Rock Solid Finances: Part 4 “Eternally Motivated”
Preached by Jimmy Seibert
5/30/2010
Well, again, Carl mentioned it, but let me encourage you. If you weren’t here last Sunday, and didn’t get the message that Laurie Gulley shared, you want it, man. It was awesome! It was not just about parenting; it was about life and meeting with God in the struggle and in the challenge. So if I’ve ever recommended any teaching, and I don’t think I’ve ever recommended one of mine, so I’m recommending Laurie Gulley, last week, download that. If you don’t know how to get on the Internet, there’s a hard copy back there.
Hey, I want to share a story, it’s familiar to some of you guys, maybe new to others, but it helps me crystalize the thoughts that I’m wanting to share this morning about going on this great adventure in the kingdom of God. When Laura and I were early married, we had a passion and a heart for the nations and for being involved in what God was doing. God had led us on a journey where we had few resources, financially, but we were learning to meet with God and trust Him along the way. And a guy came through town with Youth With a Mission, and he shared at church about the needs around the world, and then he shared a little bit about his own journey and desire to work in the country of Brazil among the street children, and he ended up staying in our home. Kind of our agreement was that we would take him in the house and we would provide breakfast for him the next morning, give him a sack lunch to go on the way, as he went down to the next church and shared his story and his journey as he was raising funds to head out to Brazil. And after he shared that evening, Laura and I stayed up late with him, talking about life and God and his heart for Brazil. And Laura and I had twenty dollars to our name. That is not twenty dollars in our pocket, that was to our name. We were on this wild adventure with God, we’d never missed a bill payment, or rent payment or anything in the past months, but here we are, we need $100 the next day for a particular bill, and we only have $20. We’re already praying about it, “God what’s tomorrow going to look like?” As he shared his heart, we thought to ourselves, “Golly, man, I wish we could give to what he is doing.” He dismissed himself for a minute, left the room, and Laura and I said to each other, “Let’s give him that $20, what do we have to lose? I mean, golly, God’s our provider, we’re out here, he has a need, we just so want to sow into it.” So we gave him that $20. We said, “We’re just so sorry it’s not more, but we are so proud of the way you’re living your life. We believe in you. We’re going to pray over you.” So we took our twenty, and we prayed over him, that God would meet his needs. The next morning, we had a good breakfast together, he goes on his way, and we go into his room to just clean up, and there was a little thank you note, and I said, “What a great guy, leaving a thank you note from our time together.” We open up the thank you note and it says this, he said, “As I was praying this morning, God showed me that your need was greater than my need, and he spoke to me specifically to give you $100. I hope this meets the need that you have.” We said, “YAAAA! Praise God! God knows where we live! Thank you, Jesus!”
The wild adventure of the kingdom is available to all who are willing to go there, but it’s based on some truths that Jesus admonishes us, and scripture admonishes, and that is this: First and foremost that Heaven is our home. We are just passing through this place. We are literally pilgrims on a journey. We are not literally confined to what we can feel, taste and touch. God has a kingdom out there that is different from this world, and He’s inviting us to enter into the journey. In the book of Hebrews, it lists the great men and women of faith, and here’s what was said about them, “Having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth,” they said, “we’re just pilgrims passing through, for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out (the world), they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
The people of faith, the people who are celebrated in the Bible, whatever their vocation was, it didn’t matter. What they were celebrated for was trusting in another kingdom. They were trusting in Heaven, and all that God would have for them, and not simply on this earth. Jesus would reiterate this in his own teachings. In John 14:2&3, Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places, if it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Yes, Jesus! Doesn’t matter what happens today, I’m going to be in Heaven with you forever, and you prepared it for me. Those who trust in Jesus are absolutely secure that they have Heaven forever with Jesus. Paul would talk about the longing in his heart to be at home with the Lord, and not to be here on this earth, but he’ll stay on this earth if he needs to just to serve. He would eventually say, and call himself a citizen of Heaven, and not this earth. Philippians 3:20, For our citizenship is in heaven for which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your time on earth is what the Bible calls a mist. No matter how much you think it’s everything, it’s just a moment in time. You want to live for eternity because it’s forever. Here’s a little illustration often used, called the “dot on the line.” In the beginning, God created us, started all of eternity, all these things are happening, you’ve got 2010, that’s where we’re living, or the 70, 80 years we’re here on the earth, then you’ll see him face to face forever and ever. Your reality is for billions and billions of years with God forever. You know how you feel a little strain – “I can’t get as much time with this person that I’d like to”? If they know Jesus, just say, “Hey, we’ll get a thousand in the next life. See you then.” And you go on down the road. Because we’re in just a momentary space in time, and how we live our lives in this life is what God is wanting to get at, and it’s what Jesus loved to talk about to set us free, so we wouldn’t be relegated to what we could control, but we would be absolutely abandoned and surrendered to what He could provide.
