God’s Will For Generosity

I have a question for every single one of you. If you knew God's will for your life in every area, would you do it? If you knew God's will for every area of your life, I want you to think about it. Would you actually do it? Not only in the easy areas, but in the hard areas. Would you step into obedience in every single area? I would like to think that's something we would do.

We've been in a series as a church called How to Know God's Will. We've been talking about the wills of God. And something I've noticed in my life is that most of the time we don't struggle with wanting to know God's will. I think every single one of us wants to know God's will. Most of the time our issue is being able to discern what His will actually is, and then, once we've discerned it, actually doing what we've discerned. Sometimes that's the thing that's so hard.

We've asked a bunch of questions in this series. What is God's will for my family? What is God's will for my job? What is God's will for my finances? We're like, "Okay God, what is Your will for all of these different things?" And one of the things I've noticed is that we will ask God's will for so many things in our lives, but there's one area where I don't think I've ever had someone come up to me and say, "Brad, I want to know God's will in this area." And that's this: what is God's will for my generosity? What is God's will for my giving?

Some of y'all are like, "Great. I finally made it to church, and I made it on the money week." You're like, "Brad, I finally brought a friend. They're finally sitting next to me. Do not mess this up." I need y'all to hear something from me. At Spirit Church, we have never wanted something from you. We want a whole lot for you. No one will ever step on this platform wanting something from you. What we want is to help you fully follow Jesus. And I would be a bad pastor and a bad leader if I helped you follow Jesus in every area but your generosity.

If I said there are just some things we're not going to talk about, no. We're going to talk about it. Why? Because Jesus talked about it. One third of Jesus' stories and parables were about money, possessions and wealth. Jesus talked about money more than He talked about prayer. And this is my second time preaching on it in the 61 weeks we've been a church. So I'm doing a whole lot worse than Jesus. Praise God. But we're going into it today.

I think it's funny, because I thought about it: why would we want to know God's will in all areas of our lives, but not want to know God's will for our generosity? People say, "Brad, can you pray for my marriage? It's struggling. Can you pray for my job? It's struggling. Can you pray for my finances? They're struggling." But I've never had someone come up to me and say, "Brad, I need some prayer." "Amen, brother. What can I pray for?" "I'm just kind of greedy." Have you ever prayed for someone who said that? "I just think I'm stingy, Brad. I just feel like I'm not quite generous."

I don't think the reason is that we have bad intentions. But I do think this is an area where we can often be blinded. We're often blind to the fact that there could be some areas in our lives where we're greedy. And I want to talk about it because Jesus talks about it.

What does "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" mean?

If you have your Bibles, open up to Matthew 6:19. We're going to read from the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus' longest recorded sermon in the Bible. If you want to know what it means to fully follow Jesus, if you want to know what it means to live as a Jesus people, this sermon is going to teach us that. And He tells us a bit about what He wants for our generosity. So I don't want you to hear from me this morning. I want you to hear from Jesus. If we say, "Jesus, what does this need to look like?" here's what He says, starting in verse 19:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Jesus is confronting a reality in this moment, and the reality He's confronting is this: at some point in our lives, we are all going to die. Aren't you glad you came to church this morning? God bless you. You're dismissed. What He's saying is that at some point every single one of us is going to die. At some point the stuff we have is going to be destroyed. The house you live in is one day going to be destroyed. The inheritance we're saving up for our children's children, some child down the line is one day going to squander it. He's saying everything we're building toward is at some point going to disappear. So He's confronting this: we should not store up our treasures on earth, but we should store up our treasures in heaven.

Then He gives the reason He wants you to do this: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If your treasure is in the kingdom of God, then your heart will be in the kingdom of God.

Brad, what does that mean? Let me give you an illustration. Does anyone have cash on them? Can I have your wallet? Is this your wallet? Praise the Lord. This is a nice wallet. A little snakeskin action. Okay, so J.R. has some cash. He's got some Benjamins. Pam, you married well. Praise the Lord.

How many of you know he is very locked in to what I'm doing right now? Why? Because I have something that's of value to him. I have his treasure. You could say I have his undivided attention. I have his undivided focus, because where his treasure is, his heart is. But what if I said, "Hey Jesse, can you do me a favor? Can you take his wallet and just leave the auditorium? Run, Forest, run." There we go. Praise the Lord.

