WEBVTT - Treasured Truth Weekend—The Macedonian Mindset, Part 3 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:05.320 Because God gave the best of heaven. Jesus for the 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:09.480 worst of earth us. And so he begins to tell him. 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:13.280 He says, listen, Jesus was rich and he became poor 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:15.160 for you and for me. 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.400 You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:28.280 Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.880 I'm Steve Hiller, and I'm glad that you're with us today. Now, pastor, 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.360 we've been taking a look at Second Corinthians chapter eight, 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:40.600 where the Macedonian Church is giving us a tremendous example 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:44.080 of a giving spirit because they love God and they 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:46.360 want to be a part of the work that he's doing. 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.280 I'm guessing that they maybe got that because they truly 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:55.480 understood what God did for them, and how Christ in his, 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:58.680 in all his glory and all his richness, decided that 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:03.360 he was going to Who give sacrificially for us. I mean, 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:05.040 what a model to hold out there. 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:09.080 Well, I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? Yeah, because 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:14.720 Jesus did die for our sins, you know? The word 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:19.800 redemption is a financial term in the Greek. Yeah. It 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.760 literally means to buy someone out of the slave market 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:27.160 of sin. If you're listening to me right now, how 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:32.120 dare you devalue yourself when God placed such a high 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.080 value on you? I know we're talking about money. I'm 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:39.720 talking to somebody right now who has a crisis esteem problem. 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:43.360 I don't call it self-esteem that you don't esteem yourself 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.960 the way you ought to. You are not your own. 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.600 You've been bought with a price. Here's what Peter said. 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:50.640 He said, for as much as you know, then you've 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:54.520 not been redeemed by corruptible things from your vain conversation, 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:58.360 received by tradition of your fathers, but with the precious 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:04.520 blood of Jesus Christ as of a lamb without spot 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.040 and without blemish. And listen, if you don't know him 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:11.200 today and you're listening, I need you to make a 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:17.920 phone call. 1888. Need him, uh, because you will go 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:22.960 from poverty, uh, in your sin to the righteousness of 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:29.919 Jesus Christ, who was poor because he divested himself of 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.480 his riches to accept us. Mm. 