean you know how expensive these new old Bibles are I'll have to buy another one of these I got it musubi in the fridge over there I'm not grabbing that either if I can hold it you have one thing it's gonna be this it's gonna be a picture of my family this is a precious possession of me because this is what matters most in fact this moment right here represents an epic moment in the life of the Burgess family because this was taken just before God called us back to the islands after ten years in Seattle that's why we're all so pasty white here because we never saw the Sun over there for ten years but this was a moment where everybody had to pray in the family and say God are you calling us back to Hawaii and every single one of us heard yes and really the truth of it is is that what lines the walls of our office or our home is typically what should be lining the walls of our heart it's not stuff it's not it's people it that that's what matters the most in fact if you take a walk here just down the hallway here and you see all of these pictures they're not pictures of new old buildings they're pictures of people because that's what it is that God's called us to invest in over the last 22 years why is that important because even if this building burns down which Lord forbid it will the work is eternal over the last 22 years all of these churches that you can see right here planted all over the world that's an eternal work that cannot be bought or sold that's actually what we should spend our time on that's our vocation that's our calling that's what matters most the spirit of Aloha outreach is from the beginning what God has called us to and loving the community that he's planted us in this idea of living heart first that it's not about a performance or putting on a show it's about making sure that God has our heart everything that lines the walls of this church is what we hope will be lining the walls of our heart as we move forward as a church even this our emerging leaders through our Y PAC and our our university here in our our youth groups and in our school church planters all of that is about investing into the next generation and raising them up because that's what matters most and sometimes it takes a situation that surprises us that comes from the back that comes from nowhere to cause us to realize what matters most so like for instances of all of a sudden you're sitting in the mezzanine and then this guy that's talking on the screen shows up right there and says hey morning guys how you doing good to see you hey guys hello I'm there you guys are looking really good how are you doing don't worry you're not gonna have to break your necks I'll be down there in a minute I just want to give a little love to my mezzanine crew here you guys are looking really quickly here for our mezzanine crew here they're awesome it's pretty cool hanging out up here and you guys like this is why we sit up here so we're gonna have to be that close hey don't worry don't worry I'm not gonna spend forever up here I just wanted you guys to know sometimes we're talking about what's valuable what matters most it's you guys net if you were to look at the halls of heaven you would see your picture in his frames we see he did have to answer that question what am I gonna do if I need to rescue those that I love from the fire and he sent the most valuable thing that he had his only Son to rescue each and every one of us you see in the kingdom of God there is no backseat there is no mezzanine there's no front or back we are all in that primary place of being his sons and his daughters and he loves us the most in this message is really about us understanding the same value system that God has the way he feels about us is the way we should feel about each other and what this idea is once we establish our calling you can then move to the second point here which is where we begin to prioritize our eulogy over our resume and you can fill that in in your second blank they're prioritizing your eulogy over your resume which may seem like a kind of a strange idea write a eulogy that's not talked about until I'm dead I mean here let me let me pose this what if we start living for the last day on this day I have a feeling that our priorities are gonna be in the right place most of the time the American Dream especially here in America is driven by our resume these are the things that we can accomplish the things that we will build what we get in our our savings account and yet when I'm at a eulogy when I add a funeral no one ever talks about how much money is in their savings account most people don't talk about their promotions at work or how much within an inverse ah daddy or their husband because they spent all their hours at work no what do they talk about they talk about the courage of that man the wisdom of that woman the generosity of that person that changed their life forever because they gave them something that they never saw coming those are the eulogy values and the eulogy values must trump our resume values otherwise we spend the rest of our lives investing in the wrong things most of what's on our resume is not gonna go with us the only thing that will is our eulogy values which is our relationships those are the things that matter most and in fact this is what the Apostle Paul is getting at when he talks to Timothy and tells them to share this with this church you guys can read this with me in fact right here the first Timothy chapter 6 ready go but godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it but if we have food and clothing we will be content with that those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs you see our Lord loves us so much he