Stay Humble | The Book of Philippians (Chapter Four)

good morning and welcome to vision church why don't you high-five your neighbor tell them they're looking good this morning high five your neighbor tell them they're looking good come on somebody and do it you know they're looking good and hey let's take a second right now to make some noise for our online audience let's make some noise for everybody watching via the live stream we're absolutely honored that you're tuning in today from all over the world via youtube and facebook hey i want to encourage you if you're in the live audience today go ahead and hit share on the facebook or the youtube app you can pull it up right now no shame you have total permission to get on your phone right now and if you're watching via the broadcast go ahead and hit share right now because you never know who it might who might be scrolling this morning who should have been at church and they're going to be scrolling and they're going to have an encounter with the living god and the power of his word anybody believe that the word of god changes lives you believe it's life-changing if you have your bible turn with me today to philippians chapter 4 beginning in verse 1 and before we read it i want to pray over you father we thank you so much for who you are you are awesome you're indescribable our vocabulary fails to give you the glory that you deserve god we recognize this morning that the word says that there is nothing truly good in any of us none of us were truly seeking after you none of us are truly holy or righteous in and of ourselves but god while we were dead in our sin and lost in our trespasses you were rich in mercy towards us you could have been any way you wanted to be but you chose to send your one and only son to die on a rugged cross and bleed out for the remission of our sin he died and three days later was resurrected and today god we state in all of the message of the gospel of jesus christ help us to never take for granted or just go through the routine of religion god we need you today speak to us bring revelation truth in power be strong in my weakness it's in jesus mighty name we pray and everybody said a men today's bittersweet because we are concluding our series called stay humble it's a chapter by chapter look at the book of philippians has this series encouraged anybody has it helped anybody if so just make a little noise if it has that's the right response and even if you're just catching up today they still just get happy with us by the way did y'all enjoy worship today and that team aren't they doing a great job my goodness that's powerful stuff we're blessed we're blessed uh philippians chapter four verse one before i read it let me get get you all caught up in case you missed the first three weeks first of all you can get caught up anytime online at visionchurch.com or our youtube channel to get caught up but the context here of philippians is this is a book that is written by the apostle paul he's writing it from a prison cell in rome he's likely chained to a prison guard some historians believe that this this cell was so dark and horrific he couldn't even stand up in it he was like a dark cave he was bound there and from that setting he begins to write the book of philippians and this is not a book of correction or rebuke this is a book really that's a love letter he's pouring his heart out to the church at philippi because he had a deep bond and a deep connection paul planted the church at philippi two years prior to writing the book of philippians with all that being said we're gonna pick up in verse one of chapter four therefore my dear brothers and sisters stay true to the lord i love you and long to see you dear friends you are my joy and the crown i receive from my work now i appeal to you odia and to centike please because you belong to the lord settle your disagreement and i ask you my true partner to help those two women for they have worked hard with me in telling others the good news they worked along clement and the rest of my co-workers whose names are written in the book of life that's all i want to read from chapter four uh but i just want to make an observation as we dive in today uh my mission over the next few moments is to extract truths from chapter four i believe that when we approach the bible we should not come to it with a preconceived notion of we already know what it's gonna say or we've got an idea and we're just looking for the bible to validate our belief we need to go to the bible just as it is and read it just as it was written in the context that was written and we need to extract truth by truth out of it that becomes applicable to our life can i get a witness that's how we should study it that's how you should read it i know you may have read john 3 16 800 times but when you read it the next time don't come to it with a preconceived oh i already know that no go to it and let the word of god speak to you let it come alive right before you and we're going to extract some truth today so we're going to start right there in verse 1. he says my dear brothers and sisters stay true to the lord i need you to help me preach this sermon and with some attitude look at your neighbor and tell them stay true to the lord stay true to the lord now it's important that you observe something here in philippians chapter four this is the end of his letter to the church at philippi and how many of you know when you're about to say your last words to somebody you're not going to make small talk right you're going to be like bojangles is better than chick-fil-a or dunkin donuts is better than krispy kreme like you're going to talk