Go All In (Part 1) | Jeff Vines | Pursuing Jesus (Week 5)

you're about to watch go all in part one this is week five of our pursuing jesus series and today we're talking all about generosity if you're watching on our website there's a button right underneath this video called watch and chat if you click it you'll join our discord server where we're having a conversation about this video right here with people from all around the world also if you're watching on youtube our description section has all of the helpful links to help you get better connected to one and all if you would if you're watching our website head over to youtube and if you're already on youtube this is a great opportunity for you to click the like button hit subscribe and ring the bell that way you get notified every time more content comes out on our channel and you let youtube know this is a video worth sharing to people all around the world who are far from god we're talking all about generosity today and this might be the best act of generosity you do right in this moment sharing this video with somebody else let's not wait any longer and get into service right now [Music] k1-0 we're so glad that you're joining us here today if you're new we want to get to know you go to what and all dot church slash new my name is alan if we haven't got the chance to meet and i'm here with my good friend annika hey what's up one and all family so excited we're in our fifth week of pursuing jesus and this week we're gonna be talking about going all in and we're specifically gonna be looking at generosity and how that impacts us as believers but you know we're waiting for this week but let's let's talk about last week was a good one i know jeff said that when we stop limiting the who the what and the when that god is able to do amazing things and we're able to bring people far from god near yep exactly so go ahead and pull out your phone download that one and all app and make sure that you open the sermon notes portion because i'm telling you it's going to be a good one so as we prepare our hearts for the message let's just get ready to receive from god [Music] follow along with me if you would in first chronicles chapter 29 i'm going to start with verse 2. i'm going to give you a moment to get there and at the top of my outline here i've written the words simplify simplify and it's because the the topic is so important as we continue on this series of pursuing jesus that i don't want to make i want to make sure it doesn't get lost in some kind of profundity or some kind of abstract thought i really want to encourage you to lean in here this is probably one of the most important messages uh concerning the whole idea of pursuing jesus and i often return to this narrative in first chronicles 29 when i am a little unsure of where i am in my life what i'm doing with my life it's one of the most convicting passages anywhere in the old testament because king david does something in this story that is unlike anything any king before him has done or will do in the future it's unparalleled in any old testament narrative we come to first chronicles 29 and david is actually in a season in his life where his primary pursuit is intimacy with god that's what david wants more than anything else he's a little older now he's witnessed the futility of his other passions and pursuits if you know the the life story of david he's made significant mistakes committed significant sins and yet he's been on the receiving end of the unparalleled mercy and grace of god and as a result of all these things as he gets older the light comes on for david and he starts to pursue god above and beyond all other things now he has other passions but nothing as great as his passion for god he wants to know god experience god commune with god he chases after other things but not with the same passion and determination that he chases after and pursues god david is in a time in the season in his life when he is chasing hard after the heart of god he wants to know what god truly cares about what makes god smile in the same way i wanted to know what robin cares about and what makes her smile and here's what he discovered somewhere along the journey of his life he began to realize that what makes god smile is when we glorify god with our lives now because that's been david's life david has fallen deeply in love with god and he wants to glorify god in the latter years of his life and he wants to do so so that all nations will know that the god in israel is the god who delivers and so david decides he wants to build a house for god he's going to build a house of worship and prayer a city on a hill that cannot be hidden a testimony to the world that the god of israel is a loving merciful gracious god now we come to first chronicles chapter 29 and in verse 1 and 2 as david sets out to build his house we're told that first thing he does is he dedicates all the temple wealth to build a house for god after he does that though he realizes something and we pick it up in the next verse verse two and three he says in my devotion to the temple of my god i now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my god over and above everything i've provided for this holy temple so here's what david's doing he gives the temple treasury to the building of the house of god and then it dawns on him wait a minute i've really done nothing here i've just given what's already in the temple treasury i've given i've given nothing of myself there's no cost to me to build this glorious house for god now we get a little clue about david's uh attitude here in second samuel chapter 24 verse 18 when a destructive plague overwhelms israel it's a pandemic of disobedience and repentance i wish we