WEBVTT - Chip Ingram - Oct 30 - 9:30 am 0:00:11.750 --> 0:00:14.330 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 0:00:14.470 --> 0:00:18.230 Did you realize that the Christian life is grace from 0:00:18.290 --> 0:00:22.650 beginning to end? We come to Christ by faith through grace. 0:00:22.970 --> 0:00:27.979 We live by faith through grace. But there are grace stoppers. 0:00:28.420 --> 0:00:31.680 There are two things that will destroy grace in your life. 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:34.080 That's today on Living on the Edge. 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.300 The early church was bold, unified, and growing by the thousands. 0:00:40.850 --> 0:00:43.860 And then something went wrong. It's something that remains a 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:47.159 threat today. Today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram 0:00:47.220 --> 0:00:49.880 opens Acts chapter 5 and puts a name to the 0:00:49.940 --> 0:00:52.920 two things that can quietly drain the power right out 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.840 of a church or a life. And then later in 0:00:55.860 --> 0:00:58.520 today's program, Chip will let you in on a special 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:02.920 opportunity happening this month only through our mid-year match. Stay 0:01:02.940 --> 0:01:05.600 tuned for that. Well, now here's Chip Ingram with a 0:01:05.620 --> 0:01:09.640 message titled, Grace Stoppers, Two Things That Destroy God's Work 0:01:09.700 --> 0:01:10.340 in Our Lives. 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:12.860 Well, as we get started, I want to ask you 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.580 a question. Have you ever had one of those, like, 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:15.980 what happened moments? 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.130 You know what I mean? A number of years ago, 0:01:19.170 --> 0:01:20.550 I visited where our. 0:01:20.490 --> 0:01:23.910 Family lived about 15 years earlier and had not been 0:01:23.930 --> 0:01:26.270 there in ages. And so, I was near that town and, 0:01:26.290 --> 0:01:28.330 you know, I was by myself. I thought, well, I'll 0:01:28.370 --> 0:01:29.729 just drive by the old neighborhood. 0:01:29.750 --> 0:01:30.350 Have you ever done this? 0:01:30.530 --> 0:01:30.869 Any of you? 0:01:31.310 --> 0:01:33.690 So, I drove by the old neighborhood. It was, you know, 10, 0:01:33.690 --> 0:01:34.390 15 years later. 0:01:34.470 --> 0:01:37.380 And I'm sure part of it was my perception that 0:01:38.550 --> 0:01:40.730 But it seemed like a nice neighborhood when I lived there. 0:01:41.370 --> 0:01:43.390 And I drove back and there were like weeds over 0:01:43.450 --> 0:01:46.119 here and a car like this and something else like 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.000 this and a house that looked like this. I mean, 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.980 the place was just like a dump. And I remember 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:53.340 driving through and thinking like 10 years ago, this was 0:01:53.380 --> 0:01:55.260 kind of a, you know, not fancy, but it was 0:01:55.300 --> 0:01:56.700 a nice clean little street. 0:01:57.670 --> 0:02:00.090 And I just, like what happened? 0:02:00.110 --> 0:02:03.450 I mean, what happens like in 10 years that this 0:02:03.490 --> 0:02:05.850 thing just went completely south? What happened? 0:02:05.870 --> 0:02:09.450 What happened? When I study with you. 0:02:10.070 --> 0:02:14.670 Acts chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, there's some 0:02:14.710 --> 0:02:15.410 things that I see. 0:02:16.850 --> 0:02:18.360 Just a casual observer, what I. 0:02:18.340 --> 0:02:21.880 Learn is the church in Acts is powerful. The church 0:02:21.900 --> 0:02:26.220 in Acts is bold. The church in Acts is ridiculously 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.370 generous with one another. The church in Acts is loving. 0:02:30.210 --> 0:02:34.269 The church in Acts healed the brokenhearted, the outcast, the poor, 0:02:34.310 --> 0:02:36.829 and the rejected, and The church in Acts, they just 0:02:36.889 --> 0:02:40.989 grew literally, not weekly, daily. The church in Acts expected 0:02:41.530 --> 0:02:45.690 and saw the miraculous. And when I see the church 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:50.560 in Acts, and I travel quite a bit, and I've 0:02:50.580 --> 0:02:53.600 been to churches here and all over the world, and 0:02:53.639 --> 0:03:00.060 I look at the anemic, selfish, inwardly focused, non-dynamic, basic 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.970 church today, I look at this church, and I look 0:03:02.990 --> 0:03:06.930 at the church of Acts, and I say, what happened? Now, 0:03:07.110 --> 0:03:13.700 there's wonderful exceptions, obviously, but the research is overwhelming. Most Christians, quote, 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.000 don't live like Christians. Most churches have very little impact. 