You see, Heaven is a real place, so I, just for a moment, want to try to capture Heaven in your heart here just a moment. Heaven is better because when we die, we’ll be in a city built by God. Hey, have you ever gotten bummed out by the street repair needs or this building doesn’t look good or why’s that ugly here, why does this thing need to change? You’re going to be with God forever. Perfec t city, beautiful, wonderful, you’re going to live in the best city in the world forever, praise God. Second thing is, it’s a place, the Bible says of no more pain, no more tears, and no more fears. Take me to Heaven now, Jesus. No more pain, no more fears, no more tears. Listen, in this life, we all know that’s part of the journey, right? We can find God in it, His kingdom can come into our situation – our pain, our tears, and our fears, but even then, they’re still going to come again, guys. But in Heaven, they’re done. Forever. No more pain, no more fears, no more tears. Heaven is a place where we get to meet the saints of old, and loved ones. “Hey Paul, what’s happenin’, bro? Hey, what’s that thorn in the flesh, by the way. I’ve been wanting to know.”
You can talk to the people you’ve read about in the Bible. You can talk to people in history. Abraham Lincoln – “Hey, what’s up, man? Hey, what was it really like to be shot? No – what was it like to lead people through such a devastating situation? You can talk to loved ones, family and friends. It will be a reunion of a lifetime. If you’ve lost a child, if you’ve lost someone prematurely in your life, you’ll see them face to face. You’ll get the chance to reunite because of your faith and trust in Jesus. It’s a reunion you want to be a part of. And I think that’s why we have eternity – all the interesting people we’ll want to dialogue with and find out about their journey.
Heaven is a place of incredible music. You know, we all love music in different levels and in different ways, and sometimes you’re in a flow, and you say, “That just sounds like Heaven, that’s just sweet, sweet.” But you know, on this earth, it can only sound “like” something. Even the most beautiful song that takes you into this, “whoohoohoo” awesome experience in God, or in your heart or in your emotions is just a foretaste of what’s to come. The angels are 10,000 upon 10,000. That’s a million angels singing songs you’ve never heard before in your life. And they’re songs that are going to be so creative and so new and so fresh, you’ll never get tired of the CD. You’ll never have to say, “Can someone get a new song in here?” It’s new song after new song after new song, beyond anything you’ve ever experienced touching the depths of your emotions, the creativity of poetry, everything you ever wanted is going way beyond what you could ask or think. It’s called Heaven. Forever.
The colors of Heaven – they try to describe it in Revelation when John’s having this open vision before God, he tries to say, “It’s like jasper. It’s like crystal. It’s like ruby.” They try to grasp it with something that we are awed by in this life, but they can’t describe it fully because it’s - better than. The beauty of God will go way beyond a mountaintop, will go way beyond a beautiful field or scene that draws your heart. That’s just a taste. Whatever you enjoy in this life of beauty, is just a scratch compared to the immense beauty that will blow you away for eternity and forever. The Bible is clear that life does not end simply with Heaven, but it just begins. It describes that if we’re faithful over little, we’ll be ruler over much; over cities and kingdoms in the next life. The next life is about building and creating. Whatever gifts you have will be used without sin staining them. You’ll be absolutely free. You know you always say, “They just won’t let me use my gift.” Just go to Heaven, man, you’ll be using your gift all the time.” Full ___, 100%, God has above and beyond.
Just a couple other thoughts, Heaven is a place of rest. Thank you, Jesus. The journey’s over – guilt-free nap all the time. Just in God, limitless energy, at rest, and at peace with God and man. It’s a place of relentless joy. You don’t have to fight for your joy every morning, it just is. You know why? Because our chief joy, Jesus, is the one who lights all of Heaven. We live in his presence forever and ever and ever and whatever you saw in a glimpse or wish could have been, you will see face to face forever and ever and ever. Heaven is real, and we are called to be motivated by that by the way we live our lives and Jesus early on, in His teaching of his disciples addresses money and possessions and relates it to Heaven, and what’s to come so that it could set you free in this life. If money and possessions are not controlling you in this life, then you can invest in eternity and you’re free to run the race that God has for you, and it will be greatly rewarded.
Matthew 6:19-21 – Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus is setting you up for a win, early! And He’s saying, “Look don’t put your hope in a house, or a car, or a pair of clothes, or a status in life.” He said, “That will not satisfy you, and it is not proper investment, because what you want to live for, is forever – what’s happening in Heaven. So store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven. Be a giver. Be one who lives in a way that empowers others. Share what you have. Enjoy all that God has, but would you just be hilariously surrendered so that you can run free in this life and ultimately store up for the next? God, out of His wisdom, is trying to help us look ahead. The ultimate financial planner is God – and this is His financial plan, right here.