could go into detail here but to stay on course i'll simply say that there is a pandemic that came upon the people of israel designed for them to repent in order that something worse far worse may not happen to them and you see this a lot in the bible where god allows a plague in hopes of averting a greater disaster far worse than the physical pain but god in his kindness and generosity to his people sees the pain this plague is exacting and he stands up and he in the way that god would and he raises his hand in the air and he says this far no farther i don't know exactly what that looks like but god said enough is enough and the plague ceases when that happens david ascends to build an altar to god to atone for his personal sin because he's involved in this and as an expression of gratitude for god's mercy so he's on his way up the hill this is in again ii samuel chapter 24 he's going to build an order to god on the threshing floor of aruna the jebusite now aruna is a very wealthy man and he greatly respects the king he really likes king david so he says hey if you're going to go out and build this altar let me pay for everything i'm a wealthy man i'll give you all the money to build the altar and david says no whoa i mean thank you but no way i can't do that and he says in second samuel 24 24 i will not sacrifice to the lord my god burnt offerings that cost me nothing you see what he's saying in verse one and two david gives the temple wealth but that's like me uh issuing a decree that we're going to give a bunch of money from one and all church to god's pantry well that hasn't cost me personally anything it's just me transferring from one's bud funds from one budget to another david says i will not sacrifice to the lord my god burnt offerings that cost me nothing so david gives up a considerable portion of his own personal wealth it's like he goes to his personal bank account and empties it out look what happens in verse six then the leaders of the families the officers of the tribes of israel the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly now i have underlied all uh the descriptions of the type of people who have given and you will notice these are the leaders of israel so speed of the leader speed of the team the ultimate leader in king david gives sacrificially and generously and that catalyzes of movement it sparks an attitude in the other leaders of the nation of israel and they all come together and they all give their very best and then the bible tells us everybody just gets happy there's this internal joy verse 9 the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the lord now look at verse 10 and let's pick up the story david praised the lord in the presence of the whole assembly saying praise be to you lord the god of our father israel from everlasting to everlasting yours lord is the greatest and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor for everything in heaven and earth is yours yours lord is the kingdom you are exalted as head over all verse 12 wealth and honor come from you you are the ruler of all things in your hands our strength and power to exalt and give strength to all now our god we give thanks and praise your glorious name and then look carefully at verse 14. but who am i and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this everything comes from you and we have given you only what comes from your hand do you hear what he's saying he said we've only returned to you what is yours anyway why is it then that we should be praised you are the giver of all good gifts it is you god who should be glorified and praised now i know a little bit about what this is like i think i shared with you earlier that i had a birthday around the end of august and i got one of the best gifts ever from my kids not because of the gift itself it was a brand new pair of golf shoes and man they are really nice well what made it so special is i think this is the first year where my kids didn't ask me for money to buy me a birthday present so they sacrificed their own money neither of which have a lot of money neither of whom have a lot of money but they sacrificed they were incredibly generous because i think they were passionately pursuing their dad verse 15. he says we are foreigners and strangers in your sight as we're all our ancestors our days on earth are like a shadow without hope lord our god all this abundance that we've provided for building you a temple for your holy name comes from your hand and all of it belongs to you so i've made notes in my margin wow after verse 14 and wow again after verse 15. because david is saying we've only returned to you what is yours now let's pause just for a moment so we can use culture again as we have in the past weeks to pack up a powerful punch in this passage can i ask you do you believe presently that our politicians are telling us the truth okay here's how you measure that i try to listen and this is my method i try to listen to what they're saying whether it's republicans or democrats i try to listen to what they say and then i try to watch and see what they do and if what they say doesn't match up with what they do then the conclusion i make is this they don't really believe what it is they're saying now can i ask you something do you really believe that everything you have comes from god if you say yes i'm going to listen to what you say and then if i could follow you around and see what you do the real question is would your words match your actions and if they don't then that shows me that you really don't believe what you're saying jesus told us time and time again and he talked more about this issue in the new testament than any other issue that when god gets your heart really gets your heart