0:03:17.419 --> 0:03:19.960 Most churches are filled with very religious people, but not 0:03:20.180 --> 0:03:22.380 people that make much of a difference in their communities. 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.859 So what happened? How could that be? 0:03:26.740 --> 0:03:28.639 And what I want to suggest is the answer is 0:03:28.660 --> 0:03:30.859 in Acts chapter 5. And what you're going to see 0:03:30.900 --> 0:03:36.380 is there are two things, two things that are grace stoppers. 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:39.300 There's two things and they happen to good people like 0:03:39.340 --> 0:03:42.750 you and good people like me. Literally two specific things 0:03:42.830 --> 0:03:47.590 that will destroy God's work in your life. These two 0:03:47.650 --> 0:03:50.770 things will sap the power out of you, your small group, 0:03:50.990 --> 0:03:52.330 this church, and every church. 0:03:52.350 --> 0:03:52.650 You ready? 0:03:53.910 --> 0:03:57.420 Let's look at attack number one. Now a man named Ananias, 0:03:57.460 --> 0:04:00.760 together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:03.820 With his wife's full knowledge, he kept back part of 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:06.280 the money for himself, but brought the rest of it 0:04:06.380 --> 0:04:07.720 and put it at the apostle's feet. 0:04:08.820 --> 0:04:09.790 Then Peter said to him. 0:04:10.610 --> 0:04:14.470 Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your 0:04:14.530 --> 0:04:17.930 heart that you've lied to the Holy Spirit and you've 0:04:17.950 --> 0:04:19.989 kept back for yourself some of the money you received 0:04:20.029 --> 0:04:22.700 from the land? Didn't it belong to you before it 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.300 was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money 0:04:25.339 --> 0:04:28.360 at your disposal? What made you think of doing such 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:32.279 a thing? You have not lied to men, but to God. 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.180 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.960 great fear seized all who heard it and what happened. 0:04:40.460 --> 0:04:43.779 Then the young men came forward and they wrapped his body. 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:48.170 They carried him out. They buried him. About three hours later, 0:04:48.230 --> 0:04:51.039 his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:54.280 Peter asked her, tell me, is this the price that 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.750 you and Ananias got for the land? And she replied, 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.350 oh yes, brother Peter, yes we did. It was a 0:05:01.370 --> 0:05:05.790 big sacrifice and we just felt like that's something God 0:05:06.070 --> 0:05:08.990 wanted us to do. We're actually pretty wonderful, aren't we? 0:05:09.490 --> 0:05:13.190 I'm reading into the text just a bit. But I 0:05:13.230 --> 0:05:16.850 do that because that's what's behind all this. Peter said 0:05:16.890 --> 0:05:20.040 to her, how could you agree to test the spirit 0:05:20.070 --> 0:05:23.730 of the Lord Look, the men whose feet buried your 0:05:23.770 --> 0:05:26.010 husband are at the door, and they will carry you 0:05:26.070 --> 0:05:28.520 out as well. At that moment, she fell down at 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:31.280 his feet and died. Then the young men came in, 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.280 and finding her dead, carried her out, buried her beside 0:05:34.300 --> 0:05:38.740 her husband, and great fear seized the whole church. 0:05:39.060 --> 0:05:41.470 And all who heard about these events. I guess so. 0:05:42.029 --> 0:05:45.229 What's going on in this passage? What's really going on here? 0:05:45.270 --> 0:05:48.590 What's the attack? What was the sin? Why did God 0:05:48.650 --> 0:05:51.940 judge it so severely? And then maybe more importantly, what 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:53.500 in the world's it got to say to you and 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:59.740 to me today? Let me suggest that the temptation is 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:04.320 to pose, is to pretend. What they wanted is they 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.520 wanted the applause of people. They wanted the people to 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.460 think really well of them. And the sin here is 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.200 they pretend. Any of you all do that? 0:06:13.300 --> 0:06:13.900 We all do that. 