doesn't want us to get destroyed by the things that destroy so many of us and we are driven by the self building self promoting ideas that often follow behind a resume virtue that's about me being in control see God flips it on his head and it calls us into a kingdom economy which makes the up down and down up you see in the kingdom of economy he says in order to be first you need to be last in order to get more you need to give more you need to surrender more these things don't make sense to our world's economy but in the kingdom economy this is how God has called us to invest to live as if our last day is today if all we had was today how differently would we live you see the reason why I asked each of us that question what would you grab if if your house your office is on fire is because that's not just an academic question a crisis crystallizes our calling and this actually happened to my life many of you guys have probably seen recently in the news right and in California and wine country and Napa and Sonoma all of these fires 14 different fires coming together and and combining one of the worst natural disasters that California has ever had to face and as a result we have seen over 200,000 acres completely charred and burned we have seen five hundred thousand homes and businesses burned to the ground it's tragic but there's thirty nine people have already lost their lives and there's two hundred people that are still missing but we don't they haven't found them yet and what was horrible was that my wife Cindy she was caught in the middle of this you see i I was home with the boys and she was in Kenwood California it was her her dad's was having a family reunion her dad's side of the family and and she was loving her time there and and and she then I got a text it was Sunday night around 8:30 our time 11:30 their time and it said John pray the spire the fire is spreading and I'm looking at they're going that doesn't make any sense because what was so weird was I'd literally just lit a fire and our fire pit because the boys are like what's for dinner and I'm like we're gonna roast meat over the open flames that's what guys do when moms out of town so we got these sausages we put him on the spits and we were putting him over the fire and then I get this the fire is spreading in my did she have a video camera around here somewhere she looking at what she's spying on me making sure I'm doing a good job but so I text her I'm like what do you mean and she said then that this really got me she said we are having to evacuate our house because everything is on fire around us it's spreading please pray now that the the cell service was really spotty and so we were having a really hard time connecting over a call so all I was doing was texting back and forth and I was to find out later that her father's wife was up after everyone else was in bed she had just happened by the grace of God to look out the back window and see a wall of fire literally moving at a great speed towards their house she ran down the hall opened the door to my wife's room and she was sharing the room with her sister and said you guys got to get up now we have no time this place is gonna be on fire in a matter of minutes that jumped out of bed and in that moment she had the opportunity to do what it is I was asking you what would you grab if you only could grab one thing and let me just say sheep before leaving she said I have to get ready to go see my family so I need to go shopping so it's I don't know why but it's it's a woman thing she sees I needed new outfits and I'm like you worked so hard you can go ahead and get what you want but in that moment do you think she was thinking about her new outfits no she could grab one thing she could spend that one minute doing something that mattered most she could care less about the new outfits she had bought because that's not what's valuable ultimately that's not what matters and she spent the time that she had before the fire got to the house she spent the time getting her dad up getting her brother up getting her brothers family up and getting them all into the car she was like you guys we have to go now and they just got into the car and then the roomier as they looked in the back they could see the wall of fire had already burned through a vineyard right behind her dad's house had already burned through a couple of the neighbors houses and was moving towards their house and all throughout the night on texting back and forth and I'm literally trembling because I can't do anything to help her except praying now thankfully every all of my family was fine no one was hurt in the fire in fact miraculously even my father-in-law's house is still standing even though so many else had lost their their homes but it was it was during that time of texting my wife and I was so frustrated that I couldn't do anything I texted her and I just said hon I wish I could be there to hold you right now I can't but God is and I just know he's going to help you get through this and it was in that place that even though thankfully I didn't lose anything in the fire there was a couple things that I lost that I hope to never find again and one was this sense of false value and worth you know our world is always trying to put a price tag on what matters most in that moment I didn't care about homes or cars clothes or any of that stuff all I wanted to know was that my wife and my fam was gonna be safe that's true value that's true worth that's what we should be investing in something else I lost in the fire was the sense of false control you know when you're not into crisis you think I'm in control I've got this thing down that crisis crystallizes the truth that