your greatest joy comes as a result of giving yourself to god and his purposes in the world it's not about an obligation it's not about someone guilting you into that it's a byproduct this kind of living of extreme generosity does not make you a christian it is proof that you are a christian it's proof of life when the click happens in your life when you've pursued god with great passion and you've become intimate with god and your heart has been transformed your relationship and this is what david is showing us your relationship to your stuff changes drastically look at verse 17. he says i know my god that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity i love the hebrew word for integrity it's it's really not closely related to the greek word it's quite unique because the hebrew word for integrity actually means pragmatic straightness a good example is if you're a carpenter and you're working with your buddy in the woodshop and your body says hey that looks level to me and he says grab the level we'll see if it's level that's what this word means this word means okay you're grateful to god you say you're grateful to god and you acknowledge that everything comes from him let me have the level what's the level the level is do i see you living a life that portrays to the external world what you say you believe internally that all of your stuff belongs ultimately to god and that you have positioned your life in such a way as to use your stuff primarily for the glory of god in short god gets the very best of your stuff look at verse 20 then david said to the whole assembly praise the lord your god so they all praise the lord the god of their fathers they bowed down prostrating themselves before the lord and the king now what's interesting here the hebrew word for worship is also a very unique word it comes from the idea of worth so you tend to worship that which you give ultimate worth to you serve and obey and pursue worship that thing or that entity that you give the ultimate worth to that is the place that gets the best of you and your resources that's why jesus said in matthew chapter 6 21 for where your treasure is there your heart will be also so that brings us back now to the ultimate question as we pursue jesus there has to come a time in our life when we ought to be mature enough to ask ourselves what or who gets the very best of you not not the most of you be careful that you distinguish between those two ideas we all have to work got to make a living we're spending time with the family we've got recreation not the most time not the most money but the most precious time and the most precious money what or who gets that from you now let me add some real honesty to simplicity i've been a miserable failure at this type of message for most of my life and it's because i've been working on a false assumption i have assumed that if i present all the really cool things that we're doing at one and all church then everyone will dive in get on board and serve and give their time and will become people of generosity great generosity staggering generosity so i've tried to show you how benevolent we are how we're trying to reach the community help those who are less fortunate in our house to home ministry and god's pantry i've tried to show you how many are sacrificing their time and their talents and their resources to build a city on a hill that cannot be hidden over in pomona called god's pantry so that the first place people in our valley think about when they have a need is god's pantry i've talked to you about northern india and how we're trying to send these pastors who are willing to sacrifice their lives to go up on the northern regions to reach the last unreached people groups on planet earth i've talked about what we're trying to do in mexico and zimbabwe and rwanda primarily however right here in our own backyard and then i've also tried to present us with the reality of god's blessings and where most americans actually spend their money and i i thought well if i can do that perhaps i can help people wake up to the reality of what they're truly pursuing it is true that i've given you those stats that we are six percent we are six percent of the world's population in the united states of america and yet we consume almost half of the world's resources we're the rich folks that the bible talks about and while 1 billion people live on a dollar a day and 800 million people will not eat today 300 million of those will be children experts tell us that we could feed and nourish the entire world for around 20 billion dollars a day and i read recently that actually it's been more than recently probably about 10 years ago that that's what americans spend on ice cream in any one given year so if we just stopped eating ice cream we're a blessed nation but this kind of information has not worked in the past and every time i've delivered these kind of messages then those who are giving give more and those who are not giving continue not to give let me give you just a little bit example here there are there are thousands of people that attend one and all and this is not exact numbers but it's pretty close these are not exact numbers let's say we have 10 000 givers then 20 of the people at one and all give significantly so that would be 2 000 they give regularly and they've decided in their own hearts that the tithe is the best way to go so they actually give ten percent of their income they give the first fruits principle that is repeated in the new testament fifty percent of that ten thousand five thousand would give less than a thousand dollars a year to the ministry to what we're trying to accomplish here in this valley now you think about that that means if you do the tithe