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:17.910 And you say to yourself, well, if we all do that, 0:06:18.010 --> 0:06:21.539 why does God judge it so harshly? Because at the 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:26.210 core of posing is hypocrisy. At the core of posing is, 0:06:26.250 --> 0:06:28.190 I will tell you this, this story tells us that 0:06:28.310 --> 0:06:32.479 Ananias and Sapphira reveal how seriously God regards his church 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:36.800 as an authentic manifestation of his character. This is a 0:06:36.900 --> 0:06:42.339 brand new baby. And if he lets inauthenticity and hypocrisy 0:06:42.380 --> 0:06:44.700 and people begin to play games and use the church 0:06:44.740 --> 0:06:47.320 as a political place and to get the applause of people. 0:06:47.370 --> 0:06:49.590 And if it's not for real, if the people aren't 0:06:49.650 --> 0:06:52.950 for real, if they don't live it out, then like cancer, 0:06:52.990 --> 0:06:55.590 the thing would have been gone in the first few years. 0:06:56.650 --> 0:06:59.380 God emphatically serious when he says the world should be 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:03.779 able to look at the lives of his fellow servants. 0:07:04.500 --> 0:07:08.180 who walk with Jesus and see something different, significant, perfect? 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:08.559 No. 0:07:09.180 --> 0:07:12.260 But progressively Christ-like and honest and real. And when they 0:07:12.300 --> 0:07:15.440 blow it, they say things like, I blew it, I'm sorry. 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:16.240 They own their stuff. 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.460 See, it's the sin of pretending to be more devoted 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:23.060 to God than we really are. It's the sin of 0:07:23.100 --> 0:07:27.460 portraying outward actions that don't correspond to inward reality. At 0:07:28.060 --> 0:07:30.740 the essence, it's playing games with God in order to 0:07:30.780 --> 0:07:35.570 gain the applause and the approval of people. And at 0:07:35.620 --> 0:07:38.260 the core, according to this text and the Holy Spirit, 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:43.180 it's lying to God, it's lying to others, and it's 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:44.160 lying to yourself. 0:07:44.220 --> 0:07:45.500 And here's the danger of posing. 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:49.340 Once you start getting the applause of people for misrepresenting 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.860 where you're really at with God, I will tell you what, 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.520 you'll start believing your own stuff. And you'll start thinking 0:07:55.540 --> 0:07:58.520 you're really kind and you're really loving. And pretty soon, 0:07:58.900 --> 0:08:03.380 there's this image, this almost spiritual hologram that you portray 0:08:03.820 --> 0:08:07.890 and the reality is back here. You know what Sapphira's 0:08:08.230 --> 0:08:08.810 name means? 0:08:10.070 --> 0:08:10.530 Beautiful. 0:08:12.410 --> 0:08:16.120 This is, her name means beautiful and her behavior is ugly. 0:08:17.100 --> 0:08:18.020 You know what Ananias' name means? 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:18.220 Beautiful. 0:08:19.580 --> 0:08:23.650 God is gracious or God is generous. He's one greedy 0:08:23.710 --> 0:08:26.270 dude in his heart, but he wanted to come off 0:08:26.330 --> 0:08:29.550 as gracious and generous. And when I do this and 0:08:29.590 --> 0:08:32.170 when you do this and it starts, I mentioned the texting, 0:08:32.330 --> 0:08:35.750 it starts in little things. Oh, I'll really pray for you. 0:08:36.170 --> 0:08:36.699 That's bigger. 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:38.679 And then it's like, oh yeah, I really want to 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:40.220 follow you, God, whatever you want me to do, but 0:08:40.300 --> 0:08:41.600 I'm not consulting your word. 0:08:41.780 --> 0:08:43.699 I'm not talking to you. I'm not reading. 0:08:43.900 --> 0:08:45.500 I'm not doing anything, but I just expect you to 0:08:45.540 --> 0:08:49.170 bless me. And then the pretension and the posing. And 0:08:49.210 --> 0:08:52.630 pretty soon, who you are and what you purport to 0:08:52.670 --> 0:08:55.870 be tells two different stories. And when unbelievers get up 0:08:55.929 --> 0:08:59.030 close and they smell us and see us, and you 0:08:59.050 --> 0:08:59.270 know what? 0:08:59.309 --> 0:09:01.410 They see that difference. They say, you know what? 0:09:01.429 --> 0:09:02.790 I don't believe in your message and I don't believe 0:09:02.809 --> 0:09:06.990 in your Savior. That's why the judgment was so harsh. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:14.760 God was protecting his church. I've done this passage once 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:18.780 with the, group of pastors and I said, guys, you 0:09:18.830 --> 0:09:23.150 do understand that if God was acting like this, that 0:09:23.210 --> 0:09:25.070 most of us would have to change jobs and instead 0:09:25.090 --> 0:09:28.190 of being pastors, we'd have to be undertakers. And we'd 0:09:28.210 --> 0:09:30.069 just have to bury all these people in our church. 0:09:31.309 --> 0:09:34.150 And then I said, no, no, not really. Probably there 0:09:34.170 --> 0:09:36.829 wouldn't be any undertakers because pastors pose as. 0:09:36.790 --> 0:09:38.929 Much or more than anybody else. So, it wouldn't be 0:09:38.950 --> 0:09:40.030 anybody around to bury people. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.099 But when God wanted to make the point and He 0:09:44.140 --> 0:09:47.030 wanted to stop the attack, And this is satanic. 0:09:47.910 --> 0:09:49.100 Okay? This is serious. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.400 And some sins, once they get going, here's the problem. 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.010 Since we know everybody else kind of poses, since we 0:09:57.050 --> 0:09:59.970 know that everyone else has levels of hypocrisy, we say 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.369 stuff like, well, no one's perfect. God's not asking to 0:10:02.390 --> 0:10:05.610 be perfect. He's asking and demanding that you be authentic. 0:10:07.110 --> 0:10:07.790 Listen carefully. 0:10:08.350 --> 0:10:13.540 Purity is a prerequisite for power. You want to know 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:16.520 why the church today or the small groups today aren't 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.620 like the small groups and the church in Acts? 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:22.679 It's posing. It's lack of purity. 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.030 This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and 0:10:28.050 --> 0:10:31.010 we'll continue in a minute. Right now, Living on the 0:10:31.110 --> 0:10:33.250 Edge is in the middle of a mid-year match, and 0:10:33.410 --> 0:10:36.130 every dollar you give this month will be matched dollar 0:10:36.150 --> 0:10:39.459 for dollar by a group of generous ministry partners. It 0:10:39.500 --> 0:10:42.760 costs you nothing extra. Your gift simply does twice the work. 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:47.380 To find out more, just go online to livingontheedge.org, and 0:10:47.460 --> 0:10:50.230 Chip will share more details in a little bit. Now 0:10:50.270 --> 0:10:51.069 back to our message. 0:10:51.610 --> 0:10:53.569 I think it's also interesting as you look at this 0:10:53.610 --> 0:10:58.500 passage that it has to do with finances. I mean 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.540 Jesus talked more about finances than heaven and hell combined. 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:02.100 You say, well why? 0:11:02.530 --> 0:11:04.870 Because see, Jesus said in Matthew, you might jot this down, 0:11:04.910 --> 0:11:08.990 Matthew 6, verses 19 to 22, according to Jesus, wherever 0:11:09.030 --> 0:11:11.910 your treasure is, there's a chain connected to it, and 0:11:11.950 --> 0:11:13.370 that chain is connected. 0:11:13.050 --> 0:11:13.530 To your heart. 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.120 So wherever your treasure is, that's the revealer, that's the MRI, 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.260 the x-ray machine of the Holy Spirit of God. If 0:11:20.300 --> 0:11:23.079 you ever want to know where you're at spiritually, just 0:11:23.100 --> 0:11:26.709 look at your money. Wherever your money flows, it tells 0:11:26.730 --> 0:11:29.290 you where your loyalty is. It says where your priorities are. 0:11:29.580 --> 0:11:31.670 It says what really matters. According to Jesus, are you 0:11:31.700 --> 0:11:34.760 ready for this? According to Jesus, the two gods are 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:35.660 not God and Satan. 0:11:37.140 --> 0:11:37.620 You read that. 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:42.400 Passage in Matthew 6. Jesus says, there's me, God, or mammon. 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.000 Those are the two things that are vying for your 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:46.679 heart and my heart. 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:49.660 It's money. It's materialism. 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.099 Now, interestingly, you get your Bibles open, skip back up 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.300 to verse 31, and after God is affirming them, right? 