you and I are not in control there's only one who is really in control and it's God himself and the third thing that I lost in the fire that never want to find again is the sense of I there's enough time you see oh we wake up in the morning and we think I've got I've got all the time in the world but the truth of the matter is that none of us know when our last day is that's why the eulogy over the resume and matters the most it's not thinking depressed it's not thinking dark it's thinking about true it it kind of causes us to to sober up and I have this ever since my wife came back home this sense of urgency and if I have only got a little bit of time if I've only got today because none of us can see around the corner of today I want to spend at that time giving not holding tightly but giving to the things that actually matter the most and that's the third point in your notes you guys can actually feel it in a much and I want you to make sure you guys feel and then choosing giving while we're living choosing giving while we're living you guys can and can put that in there because it when we step into that place where we understand that God has given us this day all of us suddenly now see it as a gift and not something we want to fritter away or take for granted we step out of our economy of scarcity and like I just don't have enough or I don't have enough time and we step into his economy of generosity and everything changes and how do you do that how do you make that step well it's really simple it's literally one step at a time just like this staircase right here all of us start at the top of the staircase and we're not sure that we can live the generous life that God has called us to it's one step at a time towards what it is that he has for us let's say you're staying in the lunch line and God moves on your heart and says I want you to buy that guy lunch okay I can do that you're taking one step into the generous living that God's called you to the journey at generosity starts one step at a time and then he says I want you to buy that guy fill that guy's gas tank well God gasses pretty expensive I know I just want you to blast that first I don't even know who that is that's fine I just want you to bless them okay that's another step and then God begins to move on your heart and say I want you to support this ministry it's changing lives and I want you to be a part of investing into good ground well god that's a little steep there and then we really started stepping back and God's like no no I want you to step into everything I have for you keep walking and little by little we begin to step into the wide open fields of grace that can only happen when you and I are living generously when we're leaving behind and what's gonna happen is you and I are gonna look it back the way we used to live holding tightly to the little bit that we have out of fear and worried that we're gonna lose it thinking that somehow what we own defines us hey I'm not saying we shouldn't have savings account but a savings account it's never gonna save anyone's account the only thing that can save us is if we follow the Savior into the generous lifestyle when you step into this you begin to see things differently and ago I cannot believe I lived that way before God is calling us to see things the way he sees them and starts with us investing in those around us guys it's looking good hi Jack say oh he's totally asleep hey you're filling in your notes there that's good I love I love see that's good this is awesome and and the idea is that you and I would spend the rest of our time together however much time that is investing in to what matters most as much as I can stand up here with the joy that my wife is home and that we didn't lose any family the truth of the matter is there's a whole lot of people right now in California maybe you know some of them they cannot say that wonder if you join with me just for just a moment in prayer for them God right now we lift up any of our loved ones and friends got it have been affected by this fire you gottem we thank you that there is no distance when it comes to your spirit that even though we're an ocean away god we can be present right now because for a lot of churches this is the first time that they're meeting together they're taking an account of their their congregants and the members of their church and who has lost what and I just see God that even out of the ashes is gonna rise this brand-new opportunity for the church to show who you are in times of hopelessness and Kay that your church will be shown for its generosity for its peace in the middle of panic God holes would be opened up God that cars would be offered to those who have had them burnt out Lord we just ask God that your people that you would strengthen your pastors and your churches right now that are in these burnt areas god these destitute areas God that they would be forces of change and hope right now we pray for strength for the first responders for the Red Cross and all the other groups God that are there that are working to help and and get life restored to those who lost everything overnight God we we pray we literally pray for rain that you would just pour your rain out upon California the rain has fallen here God we want to share some of it with them over there in California and I got that that land god that's so parched and dry and just the tiniest spark can set another fire we just ask that the rain would pour down if Elijah could pray for rain we could pray for rain we just ask for that God we ask that the winds would be stopped that are spreading those fires and God that that in the middle of this even those that have lost everything they would find