small talk right here you're going to talk about what is the most important in fact jesus in his final moments on earth he issued the great commission he said i want you to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit he said that in the final moments of his physical presence on earth in the final moments of a letter or a book this is where we find the most important and urgent thoughts and right here in philippians 4 it's no different paul is likely writing to the philippian church for the last time he may never speak to these people again and so what he says here in closing is of the utmost importance and what he says to them is i want you to stay true to the lord now let's feel this for a moment he's telling them this in two facets number one he's saying i want you to stay true to the lord stay true to the gospel from attacks from inside the church and i want you to stay true to the lord when your faith is attacked from the world because see your faith is going to come under pressure and under trial from both sides from both within the church and outside of it and i want you to remember to stay true to the word of god stay true to the precious gospel that was first preached to you i mean you remember last week paul was addressing the false gospel and the false teachers that were spreading heresy through the church of philippi they were saying yes it's good that you believe in jesus that he died on the cross but you also must be circumcised and you also must adhere to the law of moses in order to be saved how many of you know today that the true gospel is that we are saved by jesus christ and him alone as he hung on the cross he declared it is finished what is finished the price for your salvation and redemption jesus is enough the false teachers that were slithering in behind paul teaching in the church of philippi they were confusing people and preaching a false gospel and paul is imploring he's begging the church stay true to jesus don't buy into this false message don't buy into this heresy stay true from the attacks that would come from within the church but i believe even just as applicable today he's warning them that you must stay true to the lord when your faith comes under attack from outside sources from this world in other words we are not of the world we are to be in this world but not of it church at philippi remember to stay true to the lord don't bow to the social and cultural ideologies of your day stand true on the word of god stand true for his message don't let the world influence you and by the way i'm just going i'm just going to preach and tell you right how it is far too many people in far too many churches have been influenced by the world we're trying to impress the very world that hates and rejects your god we've watered down the message to make it more palatable to a people who have already hated and rejected god we cannot preach a watered-down gospel we cannot exclude pages of the text to accommodate people in their feelings we must stay true to the word of god we must stay true to the lord our god in in spite of what the culture may say i need you as christians to feel that same call this morning that true biblical christianity is unpopular stay true anyway you might be persecuted for your faith stay true anyway you might be hated for your stance in the social and cultural climate of the world stay true anyway stand firm in the face of an ever-shifting and perverse world you live in a time where we call good evil and evil good the bible warned that this would be the climate of the last days that men would call good evil and evil good you're living in it don't be influenced by this world don't let culture pressure you in to compromising your faith stay true to jesus christ and his precious word i'm gonna tell you something this church was not put here in charlotte north carolina so that we could be influenced by the city or the culture the lord planted the new testament church so that it would be influential in the cities in the region and nations whereby it's planted we are not influenced by them they should be influenced by us after all greater is he who's in us than he that is in the world can i get a witness today the church is supposed to be the influence we're supposed to be the voice and by the way we need christians in every sphere and arena of life we need true christians that will stay true to the lord in the arena of politics we need true christians as educators as professors as lawyers as entertainers we need the church to influence the world not the other way around that's what he's saying to the church of philippi stay true to jesus stand firm for jesus christ i'm gonna tell you something i believe that we as we sit in this room today we're at a crossroads i believe it's historic of nature and proportion just like the protestant reformation just like the great awakenings that happen throughout the united states in its formative years i believe the church is also at a critical junction right now where we all corporately have a choice to make individually we have a choice to make are we going to bow and are we going to compromise and are we going to be politically correct with the world or are we going to stay true to jesus christ every pastor has a choice every church has a choice every christian you have a choice we're at a crossroad what will you choose will you take the path of least resistance the path to be applauded or will you take the road that leads to suffering the the road that leads to exile and persecution will you stay true to jesus christ i'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen i believe that right here in this season