Another scripture He immediately jumps to is Matthew 6:33, where it says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” It’s all undergirded with scriptures before: Don’t worry about what you eat or drink or what you wear, and all that stuff. That all will be taken care of, but seek first My Kingdom. So he’s not calling you to a particular set of clothes or not a particular set of clothes, or a house. It’s not a lifestyle issue, it’s a life of obedience and freedom, seeking first the Kingdom, and whatever happens is great! And when there’s wealth and abundance, praise God. And when there’s leanness, praise God, because I’m seeking first His Kingdom, and I’m free to have either. That’s what Paul describes in Philippians 4, is a place of freedom, whether with a little or a lot, I am free. And you know, maybe, just the last teaching of Jesus that I want to address here is, in Matthew 25 when He talks about the talents and how we steward our funds. Many times we immediately relate that to an earthly experience, and how I steward my money, and it becomes about me and me caring for my stuff, but let me just tell you what Jesus was talking about. Remember it was the owner’s money that the person was stewarding, not theirs. So none of it’s yours anyway! When you talk about stewardship, you’re not stewarding it for you, you’re stewarding it on behalf of God. So whatever you have, God has given you. And if God has given you the mind and ability to create wealth, praise God; but He gave you the mind and ability and the grace, it’s all His anyway. Whether you have a little or a lot, it’s all His. So the journey is all about, “God I love you, what are you going to do with your money today? What are you going to do with your house? What are you going to do with your car? Your car broke down, God. Ah that’s funny! How are you going to fix this thing? What are we going to do?” That’s really how you live free. It’s all God’s and I’m just along for the journey with Him. Responsible – stewarding that which God’s given me, but the big emphasis is God, not me. When you’re on that adventure, then things start getting fun. You can just be a part of something that you can see beyond your own eyes.
Again in our early days as God was teaching us so many different principles, Laura and I were in Amsterdam, and we were ministering with drug addicts, and finally after about 10 days had a little break, and we were going to take two hours by ourselves, and just go to a little restaurant and get some time together. We had 25 guilders left, which at that time was about $12. So it was going to be a lean meal, but we were going to be together. And so I walked out of the dormitory where we were staying with $12, and a guy runs up to me and says, “I need some help, I need some help, I’m a heroine addict, I’ve been addicted for 5 years. I’m from Connecticut, and I need money to call home, and I need some food. I want to get out of this lifestyle – will you help me?” Now, 98, maybe 99% of the time I would never give a person like that cash. In this particular instance, the Spirit of God said, “Trust Me.” And so I give him what I have, the 25 guilders, but then I appropriately put my hand on his shoulder, and pray for him and say, “Get him, God. Let him be responsible with what You’ve given. Deal with him, etc.” I prayed for him, “Wow – what was that?” I said, “That’s God,” and he takes off. Over the next few days, God would not only meet with him powerfully, but transform his life, and over the next few months, he was so transformed that he began to stand on stages and preach the gospel to thousands of people throughout Europe. Today he’s on a TV show in the Netherlands where he talks about his journey with AIDS and how he’s been able to find God in that journey along the way. God used that investment to transform a guy’s life. It was the beginning place, it was just a seed, but He also used it for Laura and me. As we walked throughout Amsterdam, having that marriage discussion of whether that was appropriate or not, you know, me trying to pull out some of these scriptures. We’re going along, and “Was that loving? Was that right?” You know, and all that. So we got through that, and we get back, and the only people, obviously we had just talked with each other and this drug guy, I think was the only guy who knew we had given any money away. We get back to our dorm room, and when we open the door, there’s an envelope under the door that had been slipped under the door, and we opened it up, and it was 50 guilders. We doubled our money! We gave by faith, to what the Spirit of God had led, God showed us that He sees us when no one else does, to take care of us, and it began a window into a person’s life that would have transformed not only them, but hopefully thousands of people in response to their life. You never know what God does with what you have. But let me say it again, everybody wants a miracle, they just don’t want to be in a position to have to have one. It’s when you’re out there all the way, that the super dynamic stuff happens. There’s just got to be a place, and again that does not always mean giving away everything you have, but there has to be that place of adventure and risk where, “God, your Kingdom is greater than what I see. I’m going to sow here, and trust you with what I cannot control.” Right? Ok, thank you, Jesus.
All right, well, let’s kind of review again. As we wrap up our series, we kind of have this little mantra going, “Live simply, work diligently, and give generously.” It’s not just about giving, it’s about working diligently. It’s not just about doing whatever I want, it’s about a simple heart attitude towards God, and towards what’s around me. So what I want to do is just kind of revisit all three of those one more time with a few other thoughts that hopefully are helpful.
First of all, in living simply, this is not a particular lifestyle; this is about getting to a place where you are satisfied with what you have. You’re satisfied in God. You are not reaching for riches or griping about being poor. You’re finding that sweet spot in God of satisfaction. Solomon was the wisest man in the world, he was also the wealthiest, at least as was recorded in the Scriptures, and the things he has to say about wealth are coming from a guy that has some credibility. Right? It’s one thing for a poor guy to have all these wise sayings about what to do with wealth, it’s another thing for somebody that was the richest guy in the world; and here was his perspective. In Proverbs 30:8,9: Keep deception and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I may not be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may not be in want and steal and profane the name of God. Solomon said, “Find the sweet spot, where you’re not chasing wealth, and you’re not despising your poverty. You don’t have a poverty mindset, but you’re not reaching for something outside of yourself. You’re sweet spot is finding your satisfaction in God alone. That God is enough for me, and whatever lot he leads me into I will appropriately steward that for His glory, but I’m not lunging for things, and falling into sin and heartache and brokenness, but I’m living in the peace of God.