the thing that matters the most that they would find you Jesus Christ and they know they are not alone in the name of Jesus we pray amen thank you so much for praying with me and if you're watching online right now and you're from one of the affected areas we would love to pray more specifically with you our host Garrett is online for our online car negation right now just type right in there and just say hey here's what's going on maybe it's not you maybe it's a family or a friend and you're just really needing some help and we would like to invite you to go ahead and and and just let us know how we can specifically be praying for you in this time you don't have to stand alone we want to stand with you and part of this idea of giving while I'm living is utilizing every moment that we have to live the generous life this is what Paul continues to talk about as we continue here in 1st Timothy 6 verse 17 he says command those who are rich and interesting he doesn't say to Timothy they just suggested to the church I mean just you know give them the option you didn't say that this is a command command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant in order to put their hope in wealth which is so uncertain and if these disasters have taught us anything it's that the wealth of the stuff that we amass it can disappear just like that that it's uncertain but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment look at that God wants us to enjoy what he gives us but he doesn't want it to own us he says again command second time command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to what willing to share it's amazing how sharing can literally transform a situation in the community in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life take hold of the life in no doubt Paul is quoting Jesus here because Jesus had said in his teaching he said don't lay up treasures where moth and rust can destroy lay up your treasures in heaven how do we do that by investing into the only thing that is eternal here on earth guess what it is relationships it's people as I said up there in the hallway if this building was to burn down guess wool would not be destroyed every soul that has come to know Jesus Christ over the last 22 years and all the churches that have been planted because those souls are eternal that's worth investing in our time money and resources you see this building was never about a building this building that we're building gonna be building out there that parking lot it's never been about a parking lot in concrete it's always been about people and Christ these things are just tools tools that we want to use for the things that matter most and and that we would be giving while we're living not just frittering things aside and until we're where we can spend it all or someone else ends up spending it because we die before we can no savings accounts are good but let's not put everything in savings let's make sure that we're using what we have to see God's saving people around us and I used to read this and remember reading this in Bible College and going on that doesn't apply to me I'm a poor college too you know I'm not rich I'm living off Top Ramen and spam I can't or to give me anything to anybody hope those rich people all listen to what Paul is saying there in first Timothy and I remember a professor pointing out hey John you need to have a global mindset I wouldn't talk about global mindset he said John the poorest five percent of Americans are richer than sixty eight percent of the world's inhabitants let that sink in poorest five percent those that are the bottom of the economic rung here in America our richer than sixty eight percent of those who live throughout the rest of the world over 1 billion people live on one dollar a day I don't care how poor you think you are I have a feeling you got more than a dollar a day and what does that mean does that mean we're better no not at all but he's not saying that the rich people are better than the poor people he's saying if God has given you means and influence it's so that you can become a conduit a blessing rather than a cul-de-sac that holds it all up here you want more blessing in your life here's how it happens you open up and you let God begin to pour in and through you want enjoyment in your life go back to that scripture what does he say how does enjoyment come when we begin to invest our time into that which matters most now which is of eternal value that which can now be bought or sold what's our eulogy over a resume it's giving while we're living well there's lots of ways to give of course now many of you can give of your time and so many of you do and give of your talents so many of you do here but for this message specifically we're gonna close by looking at how we can give of our treasures and there's two ways that God's called us to do that in Scripture and the first is giving of our tithes you can fill that inner notes there and every week you hear the pastor come up here and they say okay we're now gonna pray over our tithes and our offerings and maybe it's just we've gotten so used to that you've never even stopped to go is there a difference between the two and there actually is and tithes is a strange word we don't use it anywhere except in the context of church it just means a tenth specifically the first tenth of everything that you make God calls us to give him the first tenth of our income and you can see that here in many scriptures but specifically here in proverbs 3 verse 9 would you read this with me ready go honor the Lord with your wealth with the second fruits of all your crops but yours didn't state with the third fruit so you know whatever is at