we're gonna see the true church arise and the false church exposed i think we're gonna see true teachers come to the forefront and we're gonna see false teachers exposed you can't play nice anymore it's right here in your face are you going to stay true to jesus are you going to stay true to his word are you going to compromise or are you going to bow every choice every church has a choice and every individual christian has a choice too you remember jesus taught the parable of the wheat and the tares remember that the good farmer had a field of wheat and in the darkness of night the evil farmer slithered in behind him and sowed tear among the wheat he put wheat weeds among the wheat you see satan he doesn't just want to eradicate the church he wants to infiltrate it he doesn't want to destroy vision church he wants to infiltrate it with people who will compromise he wants to infiltrate it with people who will say well you know what yeah i know the word says that but really it's more of a suggestion than a commandment you know i don't really believe that part of the bible i'm i'm believing we're in an era where the truth will be exposed and you know what that gets me excited because i say glory to god in the highest because when the truth is exposed the light shines bright and the world needs true christians right here and right now today and i'm gonna tell you one other thing christianity true christianity is not for the weak in spirit it's not for the faint of heart it's not for the apathetic the unsure the undecided it is the the true christianity it is radical it is transformative it's revolutionary it's counter cultural it's life-giving it's life transforming i beg of you stand for jesus christ do not bow to this world i'm still on verse one and even here in verse one there's another angle to him saying stay true to the lord he's not just talking about corporately church at philippi corporately say true to the lord he's talking about you as an individual he's saying you must stay true to the lord not just in the political and the cultural arena but in your everyday life even in your private life in your secret life stay true to the lord so many people especially in western christianity they give their life to jesus and they envision themselves like running through the finish line the ribbon bursting at their chest and they're like yes i made it glory to god hallelujah i'm gonna be there in the sweet bye and bye but here's the thing like when you got saved that's not the finish line that's the beginning that's just the that's just the entrance jesus said i am the gate i am the door and the way of salvation is straight and narrow and few there be that find it your salvation and your new birth is not the end it's it's the beginning of a new journey a new purpose and it's not about those who begin it's about those who endure will you be faithful listen anybody can start something i wonder can you be faithful i wonder can you be can you finish anybody can start a business anybody can start a relationship i wonder can you keep one can you endure through difficult times listen we don't celebrate people that got married in three months and divorced in four we celebrate people that got they ran the distance for 25 years to 15 years 50 years right i've never seen an anniversary for somebody just because they got married we don't celebrate that we celebrate their faithfulness their perseverance they stayed true jesus even warned he said hey like it's so opposite of evangelical christianity like every we're just like if you just close your eyes and bow your head and you just feel it just slip a finger up and we'll see no jesus was like hey do you really want to follow me then pick up your cross and follow me and he said this if you want to be my disciple you should count the cost you don't want to be like a builder who starts construction and then halfway through just has to abandon the project you want to count the cost you want to stay true to me all the way through your life until jesus takes you home or he splits the clouds in glory let us be found faithful to him [Applause] let us be found faithful all right verse two they won't all be that long don't get nervous look at verse two now i appeal to euodia and sentiky please because you belong to the lord settle your disagreement real quick side note if any of you are pregnant or expecting i highly do not recommend these names just that's free i mean that's my opinion all right y'all thought i was going to say something serious all right so but i want you to pay attention to this really quickly the bible name drops these two women euodia and syntace all right look at this when the bible mentions you by name that's a big deal and when the bible mentions you by name and calls you to repent that's a real big deal like and you know we read this philippians 4 like in our lazy boy sipping our drink or coffee whatever but like do you realize that when this letter was written the pastors of the church the elders of the church of philippi they took the letter they gathered them together on the lord's day and they read it out loud to the whole church they literally paul put these two women on blast in front of everybody he called them out y'all think i'm rough on you these ladies got called out now look we don't know exactly what the root of their argument was but we do know that it was divisive and that it was pulling the church apart it was so significant that pull from a prison cell had heard about it and it was so important to him that he wrote and literally called them by name in philippians 4. and i'mma tell you why because when the church wars with herself we darken our