Practically, how does that work out? You know what, the amazing thing about America is that in a lot of ways we can choose our lifestyle. Not always, but many of us can. You have the ability to choose your lifestyle. So how do you kind of take these Biblical principles of living simply and work it out? The first thing I want to say, if you’re single, the greatest thing you can contend for is for contentment, not in just being single, but in the way you do your resources and your finances. “God, I’m a steward.” When you are single you want to kind of resolve in your mind that, ok, whatever God wants me to do, I will obey Him, and if that means riches, or if that means what’s considered poverty, I will trust God and be okay with whatever the journey is. You know how you hear God’s will for your life best? It’s when you don’t care what the outcome is. When you are predetermining what kind of lifestyle you have to live to be okay with God and others, you will warp the will of God for your life. Ultimately it is about obedience to God, and that may lead us in different ways and different people, but as an individual it is your responsibility to say, “God, come on, here I am. I’m trusting you. Would you just speak to me scripturally about how to live with money and possessions , and then show me how to be obedient to that, so that I can live free, and set the stage for whatever you want to do in my life.
Now if you’re married, or thinking about getting married, or wanting to be married, here’s the big deal. You want to marry someone who agrees with your outlook on finances, and how to live. It’s getting a little heavy in here. Let me just reiterate this. If 90% of divorces, statistics show, if not the main issue, is finances that cause that divorce, then if you don’t address that appropriately before you get married, you’re bringing that challenge into your marriage. So, what you want to do is, you want to say, “How do you want to live? What do you feel that God says about finances? How should we deal with our finances? What are your expectations?” And let me just say this – in years of marriage counseling, if one person grew up with very little and has low expectations, and one grew up with very much and has high expectations, you’re going to have a problem. Ya, it’s pretty straight forward. And you pull the, “But God told me to marry this person even though I know we’re going to have problems,” or you pull the card, “It’ll just work out when we get married.” Hey, experience tells me if you hear some intuitive voice, that’s over that practical reality of dealing with that issue, great. I’ll say great. Let’s just say God did speak, but I want it to worked out here before we go to the altar. Because if you think it’s God’s will now, when you get married, it is God’s will. So we’re going to have to work at it either way, so let’s work at it on the front end, and decide and discern – has God really spoken? Right? Now the heaviness in the room is not that thought, it really is, “Uh oh, we’re married. That’s us! What do we do now?” Ok, first of all, love is more preeminent than lifestyle. Loving and serving another is a greater law than how you actually parse all your pennies. Does that make sense? Loving and serving one another – so you say, “I’m in an imperfect marriage.” Welcome to the world! Everybody is in an imperfect marriage because two imperfect people are married to each other. That does not create a positive. This is not physics, this is life with humans, and we’ve got two imperfect people, and isn’t funny how we see the imperfections larger in the other person? I love to tell the other person who’s accusing the other, it’s like, “Do you see what they got, look what they got! You’re complaining all the time about them and they got you! You’re not seeing it real.” So, it’s a mixed bag, right? Life is not about perfection, it’s about our response to imperfection. So how do we work out those issues? We love and serve and empower one another around the grace of God. We just say, “Ok God, here’s what we got to work with. Now Lord, how do we live for you? How do we honor you with our resources, and how do we come together even though we may disagree on how to express that?” Ok?
So let me just kind of bring it into our marriage. Early on, finances were always very, very tight, and so what we did, is we had one checkbook, and we would tithe, we’d give, we’d write our bills, and then nobody would spend any money other cash full envelopes we had. And of course, that would get down to like $10 left in the checkbook a month, or whatever, and we’d have to figure out what we’d do with that big $10, but at times we’d have a little conflict. So one day, Laura walks in – and in my understanding, we had about 10 or 15 bucks left, she walks in with a bag in her hand, and I said, “What’s in the bag?” And she says, “Oh it’s a spatula.” And I said, “Well, why’d you go out and buy a spatula, I mean, we only have 10, 15 bucks left.” She said, “Well, we’re having guests over tonight, and the spatula broke in half, if you didn’t notice, you know.” And I said, “Hey, we can use a fork and spoon – I’ve flipped plenty of stuff, with what we’ve got.” A little tension in the house, right? Some of y’all realize that wasn’t the best thing to say. Ok – so we have a little disagreement here, and I’m thinking, “What’s her deal?” So a few days later, I walk in with a bag, and she said, “What’s in the bag?” and I say, “Running shorts.” She said, “You went running today, and you had shorts on.” I said, “Well, you know I needed them, and they were like $2.99.” And she said, “Well, hey, I wouldn’t have bought running shorts. If you’ve got shorts, why would you buy that? I would have bought a spatula.” Oh! Ok! We just have different thoughts on how we’re going to spend the resources that we have. You see, her gift and desire is to be hospitable, to serve others, to create an environment of love and nurture and care, and that costs a little more money than I think is appropriate, right? My sporting activities are valuable, healthy; you’re wanting me to live long, strong, lead well, the house, they are of high value, but not to her. So what we had to do, was even with the limited resources we had, we had to empower each other with a few dollars, then we look the other way. That’s your money – have a ball. This is my money – have a ball. We gave each other freedom and liberty in the journey around what we were passionate about, or what we thought our particular needs were. We gave each other space and grace in the journey. And you know when it comes to lifestyle, you guys, it’s also sometimes how some people have a larger house than you do. Does that mean that God’s not blessing, or that you’re the lifestyle police and decide on their house or not? You know, here’s the deal, the bottom line is, if somebody has the gift of hospitality, then they need more space to care for others, right? If they have a nice car, and it runs, and yours breaks down all the time, we’re glad they have a nice car. You know what I’m saying? We’re here to rejoice with those who rejoice, to weep with those who weep, but not to be each other’s lifestyle police. We’re here to obey God, and then to serve others in that gifting and calling that God has given us, right?