the bottom of the barrel after I've given all the other fruits out no no it says it's his first fruits you know Solomon when he's writing this proverb is talking to an agrarian society they deal in crops we deal in cash they deal in donkeys we deal in dollars but the principle is the same give God your first not your last right and in order for us to do that to follow this again this is not a suggestion it's a command in order to do that what do we have to do you've got to use the B word I know you're not gonna like it but you got a budget budget I know that shiver went just went down your spine somebody goes oh you didn't say that I know it's kind of like when you're talking using the word scale when you're talking about weight all right because I'm all good we're talking about weight and you know being healthy and all that stuff but when someone says step on the scale I'm like we need to get that far I mean let's just kind of you know so we're all good was saying absolutely I want got to be first in my finances bill when someone says budget and tithes were like oh let's not let's get a little uncomfortable it's getting a little personal but listen God wants to give personal because he knows whoever hold your wallet holds our heart or your treasure is there your heart is also and he's wanting to make sure that you and I are not held back from the blessing that he wants to release in our lives and the Oh Louie that happens is when he is first in every area of our lives jesus said seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be at it not go after all these other things and if you have time then seek the kingdom of God you see it's again the reversal reversal of how the world has trained us to think and so the way Cindy and I do it is we just make sure that that is we actually do direct deposit in fact if you want to set that up you totally can just talk to our finance department and we set up direct deposit so whenever we get paid the first 10% before we can pay anything else off it goes to the why well Malachi chapter 3 verse in you can write that reference down it's actually in our life journal reading this week Malachi chapter 3 verse 10 says that we are to bring our tithes our first 10% to God's house this represents God and how he's moving in and through us to the world around us and so we want to make sure we don't get tempted to save God to last roots we want him to have firstfruits because I mean we all live here and why the price of paradise is steep right we're raising five boys a gallon of milk is six bucks and they drink milk like water they never stop eating so we'd be really easy for me to never have enough for God sorry God I just had to go shopping at Costco I don't got anything left for you I'll catch you next month is that okay we're good alright and and the truth of the matter is God's still gonna love me but I'm missing out on the blessing for my family because I'm disobeying his command to put him first God's not gonna push me away but I'm he's missing that I'm missing out on the blessing that he asks for me so we do make we make sure he gets the first 10 off the top before we pay a single bill and then what we've seen and I can stand that test to this we've never gone hungry yeah it's expensive to live here but man I get to live in Hawaii how many of you guys are glad you get to live in Hawaii come on look can I hear an amen hallelujah yeah God you just heard her we were happy that we're here we don't want to look we don't want to live anywhere else and God's gonna help us to live here as well but we want to keep making sure we honor him it's worship to the Lord it's putting him first above everything else when we time we're saying God I trust you not my treasure I trust you I trust you not my boss I trust you I trust you not my job I trust you every time we put in our art I a 10 or 10 percent we're saying I'm putting my trust in you not in anything else I'm puttin you first this is honor our opportunity to do that now that's different than giving offerings that's the second way that we can do our giving and while we're living this is any money that you choose to give above and beyond your tithes any money you see it's different but first was the command this is a that next level of maturity in your walk with Christ here's what I mean it says here 2nd Corinthians 9 verse 7 he of you should give or you have decided in your heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a miserable Giver God loves a guilty Giver God loves a depressed Giver okay God baskets past here you go here's another dollar for you God no he doesn't want that he would much rather have you keep your dollar than to give it under compulsion or reluctantly I offering is that next place of faith well you're saying I'm not I'm not giving because I have to listen to this I'm giving because I want to because every time I give it opens up something new that I did not expect because then you guys have heard this a million times that it's born out true in every life you cannot outgive God you want to wonder why someone's always got a smile on their face I bet you could tie it to the fact that they are generous people that not only do they tithe but they look for opportunities to be a blessing to God and this is it's gonna take its gonna take a faith walk it really is and and many of you have done that faith walk but but we're gonna start at the top of the stairs and then some of you aren't even giving 10% so let me just encourage you start with one no seriously start whether you're out where wherever you're out this is you take that first step the journey of generosity starts one step at a time and then work up to five and then work up to seven and