scenario that means 50 of our people are living below the poverty line 50 give less than a thousand dollars a year and 30 percent give so very little that it's just hard to track so i look at that and i think wow of all the messages and all the endeavors and all the good work that is happening we still have 20 of the congregation the core people giving and serving whose hearts have been transformed and i i often ask myself as a pastor and this is the beauty of getting older the beauty of getting older you stop saying things that will make people feel good all the time you just say man i got to tell you this is the truth of the matter this is it and i've done a little research actually someone else did the research trying to discover why the percentages are so low in a migratory in the mega churches in our country and they came up with six reasons why people just refuse or do not give even though they may want to number one it's all mine anyway the attitude is this is mine i can do with it as i please of course that's in direct contradiction with psalm 24 the earth is the lord's and everything in it the second reason people say well i give elsewhere and the author of the article says this is the person who counts his giving to secular causes his time or paying his children's christian school tuition as his tithe so this is a person that looks for other ways to define giving to the expansion of the kingdom of god third a person will say tithing is not a new testament principle i actually agree with that shocker but i also know that when jesus fulfilled the law he didn't revise spirituality downward grace requires much more than the law ever could that's why zacchaeus gave back four times remember when jesus met him not two times according to the mosaic law he gave back four times why would he do that well he was thinking to himself man i've been a bad guy i better double this because i'm still involved in work salvation and maybe if i double up then i'll be accepted into the kingdom of god no not at all the reason zacchaeus has embraced christ is he's realized that someone like him could be forgiven and completely restored because one is saved by grace through faith not through the works of the law so in his mind grace goes far beyond the law so should he and that's why we've said every time we've encountered zacchaeus story that greed surrenders the generosity at the point of conversion it's a natural byproduct because you've been given so much in return you live with that attitude in your everyday life four some will say i will tithe when i can afford it and yet research shows that contrary to what we might assume the more money a person makes the less percentage they give away so if you wait to give until you can afford to you probably never will five people will say i'm afraid these are people who honestly fear what might happen to them and their family if they give and i always take you back to malachi 3 where god says and i don't know of any other place in scripture where god says this he says test me in this test me says the lord almighty and see if i will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it so god says and again the meaning of the language there is the gauntlet to throw down the gauntlet and say come on you want me you want to go at this with me you can either go at your resources and your wealth with me or without me but i challenge you to test me in this be faithful to what i'm asking you to do and see if i will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing for you six and finally i give god my time in service now i hear this a lot someone says well i don't give money but i give my time well that tells me that god gets your time but your money's off limits which tells me that means your money is your real god do you understand how that attitude is directly connected to jesus words in matthew 6 when he says no one can serve two masters either you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve both god and money so you either submit your money to god or you submit god to your money one of the other you cannot serve both but there's another question that comes out of first chronicles 29. david built a house for god as an expression of of his acknowledgment that everything he has in his position comes from god and that god is to be glorified among the nations but what about us are we supposed to build a big edifice for god no that's not our calling that's very clear in the new testament what have we been called to do what are you and i supposed to do with what have we been charged how are we supposed to invest god's resources i want to take you to something jesus said in luke 16 9 that is seldom talked about and jesus makes this statement let me read it for you i say to you make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon that when you fall or fail they may receive you into an everlasting home now that's a very confusing passage especially this word mammon what is mammon you know what is that it sounds like bad manna hey that man is bad don't eat that looks like mammon to me what is mammon well the understanding of this greek uh uh phrase it's more of a phrase than a word unrighteous mammon it means that money is usually in one of two categories okay there is the money that is submitted to god and his purposes and that has the spirit of god on it so it multiplies it cannot be devoured or consumed by the enemy and it stores up heavenly treasures it's incorruptible but then there is the money that's used as a substitute for god and therefore has the spirit of mammon unrighteousness on it it will be destroyed unprotected it will be devoured and consumed so read the the passage again read the verse again luke 16 9 and i say to you