Hey another little thing in family life and marriage agreements. You know we talk a lot about getting free from debt, FPU is out there again. Our Financial Peace University out there to help you with that journey, but you know Laura and I agree early on – we’re not going to be in debt. So you know what happens when you make a decision as a couple to not be in debt? That means you have to wait for the stuff you want. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that. We have had to wait, pray, and watch God work beyond our resources because we agreed to not be in debt. Do you know that one of the things that has kept us free in the journey more than anything, is that one issue. It has also made us seek God more. It has also made us press into God more. It has made us actually fight more. But you know what? We’re not living in bondage. We’re resolving things together around a principle in Scripture that is put there to set us free. So decide where your boundaries are, and live by them, together.
Hey, one other little bit of information, the other thing for Laura and I: There’s nothing hidden financially. Everything is wide open. There is nothing hidden. We do one checkbook, one credit card, we did just one, because we are one, by the way. And then secondly, I would rather fight about something, than lie about something. I would rather work it through (fight is not abusive, not over the top, we’re talking disagreement) – I would rather work through something than lie about it. Because, listen, wherever there is deception in your home, especially in finances that’s where the enemy is going, full bore, 110%. You cannot lie. You have to have open books. People have to be able to know. Anybody in this congregation can come look at my checkbook today. You can ask me about anything in my life. There’s nothing to hide. By the way, let me just say, my goal in life is to not do anything that you can’t know about. And if you can’t know about it, I probably shouldn’t be doing it. If I believe that, standing before a couple thousand people, surely you can stand before the 3 or 4 in your household, and have the same attitude, right? That’s how we have healthy families. We are open. We are broken, but we are open. We are weak and we are struggling, but we are true and honest.
So, lifestyle – all that wraps up. Where’s kind of the win and the victory. Well, for me, about three years ago, I knew we were on the road to victory when Caleb asked me, “Dad, are we rich or are we poor?” I thought to myself. I said, “I don’t know, buddy, what do you think? What do you think?” He said, “Well, I know some rich people, and we’re not rich.” He said, “But I know some poor people and we’re not poor.” He said, “Dad, I think we’re just right.” Yes! Glory to God! We’re getting there. The satisfied middle, right? The satisfied middle, the wisdom of Solomon.
So, we live simply by living a lifestyle. We live simply by enjoying what we have. We just talked about that. 1 Timothy 6:17 – Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited, or fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Now listen, you know the scenario. You see somebody with a nice shirt on and they tell you where they got it at 35% off, and 40% off and what garage sale they bought it from, or who gave it to them. But they’re not willing to say, “Thank you. I like my shirt.” You understand what I’m saying. It’s the lifestyle police thing. It’s that awkward deal, like after you go through Financial Peace University, and Dave Ramsey decides if a Coke or an iced tea is $1.89 and you do that everyday for 365 days, then half the poor in Haiti could be fed, but you decided to have iced tea instead. So you go out with your friends, and you’re like, “I want an iced tea.” Uh! Oh no! Iced tea! It’s ridiculous! If you have the money, and it’s within your means, and you want a glass of tea, have a glass of tea. But if you feel guilty about it, you can have a sip of mine, because I’m going to have one. So, you know, it can get to the ridiculous on the way that this is done.
So several years ago, our family was going to Haiti on a mission trip, and it was down to the – bottom line, we needed, a few thousand dollars left, and I said, “What do I have that I can offer up?” And the only thing that I had is my truck. And so, I said, “Well, you know we can operate with one car. I’ll just sell my truck.” And so, the only person I told in the world was Laura. And an old friend calls me and says, “Hey, God just blessed me financially with something, and so I thought about you, and I want to buy you a new truck.” And so we start that journey where, “No, man, I don’t want you to buy me a new truck.” He said, “I’m going to do it.” I said, “No.” He said, “Hey listen, I’m going to buy you a black one with red flames and show up at your house if you don’t tell me what you want.” So within a few hours, I get a call from the dealership and there’s a brand new GMC Sierra in my driveway – the exact kind that I would want and all that stuff. And you know what, I was rejoicing in God. Did I have to have that to be satisfied? No. Did I have to have that? No. But I just rejoiced in God. I asked for a conservative color, so it wouldn’t be outlandish to others or hurtful to anybody, but what would have been very inappropriate is if I had said to that person, “Well, I really don’t want it.” You know what – thank you, I’m just acting low key like I don’t care about it. It would have been inappropriate not to rejoice with the giver, as well as to rejoice with the blessing. It is so hurtful if I give something to Laura, and she blows it off like it’s not worth anything. Right? You shouldn’t have spent that money. Well, I did, because I love you and I wanted to. Now enjoy it! You understand what I’m saying? We bought this gift for you, now enjoy it! Quit griping, quit trying to be the righteous/unrighteous person. Live before God, live free and enjoy what he’s given, but share it with others. The big deal is sharing. So as soon as I got a truck – anybody can borrow my truck. The one I have today, you can borrow for sure. It’s a 1999.