0:11:58.580 --> 0:12:03.200 Chapter 4, verse 31, it says they were all filled 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:04.880 with the Holy Spirit. And that word literally means to 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:08.020 be controlled by. And notice in verse 31 there of 0:12:08.059 --> 0:12:11.020 chapter 4, they're controlled or they're filled. There's one baptism, 0:12:11.090 --> 0:12:14.010 you trust Christ and you're put in the body of Christ. 0:12:14.309 --> 0:12:15.150 There's many fillings. 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.470 So what happens to their behavior when Jesus is controlling 0:12:19.490 --> 0:12:22.830 their behavior? Look at verse 32, 33, 34. They have 0:12:23.010 --> 0:12:26.530 one heart, one mind, unity. Everyone says they don't claim 0:12:26.630 --> 0:12:28.910 anything as their own. This isn't socialism. They weren't in 0:12:28.950 --> 0:12:31.589 a commune. They didn't have to give anything. But it 0:12:31.650 --> 0:12:34.949 was since Jesus is living in them and controlling them 0:12:35.350 --> 0:12:37.670 and their values, it's like, look, all that I have 0:12:37.730 --> 0:12:38.350 comes from God. 0:12:38.710 --> 0:12:39.890 So if I have a lot and you. 0:12:39.830 --> 0:12:41.929 Have a little, of course I would share because that's 0:12:41.950 --> 0:12:42.929 what the Holy Spirit would do. 0:12:43.250 --> 0:12:44.929 And I know that he'll meet my needs. 0:12:45.770 --> 0:12:48.850 So there's generosity and then there's boldness and there's power 0:12:48.870 --> 0:12:51.640 when you're filled with the Spirit. Now, skip down to 0:12:51.660 --> 0:12:59.180 about verse three or four of chapter five, and Peter says, Ananias, 0:12:59.830 --> 0:13:01.910 how has Satan filled your heart? 0:13:02.910 --> 0:13:04.290 You ready for this? Same word. 0:13:05.130 --> 0:13:08.870 Exact same word. He was being controlled by. He was 0:13:08.910 --> 0:13:12.010 being influenced by. But where did it come from? It 0:13:12.070 --> 0:13:15.010 came from envy. It came from jealousy. It came from, 0:13:15.190 --> 0:13:16.850 I want people to think of me the way they 0:13:16.870 --> 0:13:17.530 think of Barnabas. 0:13:17.690 --> 0:13:22.510 But I I don't trust God. I don't believe if I. 0:13:22.470 --> 0:13:24.650 Sold a piece of property that God will meet my needs. 0:13:25.030 --> 0:13:27.730 So I'm gonna keep control. It's not about money, it's 0:13:27.770 --> 0:13:30.370 about control. And it's about under the control, a lack 0:13:30.410 --> 0:13:32.310 of faith. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna 0:13:32.390 --> 0:13:35.030 pose and I'm gonna sell this, keep this for me. 0:13:35.410 --> 0:13:39.610 His sin was, he said he paid this for the land. Before, 0:13:39.670 --> 0:13:41.670 he didn't have to sell the land. And after he 0:13:41.690 --> 0:13:44.910 sold the land, he said, Peter, tell you what, my 0:13:44.929 --> 0:13:49.270 wife and I have really been prayin'. We're convinced that 4.7% 0:13:49.270 --> 0:13:50.589 of this ought to go to the church. And Peter 0:13:50.610 --> 0:13:52.550 would have said, thank you very much, appreciate it. He 0:13:52.580 --> 0:13:55.040 could have said 72% of it. He could have said 5% 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:58.660 of it. But what he said was, we paid, this 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:00.460 is what we got for the land and we're giving 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:02.740 it all because we're so generous. 0:14:04.100 --> 0:14:09.280 Hypocrite. See, money is one of those things that it's 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.180 like real objective. You know what I mean? 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.370 I can say, oh, I get this really great feeling man, 0:14:16.410 --> 0:14:17.849 when we worship, I get this great feeling. 0:14:18.790 --> 0:14:20.150 Or I feel close to God. 0:14:19.950 --> 0:14:21.590 When I did this or listened to this song or 0:14:21.650 --> 0:14:25.470 prayed or I, and all that's kind of subjective and 0:14:25.510 --> 0:14:28.290 I'm all for all those subjective things. But let me 0:14:28.340 --> 0:14:30.200 tell you where there's no power in the church. The 0:14:30.340 --> 0:14:35.100 average believer in America gives 2.8% of their money. 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:37.500 To the church of Jesus Christ. 0:14:38.820 --> 0:14:41.300 In America, across the board of all the millions of 0:14:41.340 --> 0:14:43.940 people who go to church, over half the people in 0:14:44.020 --> 0:14:48.830 any church give absolutely nothing See, there's this lack of 0:14:48.910 --> 0:14:52.910 connection between, oh, my mouth. This is what Isaiah said 0:14:52.930 --> 0:14:55.550 when he was bringing down the judgment of God upon people. 