then when you get to 10% and you're there and you're like oh my gosh I'm seeing blessing in my life and I'm seeing things happen answers to prayer why is this happening you can just return to this message to go yeah because God promised it when I honor him and put him first he takes care of everything else and then here the next step is gonna be offerings and maybe it's not even gonna be here it's gonna be you're gonna buy something for somebody or God's gonna move on your heart you're gonna feel like I I want to take this person out for dinner or or guys cause you're just gonna begin to look for opportunities and here's what I found every time I get so much more out of it than I give when God has me give offerings above my tithe I get so much more joy that enjoyment that he was talking about in that scripture I get it I get and I just look for you start not looking for ways to not give you started looking for ways to give because you want to be a part of what it is that God's doing and in fact that is this church because last year it was already a year ago if you can believe in we had commitment weekend remember we had been part of a week a spiritual journey where we all prayed together and we prayed about our offerings and we walked across this bridge right here and well the one side represented where we were and the other side represented where God wanted us to be in his economy of generosity and when we dropped our commitments into the offering there we understood that we were being a part of something brand-new and I what I love I get chicken skin every time I see that's that picture because it was multiple generations it was all of us from youngest to oldest saying I want to be a part of building something that's gonna outlive me and it was above your tithe and in fact because of your generosity we are here well you guys understand that right that we wouldn't be able to be here today if it wasn't for your giving tithes keeps the lights on how many guys have got lights are on yeah how many guys are glad the a/c is on right even more so right how many of you guys are glad for your pastors for our children's ministry for our youth ministry for our outreach ministries none of that stuff would happen if it wasn't for your tithes your tithe keep this going this ministry day in day out week in week out month in Munda year in year out for 22 years this is some of the most generous church I've ever had the privilege of ministering at and it shows itself not just in your tithe but in your offerings because at this point one year into our two year spiritual journey here for a future and a hope we have already raised two million tolerance can we give God the glory for that how amazing is that you guys that's offerings that's above your ties I'm just like I'm blown away at how God is using us and that's why I'm really excited about these next two weeks if you guys can pull this flyer out of your bulletin well I just want you to hold on to this with me for a second you're gonna see a future and I hope on one side and on the other side it's three options that we're gonna be praying over don't fill it out now in fact I don't want you to fill it out for two weeks on the 28th and 29th of October we're gonna have a half time celebrate and that's when you'll bring this back but for now I want you to put this on your ice box put this in your Bible or you can see it put it somewhere you can pray over it every day and here's the three things you're gonna pray about the first one is this I'm excited because I'm brand new here to new hope and I want to be a part of future and a hope I want to be a part of building this parking lot and the expanded ministry center that we're gonna be having here because here's good news guys our church is growing since a year ago we have a couple hundred new people here and can we just tell them welcome home everybody welcome home we are so glad that you would look at new hope as your home and let me tell you even if you weren't here for commitment weekend last year you don't got to walk across the bridge because we're inviting you into this spiritual journey over the next two weeks you just pray you if you're married pray with your prayer with your wife pray with your family just say guys let's pray together and hear the Lord over the next two weeks what should we give and on October 28th to 29th they're gonna bring this back and you're gonna be a part of building into the future that God has for this church the second option is this we're excited to complete our future and hope this is just simply saying I'm halfway through I've made it through a year I've been faithful in my giving and I'm saying here over the next two weeks God I'm gonna finish strong I'm not gonna Peter out I'm not gonna come up with excuses why I can't finish I'm recommitting my giving that I made 2-year year ago when I walk across that bridge and I'm recommitting to finish strong with you Jesus Christ so that in 2018 when we're having a service like this we know we were obedient to everything that God asked us to do now the third one is this this is real life people some of you guys walked across that bridge and you gave but then life happened circumstances happened that have altered your income maybe you do gave depending on a raise and the seti got a demotion maybe you gave thinking that your cars would hold out and then both of them quit maybe you gave and then all of a sudden all five of your kids needed braces because their teeth are all wonky and they all need them at the same time listen this is real life God doesn't expect you to give in a vacuum and he also doesn't hold a big stick and it wants to hit you over the head and show you should give what you