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.799 No greater thing that we can do than to say 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.560 yes to the offer of that redemption that Christ really 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.000 has extended to us. And so, as you said, if 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.959 you don't know Jesus, keep listening and make that phone 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.680 call one 888 need him right now. I want you 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:53.120 to open your Bibles to Second Corinthians chapter eight, as 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:57.200 we bring you the conclusion of the Macedonian mindset, here 0:02:57.240 --> 0:02:58.240 is Pastor Ford. 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.270 Henry Perry Kroll. Uh, you know, I went to Moody. 0:03:01.310 --> 0:03:04.430 Taught there 17 years, all that kind of stuff. And, uh, 0:03:04.470 --> 0:03:08.150 the main building is called Kroll Hall. It's named after 0:03:08.150 --> 0:03:14.350 Henry P Kroll. Now, Henry P Kroll, as a young man, uh, was, uh, 0:03:14.590 --> 0:03:19.829 had tuberculosis. And, uh, he'd gone to hear Dwight Moody preach. 0:03:20.270 --> 0:03:22.190 And he said, I can't be a preacher, but I 0:03:22.190 --> 0:03:24.990 can be a good business man. He prayed a prayer. 0:03:24.990 --> 0:03:28.590 He said, Lord, if you will help me flourish in business, 0:03:28.750 --> 0:03:32.590 I will give most of the money to you. He 0:03:32.630 --> 0:03:35.550 worked outside for seven years because his doctor told him. 0:03:35.550 --> 0:03:38.150 That's the way you can deal with that tuberculosis. And 0:03:38.150 --> 0:03:43.470 God healed him. He bought a little place in Ravenna, Ohio. 0:03:43.630 --> 0:03:48.550 That was a little rundown Quaker mill. He began to 0:03:48.590 --> 0:03:50.550 build it up and to work in it and have 0:03:50.550 --> 0:03:57.190 products in ten years. Millions and millions of people knew 0:03:57.230 --> 0:04:02.790 his name because he's the founder of Quaker Oats and 0:04:02.790 --> 0:04:09.830 Kroll Hall. He donated the money to build Kroll Hall. 0:04:10.430 --> 0:04:13.950 He's dead and gone, but the part that his family 0:04:13.950 --> 0:04:19.390 gets in his trust still today, more than 60% goes 0:04:19.390 --> 0:04:24.310 to missionaries, mission organizations, Bible colleges. See, that's one of 0:04:24.310 --> 0:04:26.510 the things that I learned when I was working with 0:04:26.510 --> 0:04:29.070 the people of a lighter hue. I was on the 0:04:29.070 --> 0:04:31.830 board of World Missions. I was the only African American. 0:04:31.990 --> 0:04:34.550 And they start talking about bequests. I said, what's that? 0:04:34.550 --> 0:04:37.349 What's a bequest? And they said, that's when somebody knows 0:04:37.350 --> 0:04:39.630 that eventually they're going to die. So what they do 0:04:39.630 --> 0:04:41.870 is they get a policy and they leave it for 0:04:41.870 --> 0:04:45.150 our denomination. I was on the board of Moody Bible Institute, 0:04:45.150 --> 0:04:48.270 and I found of the $63 million that came in 0:04:48.310 --> 0:04:51.190 that year while I was on, over half of it 0:04:51.190 --> 0:04:54.830 was from dead people. So, you know, me and my wife, 0:04:54.830 --> 0:04:59.989 did I have a policy just for this church? Amen. 0:05:00.029 --> 0:05:02.350 I'll take care of my family. And when I die, 0:05:02.390 --> 0:05:05.630 my family's well taken care of and abundantly. That's why 0:05:05.630 --> 0:05:07.870 when my wife works at night, I wake up to see, 0:05:08.029 --> 0:05:10.390 you know, what's what's what's what's happening here. You know, 0:05:10.430 --> 0:05:12.830 it's like, well, why are you moving so suddenly, woman? 