make friends for yourselves by unrighteous famine what is that that when you fail they receive you they may rest receive you into an everlasting home so here's the meaning of the text is use the money you get from a world system that is unrighteous you and i have to work we have to make a living things are not always righteous and good we're supposed to be people of integrity and live a righteous and good life but the money itself is only redeemed when it is used for god's purposes and he says use your money in this world system this unrighteous mammon use it to make friends who will receive you into an everlasting home now what does what eternal home what friends are going to receive us into an eternal home and here's what jesus says use money to bring people far from god near to god and they will be your welcoming committee into an everlasting home i love this idea i love this kind of thinking it's almost as if god is saying when you get to heaven there's going to be two parades in the first parade god is the spectator and all of those people who gave their lives to jesus who recognized in their humility that everything they had belonged to god and that they were in opposition to god because of their sin but they recognized that jesus was that ultimate sacrifice that turns away the wrath of god and brings them into community into relationship all of the people who received the son and who entered into relationship and who passionately pursued the son they're going to be on parade they're the trophies of christ those whom he paid their debt for whom he paid the debt and now it's like there's a big parade and they're marching through the golden streets i know it's not really golden streets but marching through the city of god but then there's a second parade and that second parade you and i are the spectators and we get to stand and watch all of those people who were far from god who came near to god because of our investment because of our generosity because of our sacrifice ultimately because of the work of jesus but had we not sacrificed and given above and beyond for a purpose that is greater than ourselves there will be people who will not be in this parade i go back and say what i did before when god gets your heart really gets your heart your greatest joy comes as a result of giving yourself to god and his purposes in the world and i want to tell you i can't that's going to be an emotional parade you say but jeff what is god's primary purpose that i mean what is he after is it benevolence no benevolence is a good thing but it's often the means to the end the end goal is always salvation to bring those far from god near how are you investing the very best of you what is most precious to you to get that job done now why would anyone change after they hear a message like this because as i said before going up and shouting to a dead tree and saying bear fruit and expecting it to bear fruit is impossible there has to be a transformation the heart if you don't have a spirit a feeling of generosity and sacrifice to give the very best of who you are to the purposes of god i'm concerned that your heart has not yet been transformed some people say jeff you can't say that i didn't jesus did for where your treasure is there will your heart be also let me paraphrase your most precious possessions will go to the thing that you love the most so the real question in all of this is what are you most passionate about just be honest what do you enjoy most you know pastor steve loves to ride his bike and i'm sure soon he's going to take the training wheels off but he really likes to ride his bike in fact actually steve has won quite a few races he's quite a sprinter he actually showed me a video once of him racing and leading the pack and he had these huge thighs it's too bad the muscle has gone to the tummy now but he wants there's a time he had huge huge thighs roy loves to coach baseball he loves to have his baseball hat on he's a great dad man roy loves to hang out with his kids coach baseball that's what he loves to do dale loves to ride bikes he he's not a racer though he's more of a where where steve's a sprinter i think dale's more of a marathoner on a bicycle he just gets it and goes forever it's like the energizer bunny just keeps on going the point is the thought of getting to do these things to steve and to dell and to roy brings joy and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that god grants us wonderful gifts in life in fact golf is his most desired gift and most pleasant gift but what but the question is what is the primary goal you see don't think that you can't have excitement and fun and enjoyment in life i mean right now i would love to be in cabo just soaking up the sun race there's nothing wrong with wanting to be somewhere that you just really enjoy but what's the primary goal of your life what are you truly chasing after ultimately now i didn't ask you what it should be i don't want you to get all spiritual more spiritual than you ought to be for most of us it's a dollar figure or career position or the master of particular skill but where is your heart man i i can't leave this without giving you this kind of understanding what what are you going after because wherever you're going after you're going to be amazed you're going to be amazed at what you're able to do i have always for instance been impressed with the workout schedules of olympians i've mentioned michael phelps the most decorated olympian of all time 22 olympic medals over three olympics remember when i shared his workout routine six hours a day six days a week even if a workout day falls on christmas day he's in the pool he's working out in the gym he's running on the track he swims 50 miles 80 