Let’s go to the next Scripture, 1 Timothy 6:18,19 – “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves a treasure for a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” Again reiterating the sharing aspect, reiterating the point of storing up in Heaven. Whatever God has given you, as long as it’s open-handed and sharing, enjoy it, share what you have with others. Share your home, share your car. Share what you have, not irresponsibly but out of love for God and love for others. Alright, living simply.
Next one, working diligently. A couple more thoughts I want to address is this: If God has given you the purpose to work, then you want to work in a way that it contributes back to society and adds value to others. It’s not just for provision. Now we talked about start somewhere and start serving and God will make a way for you, right? We talked about being diligent to work, but ultimately whatever you do, may it glorify God, may it contribute back to society, may it be helpful for another at the very least and contribute to all of our community at the very most, but we want to have passion and purpose behind what we do. God, would you give me a labor of work that is honoring to you, serving others and impacting people’s lives?
A few years ago, I was in Kansas City and I was going to speak somewhere, and I pick up the car at Thrifty Car Rental, and I give this lady a little pamphlet, a little tract – Steps to Peace with God. She kind of blew me off, and I said, “Well, God loves you anyway, God bless you.” And I come back two days later, I’m sitting out at the place waiting for them to pick me up to take me to the terminal, and a lady walks out from Thrifty Car Rental and she says, “Are you that man who gave Susie that little pamphlet about Jesus two days ago?” And I said, “Well, yes I am.” And she said, “Can I have one of those?” And I said, “Well, sure I got another one here. I’d love to.” And I said, “Do you know Jesus?” And she said, “Oh yes, I love Jesus. My family needed me to supplement our income a little bit, and I said, “God where do I work?” and I felt like the Holy Spirit specifically led me to Thrifty Car Rental. And I thought, “Well, I know I can help people, and meet a lot of people. ‘God, do you have anyone in Thrifty Car Rental you want me to impact?’ And God put Susie on my heart, and for the last few months, I’ve been trying to invest in her life. She’s been blowing me off the whole time. When you left that little pamphlet, our lunch break was shortly after that and she came over to the break room, and she said, ‘Is this what you’ve been trying to tell me about? Is this about Jesus? This guy gave me this little pamphlet. Can you explain this to me?’” They went through it together, Susie gave her life to Jesus, she went to church with her that night. This lady was already in her family’s life, her husbands and her kid’s lives, and God was on the move. Right? And so what happened was, this lady said, “I need to supplement my income.” She didn’t say, “I’m just going to go do this. It was “God will you lead me rightly?” and I’ll see that as my place of service, whether it’s caring for cars, or caring for people, I’m going to not blow off that place that God has me as just a provision place, or just a witnessing place, but a place of holistic contribution to the Kingdom of God. We’re working diligently, holistically, not just for one thing, but for God to be glorified. First Corinthians 10:31 – Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.
Ok, so what happens when we’re working diligently, we’re being faithful to God, the best we know how, and things aren’t working. Things are tight, things are real tight. We don’t know where our next meal’s going to come from, we don’t know where to go from here. What happens? First of all, the first thing for some of us, that might be called the desert – very Biblical. God allows us to go through wilderness experiences so that we can drink from the well we cannot see, which is God, Himself. We drink in the desert down deeper than we do in abundance. So you just say, “God you’re at work. I’m going to drink of you, I’m going to learn of you, I’m going to have you teach me.” Another thing though that’s very appropriate when provision is not happening is to say, what David is saying, “Search me and try me, God and see if there be any wicked way in me.” Psalm 139 - Search me, oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. I’ve found God to be so faithful to reveal roadblocks, many times in provision. Maybe I’m presuming on some big deal , and I keep getting myself in debt. Maybe I’m projecting on something that isn’t God’s will. Maybe I just don’t have a good work ethic. There’s so many things that God can address, but probably one of the most powerful was a dear friend of mine who was struggling just to make ends meet, and had struggled for 10 years in his work life. He worked hard, he just couldn’t get over the hump, if you will. He was just making $20-30,000 a year, with a family with several kids, it just wasn’t meeting all their weekly needs. He found himself in debt and struggling. And I challenged him on this, and I said, “You just need to open up everything to God, and say, ‘God, is there any roadblock? We’ve prayed for you, we’ve walked with you, what is the roadblock?’” And he sought God. God reminded him of something that had happened early on in his marriage. He’d been out of town on a business trip, he had slipped out one night, and committed adultery. It was just a one-time thing, it was a thing he wasn’t planning on doing, it had just happened, and so he confessed it to God, and went on his way, thinking, “Surely God forgives it, I’m never going there again,” and didn’t go there again. But God revealed it to him, and he brought it to the light. He brought it to me and a couple other brothers, and said, “Hey I need to do this. “ We asked him to go back to his wife. He went to his wife and caused a very big turmoil in his family life, and they began the journey of trying to sort it all out. But here’s what happened in his financial life – that year, instead of making $30,000, I think he made $60,000. The next year he made $150,000. He began to be an abundant giver; he began to be able to provide things that he wasn’t able to provide before. And God began to bless his financial life, because of his integrity and his heart, and because he was living in the light and not the lie. Now that is a heavy story that I can’t say, “Does that produce $150,000, whatever.” That is not the formula I’m trying to present. What I’m trying to say though is that it is appropriate to ask God, “Is there anything blocking the flow of resource for that what you’ve called me to do, and to be honest with God, because remember God is always working at several levels when He’s holding out provision. When provision is not happening, there is a work of God going on, and you want to open up and say, “God, speak to me, lead me, and direct me.”