0:05:12.830 --> 0:05:19.710 You know what I'm saying? You know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 0:05:20.190 --> 0:05:24.310 And why? So that whenever I go goes to the kingdom, 0:05:24.990 --> 0:05:28.710 it goes straight to the kingdom. That's it, man. That's it. 0:05:28.990 --> 0:05:34.710 It's like. It's like, man, you know, they gave liberally. See, 0:05:34.710 --> 0:05:37.070 most of us get from our surplus. Not never from 0:05:37.070 --> 0:05:42.669 our poverty. Mother Teresa said, if what you give is 0:05:42.670 --> 0:05:47.150 something you don't need, then you didn't really give. They 0:05:47.150 --> 0:05:50.830 did it generously. Liberally. Listen, listen. Let me just say 0:05:50.830 --> 0:05:53.349 this real quick because I gotta move on. I've told 0:05:53.350 --> 0:05:56.790 you the story over and over again about when my 0:05:56.790 --> 0:06:00.070 wife and I were getting ready to celebrate our anniversary. 0:06:00.070 --> 0:06:02.190 Versuri y'all tired of hearing it say we are tired 0:06:02.190 --> 0:06:06.470 of hearing it. And so you remember those of you 0:06:06.470 --> 0:06:09.710 who never heard it. Uh, one of our members said, 0:06:09.710 --> 0:06:11.310 what are you going to do for your anniversary? We said, 0:06:11.310 --> 0:06:13.190 we're going downtown. He said, no. Would you like to 0:06:13.190 --> 0:06:16.150 go to Puerto Vallarta? He put $3,000 in our pocket. 0:06:16.150 --> 0:06:17.990 He put us in first class. He sent us to 0:06:18.029 --> 0:06:21.510 his condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Oh, praise the name 0:06:21.510 --> 0:06:26.349 of Jesus. But let me say something I didn't tell you. 0:06:26.950 --> 0:06:31.270 The next year, he said, about a month before our anniversary. 0:06:31.270 --> 0:06:34.830 What are you guys going to do for your anniversary? Said, well, 0:06:35.790 --> 0:06:37.510 we probably going to do what we were going to 0:06:37.510 --> 0:06:40.310 do last year, go downtown, get us a little place 0:06:40.310 --> 0:06:42.909 and just enjoy each other's company. You want to go 0:06:42.910 --> 0:06:47.710 back to my condo in Mexico? Show you right, baby. 0:06:49.310 --> 0:06:53.710 Show you right. So he said he did the same thing. 0:06:53.750 --> 0:06:57.190 Put $3,000 in my pocket. Put us in first class. 0:06:57.230 --> 0:06:59.190 Flew us down. But before we left, he said, give 0:06:59.190 --> 0:07:02.710 me the keys to your house. now. I ain't always 0:07:02.710 --> 0:07:08.670 been saved. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, whenever 0:07:08.670 --> 0:07:11.350 I was unsaved, if I could get your keys. When 0:07:11.350 --> 0:07:17.830 you were gone. When you came back. Everything be gone. 0:07:18.590 --> 0:07:20.670 So that's what I was thinking, brother Ronnie, I was thinking, 0:07:20.670 --> 0:07:22.990 but then, you know. No, no, this man not going 0:07:22.990 --> 0:07:26.110 to do that. So I gave him the key. So 0:07:26.110 --> 0:07:30.150 we come back from Mexico and he picks us up, 0:07:30.630 --> 0:07:33.790 and he comes and lets us in our house. He 0:07:33.790 --> 0:07:39.550 opens the door and my wife starts crying because this man, 0:07:39.790 --> 0:07:43.310 while we were gone, had brought us brand new furniture. 0:07:43.910 --> 0:07:48.510 And we looked. And the dining room now the dining 0:07:48.510 --> 0:07:53.710 room table we had. You remember it, Jay? We would 0:07:53.710 --> 0:07:56.190 we would have our Thanksgiving dinner and all that. But 0:07:56.190 --> 0:07:58.070 we have trays all around because you couldn't put the 0:07:58.070 --> 0:08:02.990 food on the table, The chairs were rickety. This man 0:08:03.030 --> 0:08:05.630 brought us. And so I had to call him. I said, 0:08:05.630 --> 0:08:07.150 you know what? I want to describe it to the 0:08:07.150 --> 0:08:10.070 people today, and I need you to tell me what 0:08:10.070 --> 0:08:13.990 it was. Uh, well, it was cream colored. And he said, well, 0:08:13.990 --> 0:08:17.310 you need to understand that both the table and the 0:08:17.350 --> 0:08:19.790 what you call that thing, uh, with the glasses in 0:08:19.790 --> 0:08:23.750 it and all that China cabinet. Yeah. China cabinet. He 0:08:23.750 --> 0:08:27.710 said it's not made of one wood. It's made of three. 