0:14:55.830 --> 0:14:59.290 He says, Israel, you honor me with your lips, but 0:14:59.350 --> 0:15:02.410 your deeds and your ways are far from me. And 0:15:02.470 --> 0:15:04.390 so when I say I love God, you're the most 0:15:04.450 --> 0:15:06.390 important person in my life, I have these needs, I'm 0:15:06.430 --> 0:15:09.140 really praying, I really need your help, and my money 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:11.640 says what I love is me, and I have all 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.680 this debt, and I have all this stuff. See, it's 0:15:15.740 --> 0:15:19.410 not about the money. It's about who's controlling my heart. 0:15:20.550 --> 0:15:23.370 Which desires are getting fed? And then at the end 0:15:23.390 --> 0:15:26.910 of the day, it's really about faith. Well, I would 0:15:26.970 --> 0:15:30.360 like to be generous and help people, but, and then 0:15:30.390 --> 0:15:33.500 the but is you just list, why is it that 0:15:33.540 --> 0:15:36.180 over half of all the marriages that fail are around 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:41.120 financial issues? Money is never a problem in marriage. Money 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:46.580 just reveals values. And when there's lots of debt, lots 0:15:46.620 --> 0:15:49.050 of stuff you can't afford, Lots of credit cards that 0:15:49.070 --> 0:15:53.720 you pay part-time on. What you're saying is, I don't 0:15:53.790 --> 0:15:58.320 tremble at God's word. Basic biblical stewardship would just have 0:15:58.380 --> 0:16:01.360 certain things like, God says give the very first off 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.400 the top so you remember that I own it and 0:16:04.460 --> 0:16:06.920 so that my mission gets done. And then he says 0:16:06.990 --> 0:16:10.490 things like, don't spend more than comes in. That's a 0:16:10.630 --> 0:16:14.180 radical idea, you know. And by the way, I own 0:16:14.230 --> 0:16:15.950 it all. And so what I want you to do 0:16:16.010 --> 0:16:17.970 is it's not just about giving. I actually want you 0:16:18.010 --> 0:16:20.130 to save, even if it's just a little. I want 0:16:20.150 --> 0:16:22.370 you to actually invest, even if it's just a little. 0:16:22.770 --> 0:16:24.490 And then what comes in each month, I want you 0:16:24.510 --> 0:16:27.750 to keep the number that comes in bigger than the 0:16:27.770 --> 0:16:28.410 number that goes out. 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:31.820 You do that for three years. 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.520 And then five years and then seven years and 20 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:35.540 years and 30 years, I will tell you, you will 0:16:35.660 --> 0:16:40.000 end up with surplus and greatly blessed. Yeah. 0:16:40.590 --> 0:16:43.370 Do you understand why? See, it's just a revealer. 0:16:44.230 --> 0:16:45.830 Now, if you happen to be brand new, by the way, 0:16:45.890 --> 0:16:48.250 or you're brand new in Christ, you know, this is 0:16:48.290 --> 0:16:51.960 a journey. You know, this isn't some big message on finances. 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:57.160 You know why we're talking about finances? Because we're in 0:16:57.180 --> 0:17:02.120 chapter five. Okay? Chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four. 0:17:02.340 --> 0:17:05.860 This is what happens. And it is the greatest, clearest 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.740 revealer of where your heart is. Notice here the reason. 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.150 Hypocrisy kills the authenticity of the message and the credibility 0:17:14.190 --> 0:17:14.770 of the messenger. 0:17:16.250 --> 0:17:17.190 You understand what I'm saying? 0:17:18.109 --> 0:17:19.830 Now, I know this is a hard message to hear, 0:17:21.350 --> 0:17:23.830 but do you now understand why the church is anemic? 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:28.400 Do you understand why some people don't get specific, powerful. 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:28.899 Answers to prayer? 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.080 Do you understand why marriages and kids that have issues 0:17:32.140 --> 0:17:36.000 and relationships that you want to come together, God uses 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.740 and always will finances to direct our energy and our priorities. 0:17:41.020 --> 0:17:43.040 In the Old Testament, when people were just totally out 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:47.179 of whack, he said, you know something? You're doing your 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.030 own thing and neglecting my stuff. And that's why you 0:17:50.070 --> 0:17:52.330 have a purse that has holes in it. That's why 0:17:52.369 --> 0:17:55.210 you plant seeds. But you know, then the blight comes. 