kilometers every week that's eight miles a day i don't know how many of you know of ashley bardy she's australia's number one tennis player in fact earlier this year she was the number one tennis player in the world i looked up her workout regimen it's amazing 45 minutes of stretching one hour of cardio two hours on the court a quick lunch two hours of waits one hour conditioning one hour rehab one hour on the court session to work out the kinks nine hours every single day now here's the question why do they do it you say well because they have to wrong answer there have been incredible documents that record that those people who are gifted in a certain a particular sport who do what they do because they have to end up sooner or later dropping out and doing something else they do it because they love it they phelps loves to be in the pool yes ashley bardy loves to be on the court in legit yes there is almost always a correlation between super talented people their love and the degree of their success and failure a lot of super talented people don't succeed why because they don't love it their parents are living vicariously through them they feel they have to do it to represent their family or townspeople or maybe they're even doing it to pursue fame but they don't love it and if they don't love it they fall short and that's why i have taken a different approach to these tough issues by asking where is your heart where's your heart now this is the end of the message it's very important saying pastor jeff are you saying that i'm not saved okay listen carefully i'm saying that you may understand that jesus is the savior of your soul you may have a good understanding that he paid your sin debt and that you've received him as lord and savior but somewhere along the line you've never really understood what it is to make jesus the lord of your life one or two options remain if you're the kind of person one you're listening to this and uh you said you know what i i just don't need this i can't wait till this is over i'll come back when there's a better series or if you're really nervous and you're fidgeting because you know you don't live up but you you you don't have any intention of making any changes you just want to get out of here as fast as you can then i'm telling you when giving or tithing is an obligation it never worked for very long it has to come as a natural byproduct of something that happened in your heart where you began to understand for the first time the depths that god was willing to go to to rescue somebody like you who was far from god to bring them near but there is a weakness to this theory because sometimes all you need to do you're you're where you ought to be you actually get all this stuff and all you need to do is enact your will look carefully at this passage written by c.s lewis it's called compound interest this is how it goes the worldly man treats certain people kindly because he likes them the christian trying to treat everyone kindly finds himself liking more and more people as he goes including people he could not even imagine himself liking at the beginning this same spiritual law works terribly in the opposite direction the germans perhaps at first ill-treated the jews because they hated them afterwards they hated them much more because they had ill-treated them do you hear what he's saying when you are cruel to someone and then you see them at a later time you're even more cool do you know why because now you're angry at the guilt you feel every time you see them so you're even more cruel and there is more hatred he goes on the more cruel you are the more you will hate the more cool you will become and so on in a vicious circle forever then the famous quote from mere christianity good and evil both increase at compound interest that is why the little decisions you and i make every day are of such infinite importance the smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which a few months later you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of an apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible you know what he's saying he's saying when you don't feel like it do what is right and when you do what is right you'll start to feel like it if you cease giving you will want to give even less as time goes by but if you start giving somewhere you will actually want to give more as time goes on enact the will and the heart will soon follow folks i believe you know i was filling out a a report this week and it it asked the question of state you know what state are you from and i scrolled down and i found california something interesting happened when i clicked on california there was a real pride in me yeah california i realized men i love california why do you love cali with all the i can't explain it yeah i know it's got problems everybody has problems but i i love it here and i think part of my love here is because god's called me here somebody asked me the other day are you going to leave california i mean things are a mess are you going to go somewhere else like texas or tennessee and i thought that i thought man do you really think that i based my decision on where i'm going to live on on an emotion like that this is where i'm called i mean if i if i flee now what does that say about me that i'm about me that i'm not about god i'm not saying that if you moved away you're not about god you're about you for me in this position and my calling god tells me where to be can i tell you something though for those of you who have remained in california our best days are ahead there's been a sifting in the christian west i hate the pandemic and i hate what it's done and i hate the suffering but i've looked around and i've realized it's been