witness in the world when we gossip about one another when we get angry with one another when we talk behind each other's back when we're jealous and envious of one another we kill our witness in the world that's why paul said i beg of you to resolve your differences i beg of you to lay down the argument and come together as one and i believe this will still preach 2 000 years later that we the church of jesus christ we cannot continue to live in disharmony jealousy gossip and bitterness towards one another listen you're gonna have many opportunities to be offended with me with other people in the church but let me help you get over it because the world needs to see jesus in us not our angst in our arguments the world can argue all by themselves they don't need jesus for that that's why paul begs them i beg of you to come together by the way you as a born-again christian have a lot more in common with each other than you have that divides you we have one lord one faith one baptism one gospel one message by which we live there's a lot more going for us than against us now i want you to pay attention if you're taking notes just write this down matthew chapter 5 verses 23 through 24 the gospels tell us something profound it says this paraphrasing if you're going to bring a gift to the altar in other words if you're going to come and bring me praise or you're going to come and bring me an offering you're going to worship me and somebody in the church has ought towards you somebody's angry with you upset with you then you should stop in your tracks turn yourself around go back to the person that is angry with you be reconciled to them and then come and bring your offering can i put it in modern english some of us we want to praise and we won't be like oh yeah glory to god we love you lord but we're angry with people we go to church with we haven't forgiven people we go to church with we're jealous of people we go to church with and we expect the lord to inhabit our praises and the lord is saying to you look i'm not even hearing your praise or hearing your sacrifice until you are reconciled with your neighbor till you forgive them till they forgive you till y'all can walk together in unity i'm not impressed by anything else you're doing convicted yes we got to be one we got to come together and by the way i'm gonna give you a secret really quickly on how to resolve every argument you ready it's first corinthians chapter 13 verse four here it is paul is imploring these two women i need you to love each other first corinthians 13 4 love is patient and kind love is not jealous or boastful proud or rude it does not demand its own way it is not irritable it keeps no record of being wronged look at that love does not demand its own way why do we argue so many times and stay bitter and mad we demand our own way i'm right and you're wrong till you apologize to me i'm gonna stay here and then it says that love forgets keeps no record of wrongs my goodness if we would just love each other these quarrels would seem like nothing and by the way paul dropped one more he drop a big bomb on him he goes and by the way you should clean it up because jesus is coming again in other words do you really want jesus to come in glory and catch y'all too fighting about stuff that don't even matter so i'm gonna say it to you jesus is coming again the things that are bothering you that you're fighting with that you're unforgiving they mean nothing in comparison to the coming of the kingdom of god jesus is coming again let's get over it look at your neighbor tell them let's get over it all right philippians chapter 4 verse 6 watch this don't worry about anything but instead pray about everything tell god what you need and thank him for all that he has done then you will experience god's peace which exceeds anything we can understand his peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in christ jesus look at that don't worry about anything but pray about everything truth is we do the exact opposite we worry about everything and we pray about nothing i know i know this sermon is for somebody else right not you surely you're thinking right now i know this girl she needs to hear this sermon i'm talking to you i'm talking to you i'm talking to me stop worrying about everything and take this to god in prayer matthew chapter 6 verse 27 goes a step further look at this can all of your worries add a single moment to your life and why worry about your clothing look at the lilies of the field and how they grow they don't work or make their clothing yet solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are so i want to read right there he says your worrying absolutely does nothing for your situation all of that time you spent worrying panicking and anxiety you accomplished nothing you didn't add one second to your life and i'm gonna help you with another thing 99 of the stuff you're worried about is never even gonna happen in the first place y'all worry about stuff this not gonna happen i'm gonna tell a story on my mama hopefully she's watching the live stream today my mom lives in west virginia and she is horrified of tornadoes we don't get tornadoes in west virginia like literally never like maybe one in 150 years my mom is like terrified she's worried every time i'm in the sun like oh my god it's gonna be a tornado she's like subscribed locked into the weather channel like watching that thing you're worrying about something that's not gonna come to fruition and how true is that in our life that we worry about scenarios we make up the worst case scenario meditating on what could go wrong what will probably and it's not going to happen