So many other things I could say on that, but let me just wrap it up with a final point, giving generously. You know, Jesus talks about, when you give to the poor don’t let your left hand know what your right is doing. Give secretly. Is that the only way to give? What does that mean? You know there are times when we are to give secretly because we’re making it all about us, instead of about them. I’m always big on – I’m giving to bless another, not to get credit in the human sense, from another. My giving’s unto God. That’s why – here’s the deal – that’s why I can give to people, and they can rip me off, and I don’t care. You know why? Because I gave it to the Lord. My investment’s in Heaven, God knows my heart, I was responsible as I knew how to be. They chose to not steward it well, that’s between them and God, I’m free. I don’t get mad at people when I get ripped off by people for being generous. If you do, I’d check your heart a little bit. But there’s another side to giving, the anonymous side that keeps the manipulation at times out of relationships, or it keeps our own heart clean. But the other side of it is this, it is also appropriate to give knowingly. Remember the Macedonians that gave to Paul? Remember Paul would say, “I’m so glad you gave to me and I credit to your righteousness, and thank you for your love and friendship. There’s a lot of times when giving is so appropriate to be outwardly because it shows affirmation in love. We are with you Paul, we’re in it with you, my friend. We’re standing with you: A lifegroup to take up a donation for another, or to sacrificially give to someone. That shows the hands and love of God. But really, the secret/non-secret thing is a thing of the heart, not of the hand. And you’ve got to know which one it is, and let God lead you righteously. But it’s not one or the other biblically, it’s both/and. So there are times to give in secret when no one knows, and there are times to give boldly and outwardly so that people are loved and encouraged and built up. We want to give in a way that allows God to get His hand in the mix, beyond what we can control ourselves. Again, the passage we use often is 2 Corinthians 9:6-8: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly also reaps sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just what he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency I everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
You know, I can’t tell you how many times Laura and I have felt a particular need that we had coming, and I’d just say, “Hey, let’s sow into somebody else’s life whose need’s greater than ours.” Why sit around and be so, you know, hyper about the few pennies we have trying to save them, instead when we see someone in greater need. I can’t tell you how many times we were saving for a vehicle, or saving for a purchase, and somebody had a great need than us. And we’d say, “What are we doing? We just have a few dollars anyway. Let’s give it and trust God to do what we can’t do.” And God somehow, works out the miraculous and puts the pieces together. You know some of us are locked down in why we can’t give. I can just say you’re going to say locked down until you do give. That’s the nature of God. We live in a heavenly mindset with the Kingdom that is not relegated to the controls of this earth. When people were up here giving hilariously the other day, it was just amazing. You know I just want to confess something here. I had in my notes that I was going to give out $20 each service. There are three services, and every service I would say, “God would you highlight somebody?” So in the first service, God highlighted a girl named Rachel Rueda. And I know Rachel a little bit, but I’ve never talked to her in depth. So she comes up here, I speak a few words to her, she’s crying, feeling loved by God because he called her name out, and I reach into my pocket to give her the twenty, and I’m thinking, “Twenty bucks? I’ve got $60 in my pocket, who cares about the next service?” This girl’s worth everything I’ve got. So instead of $20, I give her 60 bucks and I pray over her. She sends me a letter the next day, and she says this, she says, “I just lost my part-time job. (She works here at the church part time, and part time somewhere else.) “I lost my part-time job, and I’m looking for another job,” and she said, “My best friend in the world is getting married, and she just had a shower, and I don’t have much money left, and I was trying to figure out how to buy her a gift, but my heart was aching because I wanted to give her something significant. This is her biggest time in life, and I wanted to give her something significant, and I felt like God said, ‘Just go ahead and be extravagant.’” She said, “I bought her a gift for $60, and when you gave me the $60, the Spirit of God spoke, ‘I know.’” I thought, “Thank you, Jesus I wasn’t stingy that day!” I could have given her twenty and missed the blessing! Just another story, in the second service, if you were in here, Laura Somerset (?), I said, “God who do I highlight?” I felt like God said, “Laura Somerset,” and so I had her come up, and now I kind of got God’s clue, and went and got some more money and said, “Do sixty, do sixty, buddy, give it up.” So in my mind, I thought, “But sixty bucks is not going to make a dent in her need. I know that she’s trying to expand her cake business, as a single mom, she’s trying to take care of so many different things. She’s been faithful, she’s been diligent, she’s a hard worker. God wants to just bless her today, and highlight her. And so I bring her up there, and if you guys remember, I said, “I’ve got 60 bucks I’m giving her, and I’m challenging you guys to give $6,000 so she can expand her cake business.” So then she writes me the next day, and here’s her story. You know she felt like, “I’ve got to expand this business to continue to provide for my family, but Lord, I don’t have any money. But I felt like God said, ‘Just start dreaming, just start going for it.’” She started looking into how much equipment cost, what’s a store front cost. What does that look like? And a friend came up to her and said, “I feel like God told me to give you my tax return refund.” And so, she’d been given $1300 the previous week. She said, “Great, God, that doesn’t get a business going and expanded, but it’s a great blessing and I’m heading the right direction. You see me, you know where I am.” And then I have her come up. Well, people came up to her, and she walked away with three Kleenex boxes, with tears coming into those Kleenex boxes – empty Kleenex boxes with over $9,000. When it was all said and done, she was given over $10,000, and some dear friends in our midst who are entrepreneurs are going to help her take it to the next level, and God multiplied and blessed the little for a lot. Thank you, Jesus, right?