a great thing to separate the wheat from the chaff those who have been on the fringe where church has never been something important or building the kingdom of god on earth has never been important we'll see more and more of what we call fringe people fading away now i'm not happy about that i'm not because anybody this far from god i want to bring near but i also see that the core those who yearn for worship and community and to do something that matters with their life they've leaned harder in to church and to the people of god and every week i meet new families i'm so excited on every campus i mean this past weekend i was at the rancho campus and i met a young lady by the name of genesis and she told me her story it was a great story she said that she and her daughter live up in the high desert it's about 40 minutes away but they come down to the rancho campus and they said they do so because they were going through a very difficult period in their lives and her daughter especially had some pretty serious questions and somebody gave her this book called dinner with skeptics then when she said that oh wow somebody gave her the book dinner with skeptics she read it it changed her it changed her mom and suddenly she called her mom and said mom because she knew her mom had been praying for it mom i found this book it's changed everything and her mom said that's my preacher and she invited her to rancho and she started to coming to rancho and my conversation with her fired me up because if that's the kind of people god is sending us give me a thousand genesis because she doesn't come to one at all because it's flashy or she likes the pastor or the music is hip no i stood and i talked with her and you could tell she's there because she wants to be part of a church that is reaching their community for christ she wants to be part of a community who loves their neighbors even the ones who disagree with them i'll take a thousand more like that philip yancy one of my favorite authors and i'll close with this he wrote something that i think speaks volumes to us but also reveals our heart he says along with many other christians i wince at the snidely jubilant tone that often characterizes media coverage of scandals among christians see these christians are no better no they're worse than the rest of us they say i grieve says yancey over reports that contributions to almost all christian organizations declined dramatically in the wake of each new scandal i consider my gifts to christian organizations as the highest returning investment i can possibly make and then he goes on to say maybe maybe one problem underlying the scandals of christian superstars is that we distort the kingdom of god by training our spotlight not on the servants but on the stars as andre now one said keep your eyes on the one who refused to turn stones into bread jump from great heights or rule with great temporal power keep your eyes on the one who says blessed are the poor the gentle those who mourn and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness blessed are the merciful the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness keep your eyes on the one who is poor with the poor weak with the weak and rejected with the rejected that one is the source of all peace in other words keep your eyes on the servant not the superstar and then he finishes by saying the gospels repeat one saying of jesus more than any other whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it truly the way up is down i don't want to build huge gaps between our church and those who disagree with us i don't want to be a wall builder i want to be a bridge builder and i want to build that bridge when they see our kindness and sacrifice and generosity but i also realize the only way i'll be that type of person is that i like david have pursued jesus for most of my life and in pursuing him i have met him and in meeting him i now desire to become most like him and i am most like him when i give the very best to the very least my question to you after you hear this message will you be part of the one and all parade will you join the ranks thus showing your treasure the thing you most deeply care about the thing that you're most passionate about is not stockpiling or hoarding or gaining more wealth but gaining more wealth in order to give it away [Music] as jesus left his home in glory and all the riches of heaven and became a servant and gave what was most precious to him his life that those far from god might come near i pray that you would join the ranks of people at one and all who are doing the same father thank you for the power of first chronicles 29 what a great example of david even even though he had so many failures in his life so many sins so many seasons of rebellion that the last 40 or so years of his life his eyes were open and he came to understand that this world truly has nothing of eternal value to offer us but there is something that we can spend our resources on that will not darken or fade that will not rust that are indeed incorruptible people who are far from god that will come near to the presentation of the gospel and the generosity of the saints in christ's name amen howdy one and all pastor rory here and we are rounding third and heading home in our pursuing jesus series and we've learned so much but i've got three more morsels for you that will help you take your next steps in pursuing jesus number one is this we've said this for weeks now if you have not downloaded the one and all church app you need to do that today you just heard pastor jeff give a great message on the idea of going all in in the area of generosity man one of the simplest ways that you can be generous is by giving through our one