0:08:28.470 --> 0:08:33.189 It's made of birch. It's made of walnut, and it's 0:08:33.190 --> 0:08:36.230 made of maple. Now I want to ask him what 0:08:36.230 --> 0:08:39.030 it cost, but, you know, you don't do stuff like that. 0:08:40.429 --> 0:08:42.750 And since there was no tag on any of it, 0:08:42.910 --> 0:08:45.390 I just googled I went on the I went on 0:08:45.429 --> 0:08:50.110 the internet and I put in, you know, picture of blah, blah, blah, 0:08:50.110 --> 0:08:52.429 and I saw my picture and guess what? There were 0:08:52.429 --> 0:08:56.750 about 3 or 4 and the cheapest one was nine grand, 0:08:57.429 --> 0:09:03.500 the cheapest one, cheapest one. And I said, wow, man, 0:09:03.500 --> 0:09:07.340 this man is generous. But then guess what? The next 0:09:07.380 --> 0:09:10.220 year he came to me and he said, what are 0:09:10.220 --> 0:09:12.460 you going to do, you and your wife for your anniversary? 0:09:12.580 --> 0:09:17.740 I said, I hope what we did last year. He said, sure, 0:09:17.740 --> 0:09:20.179 you're right. You want to go back to Mexico. I said, 0:09:20.179 --> 0:09:22.060 you know what? I've never been to Las Vegas. I 0:09:22.059 --> 0:09:24.300 know what they say, but I. I heard the food 0:09:24.300 --> 0:09:27.500 is nice there all kind of old school shows, the 0:09:27.500 --> 0:09:30.220 impressions and all that kind of stuff. So I want 0:09:30.260 --> 0:09:31.980 to go. I want to go to Las Vegas. So 0:09:31.980 --> 0:09:35.340 he sent me and my wife to Las Vegas, put 0:09:35.340 --> 0:09:38.459 us up in the biggest suite in the Bellagio, put 0:09:38.460 --> 0:09:42.459 three grand in my pocket, flew us first class, I'm 0:09:42.460 --> 0:09:45.420 telling you. And then the next year he sent us somewhere, 0:09:45.420 --> 0:09:48.939 and then the next year, and for 11 years straight, 0:09:48.940 --> 0:09:56.820 pastor Washington, this man sent us somewhere and put $3,000 0:09:56.820 --> 0:10:09.900 cash in this preacher's pocket. God. Generosity. Generosity. You're going 0:10:09.900 --> 0:10:11.900 to hear it again. But, you know I wasn't going 0:10:11.900 --> 0:10:12.980 to use it for this one. I was going to 0:10:12.980 --> 0:10:15.020 use it for another one whenever I come back to it. 0:10:15.020 --> 0:10:16.579 But I don't know when the next time I'm going 0:10:16.580 --> 0:10:19.060 to preach on money, you know what I'm saying? But 0:10:19.059 --> 0:10:22.940 do you know, when we were building this sanctuary, the 0:10:22.940 --> 0:10:26.500 largest single gift came from the person who built it. 0:10:26.540 --> 0:10:31.060 He built it free. It was $3.75 million. He was 0:10:31.059 --> 0:10:36.500 supposed to get $375,000. He put all of that back 0:10:36.500 --> 0:10:39.540 into this building. That's why we have Marlboro out there. 0:10:39.540 --> 0:10:42.340 That's why we have brass here. That's why we have 0:10:42.620 --> 0:10:45.140 have a pit here. All that stuff. He just put 0:10:45.140 --> 0:10:48.580 it in. That's why our bathroom looks like it should 0:10:48.580 --> 0:10:53.059 be out at Willow Creek. That got 10,000 members because 0:10:53.059 --> 0:10:59.020 he did it. Amen. The second largest gift came from 0:10:59.020 --> 0:11:05.700 one of our keen agers on a fixed income. I 0:11:05.700 --> 0:11:08.020 almost fell, I was going to give a, you know, 0:11:08.059 --> 0:11:09.699 get a picture and put it up there for you, 0:11:09.700 --> 0:11:11.900 but the name was on it. I couldn't obscure it, 0:11:11.900 --> 0:11:13.580 and I didn't want to mess it up because it's 0:11:13.580 --> 0:11:16.699 the only copy I have. But she said, here, pastor, 0:11:17.340 --> 0:11:23.260 this for the new sanctuary. I said, okay, mother. Praise 0:11:23.260 --> 0:11:27.300 the Lord for you, sweetheart. And she said, oh, pastor, 0:11:27.340 --> 0:11:30.380 it's the least I could do. And I'm thinking, okay, 0:11:30.380 --> 0:11:35.260 she's on a fixed income. Maybe she's giving 100, 200, 300. 0:11:35.780 --> 0:11:42.780 She gave me a check for $100,000. 100,000. I got 0:11:42.780 --> 0:11:48.780 the copy. I got the copy. The $100,000 on a 0:11:48.780 --> 0:11:52.819 fixed income. I ain't ask her even today. I wish 0:11:52.820 --> 0:11:54.940 I would have. She went home to Jesus, but I 0:11:54.940 --> 0:11:58.900 didn't ask her because there wasn't none of my business. Generosity. 