said you'd give no I'm sorry that's now my god he says he wants a cheerful Giver who does not give out of compulsion okay so how can he be get cheerful giver again he's not guilty in you you just bring this over the next two weeks you just bring your your prior commitment to the Lord go God you know where I'm at now I cannot do this what would you have me give instead and guess what whatever he says you do and even in the midst of your lack you will find plenty that's how my god works but for some of it says it's the flipside you gave your pledge a year ago and then you've had a banner year you have a you've had a boon in terms of your finances and maybe God would say you know what over these next two weeks I want you to up your pledge I know you gave this a year ago I want you to consider that all the blessing that's come in your life and so that you can continue to pour that blessing out on others and so others all wherever you're at in this just want to encourage you to pray pray that through and help you we want to invite you to join us in a spiritual journey all you got to do is take out your phones right now and text the word journey to eight zero eight eight four two four two four two and this is where we gonna send you a daily text straight out of our journal readings that is going to remind you and give you some scriptures to build your faith and you're gonna get a link to that app a free app if you don't already have it you just text the word journey because this was never about a financial transaction this is always about a spiritual transformation when God is talking about him money it's cuz he wants our heart that's what this is about if he is talking to you if you're feeling convicted right now it's not he's not guilty in you in anything he simply wants to release more blessing in your life and when we can take what it is that we have and give it to him that's when we step into the fullness of everything that he has for us and that leads us to our big halftime weekend celebration this is in your bulletin how many guys like the party anybody like the party a couple people like the party I'm hoping you guys all want a party by the time we get to October 28th to 29th because we consider two million dollars something that we should thank God for something that we should have a celebration for we got here as a team we will build this as a team we do church as a team and so we're going to celebrate as a team on October 28th to 29th and then we're doing is we're gonna have some fun let me call a halftime weekend we want you to come and your favorite sports Jersey doesn't this have to be football you like polo awesome where your polo shirt you like tennis great where your tennis shirt what whatever it is that you know underwater basket-weaving whatever your sport of choice is you wear that you come in that and we're going to see all these different sports shirts here but we're all on one team team Jesus amen isn't that what is call us too yeah so we get out we're gonna bring out Jeff's Shortridge back to remember that guy go ray yeah he's coming back we're gonna have fun with him we're gonna have hot dogs and tailgate stuff going on under the Honiton in between the services and special elements and the service that way again all to simply say we're giving glory to God we're only halfway through but God's going to get us all the way most importantly what happens in a halftime the coach calls the team in looks them all in the eyes in the locker and what he's about to tell them is gonna set them up for success in the next half of the game over these next two weeks I want you to know your coach wants to call you in he wants to look you in the eyes whether your first half of the game has been really rough and you're like I don't even know if I want to go out back out on the field or your first half of the game has been a just major scoreboard he doesn't want you to get area he doesn't want you to stop fighting he wants you to pay attention to what it is that he's gonna say and if you will just give that extra time over these next two weeks starting tomorrow with those texts your coach will help you with three things it will establish your calling he will help you to prioritize your eulogy over your resume and their help you to start giving while in livin' do you guys do a favor for me can you guys just stand right here and grab this let's just hold this up before the Lord is that as it's just kind of a symbol of surrender for these next two weeks got a weap join with you just stand right where you're at we join with you right now God we lift this out to you God we commit these next two weeks of this spiritual journey they seek you as a people that I have never known a more generous people God than this church right here and I know God that it's because of that that you have continued to pour your blessing out on us as a people God so we give you these next two weeks we're going to take extra time to seek your face to hear your voice to go where it is you're calling us to go so that we can step into the bright future that you have for all of us we simply want to be a part of the miracle that you are preparing for this next half we give you all the glory and the honor and the power and the praise and all God's people said Amen let's give him the glory you guys our God is so good they give Jesus

Channel: NewHopeOahu

Views: 2,720

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: new hope, new hope oahu, new hope christian fellowship, christian, hawaii, honolulu, wayne cordeiro, pastor wayne, church, sermon, life journal, life resources

Id: UH2CErJqVYo

Length: 51min 24sec (3084 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 18 2017