and all app it's super simple it's super easy and you can honor god by giving back to him what he's so generously given you so i want to encourage you to do that today number two is this if you recall week one we talked about the idea of knowing god and one of the best ways you can encounter god you can know him is through prayer and so each month we gather on all of our campuses for our monthly prayer night and i want to encourage you it's happening this week come join us for prayer night man see god move in a powerful way and join together as we worship god and pursue him together and then last but definitely not least is this baptisms next week we wrap up our pursuing jesus series and we want to celebrate by watching people take their next step and get baptized go public with their faith in jesus now if you're interested in being baptized next week hey here's how you do it go to one and all dot church slash baptism get signed up and show up next week as we celebrate together all that god has done [Music] i thought [Music] [Applause] [Music] and now i know i don't want anyone else or anything i don't want anyone [Music] oh [Music] [Music] won't you [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] are you thankful for jesus i found the currency of heaven it's unlike anything that i imagined here [Music] i [Music] that's just you i'll with anything else just [Music] oh [Music] is [Applause] [Music] hi i'm tommy i'm here with pastor jeff and welcome to first look we're going to get a sneak peek into our upcoming series ghosted ghost is going to be quite an interesting series because i think it's going to be very appropriate uh and applicable to where people are right now much like the series that we just did some of those passages of scripture that we read took on so much more meaning because of what we're experiencing right now with covid with this kind of separation with the kind of like a world that's different than we've ever known it before so right now i think there are a lot of people asking you know we're in the middle of this pandemic you know a lot of christ followers have been praying and they feel like god is somewhat silent uh they feel like they're in a wilderness and and there's no deliverance or at least they can't see when deliverance is going to come and so this series ghosted based on the idea that you can be in communication with someone on social media and suddenly they just stop replying ghosted that sometimes you feel like that when you're going to god with something that is very very uh deep very concerning to you that god seems silent he seems it seems like you're you're calling on him again and again but you just don't get a reply so what if i told you tommy that you could go to an old testament narrative and you could have these questions about where is god why does he seem silent uh when is this pandemic going to be over what if i told you there's an old testament narrative that actually answers all these questions including there is a clue that will tell us when this pandemic will end i'm not a prophet or anything i can't tell you exactly but i can tell you there are clues found in this old testament narrative that will tell you how long such a pandemic like this would last so i really encourage people to bring their friends i think it will encourage them i think as a christ follower it will give you that staying power to allow god to do his best work in us and what could our one take away be in this series i i think it goes back to that idea again that he in the moment when god is silent sometimes are seemingly silent he does his best work in other words he speaks loudest when you can't hear him and oftentimes in cases like this god does his best work in the life of an individual christ follower but also at the same time he's doing this awesome work in the world turning our hearts back toward home don't miss the series it's going to be one that will really encourage you that's good thank you pastor jeff this was a first look into our upcoming series ghosted beginning october 16th and 17th man i'm so excited for this new ghosted series that we're having i know we just came out of a season of isolation and we just talked a little bit before this about that and i've wondered like god where are you where are you in my life where can you please help me out here and i know i have friends that also uh need to be here in this but the craziest part is uh i know there's been seasons where maybe i'm not so faithful but god has always been so true so true and he has always provided and i know i'm reminded of that actually through my giving is that when i give i have this awareness that god has provided and that he will continue to provide so if you were impacted by this sermon go ahead and actually go to one and all dot church slash give and you can actually give and go all in you can also actually give at our one and all mobile app so go ahead and click on the give button and you can give there too well hey what a good weekend we've had so far if you've been impacted by this message share this link to a friend someone that may need to hear this um with that only one way to go out one hope one life in christ [Music] you

Channel: ONE&ALL

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Keywords: Go All In, pastor jeff vines, today with jeff vines, premier christian radio, church service, christian church, youtube church, one&all church series, one and all worship, worship music, jeff vines vision christian radio, jeff vines new zealand, one and all church, watch church online, church at home, watch church from home, part 1, week 5, Pursuing Jesus

Id: byJJGhtdEIg

Length: 55min 51sec (3351 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 02 2021