0:11:59.500 --> 0:12:03.300 Didn't notice willingly. It said, here it is. Here it is. 0:12:03.300 --> 0:12:07.300 Let me. Bottom line it. Say bottom line it. Paul 0:12:07.300 --> 0:12:12.660 wasn't going to ask them. Giving is catching. Amen. Mm. 0:12:13.940 --> 0:12:17.500 So so so they weren't coerced. Here's what. Let me 0:12:17.500 --> 0:12:21.780 read it. Praying us with much entreaty. Wait a minute, 0:12:21.780 --> 0:12:23.100 wait a minute. Let me, let me, let me let 0:12:23.100 --> 0:12:26.500 me get this real quick. He says uh, playing. What 0:12:26.500 --> 0:12:29.980 does that mean? Listen to what it says here, begging 0:12:29.980 --> 0:12:35.580 us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the 0:12:35.580 --> 0:12:40.300 relief of the saints. They begged him. Now. No, no, no. 0:12:40.340 --> 0:12:41.780 You going to take this? 0:12:44.100 --> 0:12:46.460 How about you? But every time I hear that passage, 0:12:46.460 --> 0:12:49.660 or I read that section of second Corinthians eight, what 0:12:49.660 --> 0:12:51.380 was at least a little bit convicted, when was the 0:12:51.380 --> 0:12:54.500 last time that I begged for an opportunity to give 0:12:54.500 --> 0:12:56.620 away some of my money, some of what God has 0:12:56.620 --> 0:12:59.740 entrusted to us? But yet that is the mindset, the 0:12:59.820 --> 0:13:02.860 Macedonian mindset that we are called to have, isn't it? 0:13:03.179 --> 0:13:05.660 Or you're listening to a message called the Macedonian Mindset 0:13:05.660 --> 0:13:08.260 from second Corinthians eight, and we're going to continue this 0:13:08.260 --> 0:13:10.900 teaching in just a second. You ever miss a program? 0:13:10.900 --> 0:13:15.220 Listen online at Treasure Truth Radio. Back to the message. 0:13:15.220 --> 0:13:16.540 Here is Pastor Ford. 0:13:17.179 --> 0:13:21.140 Maybe they understood that. Lost beatitude of the Lord Jesus Christ, 0:13:21.140 --> 0:13:24.300 the 13th beatitude. It is more blessed to give than 0:13:24.300 --> 0:13:28.700 to receive. You know that's not recorded. But Paul says, 0:13:28.700 --> 0:13:32.540 Jesus said it, and it's in red letters in my Bible, 0:13:32.540 --> 0:13:36.140 so you know what that means. Jesus said it. See, 0:13:36.179 --> 0:13:38.620 too many of us are like little Ray. Ray. Remember 0:13:38.620 --> 0:13:40.179 him and his brother Joey? There was one cookie they 0:13:40.179 --> 0:13:42.300 were arguing over. Who's going to get the cookie? Mother 0:13:42.300 --> 0:13:44.260 came in. She wanted to give him a lesson. She 0:13:44.260 --> 0:13:47.020 says okay, he she says she says boys. And she 0:13:47.020 --> 0:13:49.540 looks at Ray. Ray because he's the oldest. You know, 0:13:49.940 --> 0:13:56.140 Jesus would give the cookie to his brother. So which 0:13:56.140 --> 0:13:58.500 one of you are going to be Jesus? And looking 0:13:58.500 --> 0:14:01.860 at Ray? Ray? Ray Ray grabbed the cookie, bit it, 0:14:01.860 --> 0:14:07.179 and said, Joey, you be Jesus. And that's most of us. 0:14:08.059 --> 0:14:10.620 It's like willingly not coerce. Let me give you these 0:14:10.620 --> 0:14:14.380 real quick, then enthusiastically. Look at. Look what it says. 0:14:14.700 --> 0:14:17.900 It says they pray with much entreaty. You receive our group, 0:14:17.900 --> 0:14:20.580 the fellowship of Ministering. On, on and on. On. Second 0:14:20.580 --> 0:14:25.340 Corinthians chapter nine says that they gave hilariously. It says, 0:14:25.340 --> 0:14:29.060 For God loves a cheerful giver. The word means hilariously. 0:14:29.220 --> 0:14:31.860 Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! 0:14:32.100 --> 0:14:36.660 And so here you have. You have. Let me read 0:14:36.660 --> 0:14:41.780 Wesley's comments on this. He says it's possible to give generously, 0:14:41.780 --> 0:14:45.220 but not to give enthusiastically. The preacher says I should 0:14:45.220 --> 0:14:48.100 give until it hurts. And a miserly church member said, 0:14:48.100 --> 0:14:50.180 but for me, it hurts just to think about giving. 0:14:50.420 --> 0:14:54.220 The Macedonian churches needed no prompting or reminding, as did 0:14:54.220 --> 0:14:56.500 the church at Corinth. They were more than willing to 0:14:56.540 --> 0:14:59.460 share in the collection. In fact, they begged to be included. 