0:17:55.910 --> 0:17:59.070 I will keep frustrating you in this area because when 0:17:59.109 --> 0:18:03.450 he has our finances, he has our attention, right? This 0:18:03.530 --> 0:18:07.570 is an alignment where God wants our hearts directed. And 0:18:07.630 --> 0:18:10.350 really what the issue is, will you trust me? Would 0:18:10.390 --> 0:18:12.410 you believe that when I say I'll take care of you, 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.290 I'll take care of you? Notice what happened as a 0:18:15.310 --> 0:18:17.880 result of this. We pick up the story. It says, 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.479 a great fear seized those in the church. I mean, 0:18:21.500 --> 0:18:22.719 this is more, I'm going to talk a little bit 0:18:22.740 --> 0:18:24.859 about fear in just a second, but notice there is 0:18:24.900 --> 0:18:29.030 this sense of, whoa, this isn't like Jesus is my 0:18:29.070 --> 0:18:31.149 buddy and I think we'll do whatever we want and 0:18:31.170 --> 0:18:33.169 I hope things work out and help my life work out. 0:18:33.490 --> 0:18:36.770 I mean, this is like, woo, serious. And then notice 0:18:36.790 --> 0:18:37.290 what happens. 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.840 The apostles performed many miracles and signs and wonders among 0:18:40.859 --> 0:18:43.359 the people and all the believers used to meet together 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.980 in Solomon's colonnade. No one else dared join them even 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:49.700 though they were highly regarded by the people. 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:54.320 I love that. Christians were highly regarded. They weren't weird. 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.119 They weren't people screaming on TV for people's money. 0:18:58.100 --> 0:18:58.960 They weren't hypocrites. 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:01.960 The people said, I don't want to join that group 0:19:01.980 --> 0:19:03.270 because I'll tell you what, you better be a for 0:19:03.310 --> 0:19:04.949 real authentic person or you might die. 0:19:06.010 --> 0:19:09.440 But man, they love each other They're for real. 0:19:10.109 --> 0:19:13.490 They so reflect that person they say they follow who 0:19:13.530 --> 0:19:16.470 came back from the dead, Jesus. As a result, people 0:19:16.510 --> 0:19:18.530 brought their sick in the streets and laid them on 0:19:18.590 --> 0:19:21.390 beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might 0:19:21.450 --> 0:19:23.830 fall on some of them as they passed by. Crowds 0:19:23.869 --> 0:19:27.110 gathered also from the towns all around Jerusalem, bringing their 0:19:27.150 --> 0:19:29.859 sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of 0:19:29.890 --> 0:19:30.520 them were healed. 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:33.480 Circle the word all. All of them were healed. 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.960 Now, very carefully here, don't think that the Bible's teaching 0:19:38.340 --> 0:19:41.320 that God heals all people all time. Notice how much 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:45.129 faith all these people had, by the way. If 100% 0:19:45.130 --> 0:19:47.850 of the people were healed, see, it doesn't say. 0:19:49.490 --> 0:19:49.929 Healing and faith. 0:19:50.190 --> 0:19:53.119 Doesn't always necessarily go together. Three times in all of 0:19:53.180 --> 0:19:57.300 biblical history, you see miracles as the norm. When the 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:00.919 law is given under Moses... when the prophetic ministry of 0:20:00.980 --> 0:20:04.400 restoring Israel, Elijah and Elijah, and Jesus and the apostles, 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:09.500 every time God gives new revelation, the law from Sinai, 0:20:09.980 --> 0:20:13.280 then there's a season of miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles, miracles, 0:20:13.340 --> 0:20:13.859 parting of the. 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:15.240 Red Sea, the manna, the quail. 0:20:15.500 --> 0:20:18.580 Why? To say that God's truth is here and you 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:22.100 can believe it. And then there is also, when people 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:24.939 take the first steps of disregard, there's a very harsh 0:20:25.090 --> 0:20:28.219 initial judgment that this is for real. The same thing 0:20:28.260 --> 0:20:30.859 with Elijah and Elijah. A great season where miracles were 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:35.199 the norm. The same thing here with the apostles. Now, 0:20:35.260 --> 0:20:37.639