i'm just trying to tell you today it's not going to happen and all that worry does it doesn't add a thing to your life all it does is rob you of your peace in the present that's all it does worrying doesn't do anything and i got to say this too like scripture says that the birds they don't worry about what they're gonna eat the flowers don't worry about what they're gonna wear because the lord provides for them like i wish we would have more faith in the birds i wish we could just trust in the lord right why are we worried about this stuff god is faithful god is sovereign david said i've grown from young to old and i have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread god is faithful your worrying shows a lack of trust in his sovereignty your worrying says that you want to take matters into your own hands and into your own control and we all know it's far better off in god's hands than in yours and can i just be super honest with you the word says that we should worry about nothing but we should pray about it all i'm just gonna say something to you most preachers would never say your prayer may not change the circumstance that you're in but it will always change you it'll always change you now sometimes your prayer will move a circumstance i've seen it but you know what it does every time changes you it gives you a peace in the process and i just gotta i'm just gonna tell you this for free too this is super powerful do you realize that peace is not a feeling peace is not an emotion peace is a person his name is jesus christ the word calls him the prince of peace your peace is not the absence of trouble it's the presence of god you think that you're only going to experience peace when all your troubles vanish nope you should have a peace in the middle of your chaos you can have peace in the middle of your storm you can have peace in the middle of your child acting a full you can have peace in the middle of your financial uncertainty and that is the peace that we as believers are promised that the world knows nothing of and that's the peace that we should walk in and live in if you only have peace when your circumstances are going great you are no different than the rest of the world but what will cause you to stand out like a beacon of light in the darkness is when you walk through hell and you walk with peace and confidence in your lord you know who goes before you you know who is beside you you know it is the lord who goes before you and prepares away when you exude a peace and a holy confidence in the middle of trouble that is a peace that surpasses all understanding it's a piece that doesn't make sense and every born-again believer has access to that like can just can we just talk real for just a minute if the worst thing in the world that you're worried about actually happens to you and you like die big deal it's just death is just the translation into glory death is just the entrance to eternity in the presence of god you're worried about something that's just going to bring you right into the presence of glory as a christian we can't lose for women jesus christ has swollen up death and victory we should not fear the one who can kill the body we should fear god who can condemn the soul we should have no fear fear we have not been given a spirit of fear but power love and a sound mind hebrew says we're not of them who draw back we advance and move forward in a holy confidence with the purposes of jesus in our life i'm not gonna be a prisoner to fear i'm not gonna allow it to occupy my mental space i'm not gonna do it god's now hear me real quick god's love is unconditional but his peace is conditional i'm gonna say that one more time god's love for you is unconditional he loves you no matter whether you love him back he loves you because that's who he is he is love but his peace is not that way you can be saved you can be a born again believer and not have peace peace is a conditional promise not an unconditional one you say where is that in the bible we just read it i'll read it again philippians chapter 4 verse 6. watch this i'm going to tell you right here it is don't worry about anything instead pray about everything tell god what you need and thank him for all he's done watch verse seven then you will experience god's peace that surpasses understanding did you see that if you'll stop worrying about stuff you can't control and stuff that's not gonna happen anyway if you'll pray and if you'll be thankful then you'll experience a peace that surpasses understanding some of y'all don't have any peace because all you do is sit there and worry and run through all these thoughts of what could go wrong you're like well you know the enemy's robbing me of my peace no he's not you're thinking about it you're worried about all this stuff just here i'm gonna help you pray and then give it to god and trust him with it and i'm gonna tell you here's the real secret to peace be thankful thankfulness becomes peacefulness i know that's not a real graceful line there not super quotable not tweetable but just think about it thankfulness becomes peacefulness you're anxious right now you're worried you're overwhelmed be thankful find something to be thankful for find something to thank god for and watch peace flood your soul because you can't be thankful and scared and worried at the same time you've got one's got to go i've said this a million times the book of james says a fountain a spirit can only bring forth sweet or bitter wanted it one or the other you choose i'm gonna choose i'm gonna choose thankfulness and being grateful all right we're gonna keep this thing moving keep moving thankfulness becomes peacefulness