0:14:59.650 --> 0:15:02.010 How many times have you heard a Christian beg for 0:15:02.010 --> 0:15:06.210 somebody to take an offering? Their giving was voluntary and spontaneous. 0:15:06.210 --> 0:15:09.130 It was of grace, not pressure. They gave because they 0:15:09.130 --> 0:15:12.370 wanted to give and because they had experienced the grace 0:15:12.370 --> 0:15:14.810 of God. This is the part I want you to hear. 0:15:15.050 --> 0:15:19.650 Grace not only frees us from our sins, grace frees 0:15:19.650 --> 0:15:25.130 us from ourselves. That's a great line. Yeah. And so 0:15:25.130 --> 0:15:28.810 the grace of God will first open your heart, and 0:15:28.810 --> 0:15:36.570 your heart will open your hand. Wow. Wow. Yeah. They're giving, 0:15:36.570 --> 0:15:39.570 they're giving. I was at a church and I was preaching, 0:15:39.570 --> 0:15:41.650 and this is the first time it ever happened. So 0:15:41.650 --> 0:15:44.690 I'm sitting up in the pulpit and the worship leader 0:15:44.730 --> 0:15:48.450 got up and said, it is now time to worship 0:15:48.450 --> 0:15:52.250 the Lord in our giving. And I, I was like, 0:15:52.290 --> 0:15:56.690 because people were. Yeah. Amen. Clapping. Yeah. And and everybody start. 0:15:56.730 --> 0:16:00.170 Everybody grab your envelope and start waving there. Yeah. Praise 0:16:00.170 --> 0:16:02.770 the Lord. It's the firstfruits. It's a way. And it 0:16:02.770 --> 0:16:06.530 was like there was more noise during the offertory than 0:16:06.530 --> 0:16:09.850 there was during the music. And they they they they 0:16:09.890 --> 0:16:12.650 had a kick and choir, too. He said, well, you 0:16:12.650 --> 0:16:15.970 look surprised, pastor. I said, But I've never seen people 0:16:15.970 --> 0:16:19.530 of God respond like this to giving. So I came 0:16:19.530 --> 0:16:23.850 back the next Sunday and I said, hey, what do 0:16:23.850 --> 0:16:28.130 you say we make some noise whenever it's time for offertory? 0:16:33.890 --> 0:16:38.010 That's right, that's right. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. 0:16:38.370 --> 0:16:42.650 You're looking like you look right now. Like. Like are you. 0:16:42.690 --> 0:16:46.170 Are you crazy? Who's going to be happy about giving 0:16:46.170 --> 0:16:52.610 money away? And then personally, first Corinthians 16, each one 0:16:52.610 --> 0:16:54.850 of you, every one of you, let me just say this, 0:16:54.890 --> 0:16:58.090 and I'm going to shut it down. It's not equal money, 0:16:58.090 --> 0:17:03.050 but it is equal sacrifice. We may not all give 0:17:03.090 --> 0:17:06.170 the same amount, but we all are to give with 0:17:06.170 --> 0:17:12.090 the same attitude. You mean to tell me you trust 0:17:12.609 --> 0:17:17.890 God with your eternal soul, but you don't trust God 0:17:17.890 --> 0:17:21.730 with your temporal stuff? Come on, tell your neighbor there's 0:17:21.730 --> 0:17:26.010 a dead monkey on the line somewhere. Here's the last one, 0:17:26.890 --> 0:17:28.570 verses seven through nine. And I'm not going to go 0:17:28.570 --> 0:17:31.770 through the whole thing verses seven through nine. You have 0:17:31.770 --> 0:17:36.010 the right motivation, the right method, the right model for giving. 0:17:36.050 --> 0:17:39.530 He gave two examples, didn't he? He gave an immediate example. 0:17:39.530 --> 0:17:42.610 That's the Macedonians. But we don't ever want to ultimately 0:17:42.609 --> 0:17:47.050 model ourselves after people, any person. But there is then 0:17:47.050 --> 0:17:50.409 the ultimate example, the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me 0:17:50.410 --> 0:17:53.170 cut down to verse nine. Now verse seven and eight 0:17:53.210 --> 0:17:55.570 kind of builds the verse nine. How do I know that? 0:17:55.570 --> 0:17:58.610 Because it begins with four, which is the explanatory God. 0:17:58.609 --> 0:18:00.370 So he says this for you know the grace of 0:18:00.369 --> 0:18:03.889 our Lord Jesus Christ. Wait a minute. Now he's talking 0:18:03.890 --> 0:18:06.570 about grace, now he's talking about grace of our Lord 0:18:06.570 --> 0:18:09.609 Jesus Christ. Grace of God. In other words, they've cornered 0:18:09.609 --> 0:18:16.250 the market on grace. Lord. His deity. Jesus. His humanity. Christ. 