We shared it last week, but I just want to reiterate, in the last service – it’s just worth repeating this story - I’ve got my 60 bucks, right? I had $200 total. I’d given away the other $20, now I’ve got 60 left, and some people gave money leaving the service, and said, “I didn’t get a chance to give it away, just give it away to whoever in the next service.” So I’ve got a wad of cash here, I’ve got my 60 bucks, and I feel like God says,” I want you to give $200 on stage to somebody this time. And so I realized, I’ve got more than $200 here, I’ve got this 60- maybe God wants me to keep my 60. I said, “Nope! That’s not God!” Hey, I’m a human like you, man. But I said, “Hey – nope!” I don’t care what voice I hear, I’m giving that stinking $60. We’re being free! So, I felt I was to give $200, and Jessica Leatherwood, I saw her up on the front, and I felt like God said, “She’s the one.” And we get to the offering song, and she’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere, I’m looking around, I’m thinking, “Oh man, God is there somebody else out here?” And I don’t see her anywhere, and I just feel like God said, “Just go for it. Even if she’s not here, just go for it by faith. That’s what I spoke to you , I want you to go for it.” So I’m up here, and what I didn’t know, was that she was in the back laying down in the mezzanine area, and I call out her name, and her head pops up. So, thank you, Jesus. She comes walking down, I give her a word, she gets encouraged, she’s already crying when I’m telling her, and then I give her the 200 bucks, and then she {Pastor Jimmy wails}, had to get a few people to carry her off to the front row to cry some more. It’s beautiful! Right? It’s God at work, and then she e-mails me this story. She said, “I was so down and discouraged that I did worship, and I was walking out the door and I was just going to go to the prayer room to spend time with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit said, ‘Stay and listen to the sermon.’” And she said, “So I laid down back there, in my pain, and I just said, ‘Oh God.’ You called out my name, and that was enough. Just for God to know where I live was enough. I come walking down, and when you gave me that $200- two weeks ago, what I had was $200, somebody had a need, and I felt like God said to give it, and I gave it away. That exact amount was given back.” Isn’t that great? Doesn’t that make you want to give? Doesn’t that make you want to get involved in the journey, the great adventure of God doing above and beyond?
Just one last story, then I really will stop. Hey, talking about this, I could go all day long. The fruit of it is also not just to believers and friends to be built up, strengthened, helped and encouraged, but for the unbelieving world. Laura’s parents, who are unbelievers, were stunned, her mom broken to tears, weeping; her dad, asking questions about how God works, her sister drawn closer to the presence of God. But on a personal level, when I was in college, and I often talk about my first mission trip to New Guinea, my dad drove me up here before we left for that mission trip, and we had to pick up the money that people had provided. And we went around town, and different people had said, “Come by here,” or come by this business or come by this office, and my dad just stood stunned as about, he saw, two or three thousand dollars come in, and people giving it joyfully, with great joy. And so, I remember him asking about it, and I prayed for him all the time I was gone. And when I got back, we went for a walk where I told him all the incredible things that God did, and he said, “You know, I’ve been thinking, since I came to Waco, I’ve never seen anything like it –the giving. Those people who say they love Jesus – it’s amazing how they gave so joyfully, so freely.” And he said, “I’ve been thinking about it the whole time.” He said, “Could you tell me again what it means to be born again?” I go through the journey, tell him again what it means to know Jesus. About that time, we’re walking in the house, he kicks the TV on, and it’s Pat Robertson – 700 Club. Isn’t that great? And he says this, “If you want to be born again, bow your head with me right now and pray this prayer. Thank you, Pat. And so, my dad prays out loud, receives Jesus. It was one of those moments where the abundant giving of others, not my own witness, necessarily, was the door to his salvation.
God’s at work. Heaven is real. Let’s invest in what matters, and let’s watch God do the impossible. Amen?