just find something to be thankful for and watch i mean just trust him he's amazing all right philippians 4 10. here we go how i praise the lord that you are concerned about me again and i know you always have been concerned for me but you didn't have the chance to help me not that i was ever in need watch this right here for i have learned to be content with whatever i have i know how to live on almost nothing or with everything i've learned the secret of living in every situation whether it is with a full stomach or empty with plenty or with little for i can do all things through christ who strengthens me even so you've done well to share with me in my present difficulty this is this is powerful church paul says i have learned to be content with nothing or with everything look at your neighbor and tell them you learn that you learn it you learn to be content you learn it in other words this is a sign of spiritual maturity oh church i'm trying to help you contentment is a sign of spiritual maturity when you're content with your wife when you're content with your husband when you're content with the amount of money you make when you're content with where you live when you're content with where you what you drive when you're content in your life it's an indication of spiritual maturity because you're not linking your value or your worth to material things you're secure in who you are in jesus christ [Music] the world has sold you that the key to being content is more and more and more but that is a lie that's why no matter how much wealth people accumulate it's never enough wealthy people just become greedier greedy people they they think oh well you know if i could just make six figures that man like i'll be happy i'll be content i'll be doing great and then one day you end up making six figures and guess what now you're like man this ain't all that much i need i need like half a million i need like a million this because it's because greed begets greed sin begets great it's never enough no matter how much you get it'll never be enough and more will not satisfy it will not you say well if i just had a better this or a better that i'd be i'd be happier um truth is like a long time ago when i was really stupid um i like had a really nice car and then i didn't like it because i saw somebody at a stoplight who had a better nicer car than me so i traded out of that one and then got another one and then i only realized that um it just costs a lot more and it's still really not all that much fun and so really like you're always looking to the next best thing you're always wanting more and the world has sold us on this lie that if you just can get more you'll be happy or you'll be satisfied and that's why some of the wealthiest people on this planet are the most miserable people on this planet because that is not what true wealth is it's just not i'm going to tell you real quick solomon in ecclesiastes chapter 2 was one of the wisest and wealthiest men to ever live the bible says that he worked hard and he accomplished all these things he bought the finest palaces the finest vineyards the best chariots of the day all right they probably had spinners on him and everything he he had everything that a person could desire and something really powerful at the end of chapter two of ecclesiastes he says as i looked so hard at everything i worked so hard to accomplish it was all meaningless it was all like chasing the wind is what he says because the human heart will never be satisfied with more stuff we'll never be can i tell you something you were created incomplete you were created with a void so large inside of your heart that only god himself can satisfy it that's why alcohol will never do substance abuse will never do the next medication the next high the next relationship the next girl the next guy they'll it'll never be enough because there's only one thing that can satisfy the human heart and bring contentment in the human soul and it is a relationship with the lord jesus christ that's why paul said i learned to be content i had to learn to be content and listen when jesus is enough for you everything else will be too. i'm trying to help somebody today in closing i'm gonna land this plane here if you have your bible look with me one last place second corinthians chapter eight verse one second corinthians chapter eight verse one if you're taking notes this is the last point be a contributor not a consumer be a contributor not a consumer second corinthians chapter eight verse one now i want you to know dear brothers and sisters what god in his kindness has done through the church in macedonia they are being tested by many troubles and they are very poor but they also filled with abundant joy which has overflowed in rich generosity for i can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more and they did it of their own free will you might be reading that and you're like well how does that connect to philippians has everything to do with philippians because the church is in macedonia that's philippi it's the same same place macedonia philippi this is it and here's what he's saying paul is saying this church in philippi they were poor in fact they were impoverished they had nothing they were afflicted their circumstances were bleak yet they were generous they were the first church to take an offering for him when he came to proclaim the good news the church at philippi were not consumers they were not sitting there asking what can god do for me instead they asked what can i do for the work of god what can i do to bring him praise what can i do that would bring god glory i'm going to tell you one of the