0:18:16.250 --> 0:18:20.730 His sovereignty. See how he brings it in. And so 0:18:20.730 --> 0:18:24.930 he brings it all in. Why? Because God gave the 0:18:24.930 --> 0:18:29.010 best of heaven. Jesus for the worst of earth us. 0:18:30.930 --> 0:18:33.609 And so he begins to tell him. He says, listen, 0:18:33.609 --> 0:18:37.530 Jesus was rich and he became poor for you and 0:18:37.530 --> 0:18:44.970 for me. Yes. And so what happens here? Let me 0:18:44.970 --> 0:18:46.530 let me just say this. This morning I was talking 0:18:46.530 --> 0:18:48.290 about Undercover Boss. But let me, let me let me 0:18:48.290 --> 0:18:52.650 just tell you something you already know. Coming to America, 0:18:53.770 --> 0:18:58.530 Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. He was a prince who 0:18:58.530 --> 0:19:05.409 wanted a bribe. So he left his kingdom and came 0:19:05.450 --> 0:19:09.610 to a place in New York looking for a queen. 0:19:10.850 --> 0:19:15.050 He was arrayed in splendor and had servants that were 0:19:15.170 --> 0:19:19.490 bowing to him and meeting his every need, giving them baths. 0:19:20.410 --> 0:19:24.770 And he gave all those things away for the rags 0:19:24.770 --> 0:19:29.570 of a McDonald worker. And then he went and found 0:19:29.570 --> 0:19:33.530 his bride. She didn't want him, but he wooed her 0:19:33.530 --> 0:19:37.409 and courted her. Then he wed her. And then you 0:19:37.410 --> 0:19:41.250 know what he did. He took her back to his kingdom, 0:19:42.010 --> 0:19:45.010 and he made her richer than she ever could have been. 0:19:45.570 --> 0:19:49.730 That's what's in this text. Jesus Christ left the suburbs 0:19:49.730 --> 0:19:54.730 of heaven. Came to the inner city called Earth. Yes, he. 0:19:54.770 --> 0:19:58.850 He veiled his deity and humanity and and robed himself 0:19:58.850 --> 0:20:01.890 like one of us, so he can relate to us. 0:20:03.010 --> 0:20:06.570 And then he wed us. He wooed us. He wed us. 0:20:06.810 --> 0:20:10.250 And the Bible says one day he's coming back. Hallelujah 0:20:10.290 --> 0:20:13.290 to take us to himself. Hallelujah. Now, let me tell 0:20:13.290 --> 0:20:16.609 you what I found out about that movie. Did you 0:20:16.609 --> 0:20:20.490 know that not only did Eddie Murphy star in it, 0:20:20.930 --> 0:20:24.330 but Eddie Murphy wrote it. But not only did Eddie 0:20:24.330 --> 0:20:30.010 Murphy write it, Eddie Murphy directed it and produced it. 0:20:31.210 --> 0:20:37.369 He did it all. Yeah. Jesus paid it all. All 0:20:37.369 --> 0:20:41.170 to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. 0:20:41.210 --> 0:20:44.730 He washed me white as snow. He's a giver. He's 0:20:44.730 --> 0:20:47.130 the original giver. What did he give up, pastor for? Well, 0:20:47.130 --> 0:20:49.250 let me take my seat. If I was Hooper, I'd 0:20:49.290 --> 0:20:52.210 be hooping now. He gave up the splendors of heaven 0:20:52.210 --> 0:20:56.690 for the squalor of earth. He gave up limitless deity 0:20:56.850 --> 0:21:00.720 for localized humanity. Entity. He gave his body to an 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:03.639 old rugged cross. He gave his back to a whip. 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:06.960 He gave his brow to a crown of thorns. He 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:10.440 gave his cheek to a spider's fist. He gave his 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:13.680 mother to John. And to John his mother. He gave 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:16.560 his side to the spear. He gave his blood for 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.720 our sins. He gave his spirit to the father, and 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:24.400 he gave eternal life to everybody who believes that He 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:27.879 is God in the flesh, who died and was buried 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:33.280 and rose again the third day. You can't out give Jesus, 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.640 because can't nobody do me like Jesus. Can't nobody do 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:40.600 me like the Lord. Pick me up, turn me around, 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.959 place my feet on solid ground. And we need to 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:47.960 have not just the mindset of the Macedonians. We need 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:51.879 to have the mindset of the master. When he said 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.640 it's more blessed to give than to receive. 