cancers of the american church is we have become consumers listen we look at even our relationships for what can you do for me we look at our girlfriend boyfriend wife husband what can you do for me what have you done for me lately we look at our job our career as what can you do for me we look at our church what can you do for me can i be blessed can i feel good can i be important can i have a position what can i do what can it do for me we've become stricken with a cancer in america and it is consumerism and that is not the heart of god and it is not the heart of the new testament church the new testament church does not say how can you benefit me the new testament church says out of my nothing out of my sacrifice out of my poverty out of my emptiness to you i will give i will serve i will lift up others and prefer them ahead of myself i challenge you i pray that we have a shift in our thinking vision church and that when we look at our spouse we no longer think what can you do for me but we begin to look at them and say how can i bless you how can i make your life better just because i'm in it i pray that your mindset on your job shifts and instead of just as an obligation walking in clocking in and out you begin to look at that place and say how can i make it better how can i make it more excellent how can i be a witness to the people that i work beside how can i make their life better just because i'm here what if we started looking at the church the kingdom and saying instead of what can it do for me we say god what can i do for you how can i leverage my gift my anointing my ability my resources how can i further your kingdom that is the heart of the church at philippi and that's why this is a love letter not a corrective note that's why paul bonded with them because they had the spirit of christ i want you to feel this really quickly as i'm closing second corinthians 8 said out of their poverty they gave and they gave abundantly more than they could afford and they did so cheerfully not out of obligation i want you to think about this they gave out of their poverty did you read that from nothing they gave many of you sit here today and you think well if i had more money i'd be more generous and don't get nervous we already took the offering so i'm not taking another one okay but you think if i just had more money i would be more generous you think well if i had more time then i would serve and i would i would serve the church i would give my gifts and my ability i would do it if i had more time if i had more money i'd give had more time i'd serve and you know if i was feeling better emotionally if i was in a better place emotionally then i would invest in other people i would encourage other people i would lift them up i would call them to check if i was doing better when i get to doing better i will and i want to tell you you're lying to yourself because if you had more money you'd spend it the same way you spent the little you got and if you had more time you'd spend it the same way you're spending the time you got right now and if you were feeling better you still wouldn't invest in the people we got to shift our mind today and say i refuse to be a consumer but i'm going to be a contributor i'm going to be active i'm going to be alive i'm going to engage in the church i'm going to engage in my mission i'm going to serve and i'm going to give god my best and from my lack from my poverty i will give can i tell you something this is true people and i know this as a pastor people who have the least are those who give the most and people who have the most tend to give the least there was a homeless man who attended our church for a while when we were homeless before this building was open and every single sunday that we were there he would forget to put his offering into so he would see me in the lobby every time every time and this man who has nothing literally nothing nowhere to lay his head no car to drive no food to eat he literally every single time would find me or find one of our church administrators and give a wad full of money that i don't know how much it was but it was a lot to him every single time that man inspires me i want to be like him i want to give not when it's convenient i want to give back what the lord has given to me amen can we be contributors not consumers let's be alive let's be active let's be engaged and as i'm really closing as you give god will supply your every need according to his riches in glory you've heard it said you can't out give god pray with me now father we come to you in jesus mighty name and we repent for our sinfulness god we admit that we've been selfish we admit that we've been self-absorbed we've ignored you we have rejected your word we've we've just we put you away god but i asked you for forgiveness and i ask you lord to restore us today we receive by faith the finished work of the cross we believe that jesus died on that cross to wash our sins away we believe that three days later he was resurrected from the dead and he conquered death hell and the grave i believe that because he is risen and resurrected i will live eternally too with him god be my lord be my savior help me to be content in all areas of my life help me to be a contributor not a consumer help me to look at how i can serve you and give back to you not take from you god we love you we thank you for the precious message of the gospel of jesus christ it's in jesus name we pray and everybody said amen why don't you stand up and let's worship [Music] you

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Length: 47min 32sec (2852 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 27 2021