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:01.520 It's a challenging yet encouraging way to wrap up this message. 0:22:01.520 --> 0:22:06.280 The Macedonian mindset really helpful. Look at Second Corinthians chapter eight. 0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:09.520 You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford, and if 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.159 you missed any of the previous broadcasts in this series, 0:22:12.160 --> 0:22:14.440 I'd encourage you to come to our website and listen there. 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:19.040 Just stop by Treasure Truth radio.org. You know, pastor, we 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:22.080 all face tough times in life, and sometimes that's a 0:22:22.080 --> 0:22:25.040 very specific thing that's happening to us. Other times, it 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:27.960 may be something that's happening to our family, our society 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:31.000 in general. And really what we need is just the 0:22:31.000 --> 0:22:32.600 hope that we find in God's word. 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.680 Oh yeah. Well, you know, I had a listener call 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:38.800 and she said to me, she said, Pastor Ford, I 0:22:38.800 --> 0:22:41.160 listened to you faithfully, and I want you to know 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:45.000 you helped me. And I said, I helped. You know, 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:49.639 you helped me. I was feeling hopeless. And after listening 0:22:49.680 --> 0:22:53.480 to the Word of God, I got hope. And I said, 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:55.280 you know what hope means in the Bible when it 0:22:55.280 --> 0:22:57.520 says hope? She says, well, no, but I believe you're 0:22:57.520 --> 0:22:59.760 going to tell me, aren't you? And I said yes. 0:23:00.000 --> 0:23:04.040 It literally means outstretched neck. You ever wait for a 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:07.640 bus in the dead of winter and you know it's coming, 0:23:07.640 --> 0:23:10.200 but you don't know when. So you step out in 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.359 the street and you look up the street with an 0:23:13.359 --> 0:23:17.680 outstretched neck to see when it's coming. That's the word hope. 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:21.240 He's coming. He's going to give us relief. And whatever 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:23.880 we're going through, we cast all our care upon him 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:29.600 because he cares for us. And yes, Moody Radio, we're 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:31.640 in the hope business. 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:34.160 You can help us give hope to those who will 0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:36.920 come across this program and this station. As you support, 0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:40.960 Treasure Truth, give a gift online at Treasure Truth radio.org. 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:44.680 Thanks for doing that and for listening today for Pastor Ford, 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:47.760 I'm Steve Hiller. Treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio, 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:50.040 a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.