Now while I'm up here, J.R.'s like, "Okay, what's happening?" As much as his heart wants to be with me, how many of you know he's busy wondering, "What is Jesse doing with my money?" He wants to have a single focus, but right now he's distracted. Why? Because where his treasure is, his heart is. Where his treasure is, his focus is.

What Jesus is saying is, "I want your focus to be on Me. I want your treasure to be here, because then your heart will be here. But if your treasure is not in the kingdom of God, if your treasure is not with Me, then your heart and your focus aren't with Me." Can y'all give Jesse a round of applause? Jesse, my man, you can come back in.

Jesus isn't saying you put your treasure where your heart is. He's saying you put your treasure where you want your heart to be. That's where you put your treasure. Sometimes we can say, "Jesus, I'm all about Your kingdom. Jesus, I'm all about Your church." And I think sometimes Jesus might look at us and say, "Are you sure? Are you sure? Because I don't know if your treasure is on the mission I came here for."

How do I start caring about the gospel?

If someone comes up to me and says, "Brad, I feel like my passion for the kingdom is low. How do I start caring about the gospel?" here's how you start caring about the gospel: you give to it. When you start giving to the gospel, you'll find that your heart starts beating for the gospel.

I've had conversations with people in the lobby who come up to me and say, "Brad, I love our church." And I'm like, "Thank you. What do you love about it?" I want them to say the incredible worship, or that the guy who speaks is kind of okay. And they're like, "I love that it's so small."

Let me just say this: I understand what you're saying. What you're saying is that you love a church where everyone knows your name. You love a church where you can be seen. You love a church where people know your story and know what you're struggling with. And I agree. I love that kind of church. That's why we have groups. We have groups where people can know your name, where you can tell your story, where people can disciple you and walk with you.

But that statement by itself is unhelpful. Here's why. Jesus didn't come to earth, live a perfect life, die on a cross, get raised from the dead and then say, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations," so that we could build small churches. He sent us out. And He is saying, "As long as heaven is real and hell is hot, which it is, and people are going to one place or the other, I need you to reach people with the gospel. I need people to know about Me. I need people to come into a saving knowledge of Me."

The Phoenix area has 5.3 million people. We have 1,200 churches. We need more churches. If everyone in Phoenix went to church, there would be 4,500 people in every church. And if we prayed for small churches, if we were like, "God, just give me a church of 250 people. I like my churches small," we would need 22,000 churches to reach this valley. You all know our grid system, our little square miles. You would need 18 churches in every single one of those.

Friends, we can't come to a place where we put our personal comfort over and above the mission of God. When you are generous toward God's mission, when you want to see the kingdom of God expand and you invest heavily, you want to see more people reached. You want to see more people baptized. Why? Because you want to make sure there's an eternal return on your investment. We want to see this thing expand.

If my treasure is with Jesus, then my heart will be with Jesus, and I will want what He wants. And that is to see the gospel go out. If my heart does not line up with His, it might be an indication that my treasure doesn't line up with His.

What does "the eye is the lamp of the body" mean?

So He says, "Do not store up your treasure on earth where moths can destroy, but store it up in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And then He continues, and this is so good:

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

It sounds like He's changing the subject, but He's not. In this moment Jesus is still talking about money. He's still talking about our finances. I want to slow this down so you can catch it. He says your eye is the lamp of your body. What does that mean? He's saying your eye, your perspective, illuminates or reveals what's in your heart. In other words, by asking your perspective on things, I can tell where your heart is.

If you say, "Oh my gosh, the church just wants my money," that's a perspective, and it's an indication of where your heart is. "No, this is my money. I earned it." That's a perspective, and it's an indication of where your heart is. "I earned it, so I own it." That's a perspective, and it's an indication of where your heart is. Or what the Bible says in Acts 20:35: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." That is a perspective too, and it also shows where our heart is. The eye is the lamp of the body.

And He says, "If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light." That's fascinating, because He's not talking about eyesight. The original word there for healthy means undivided. You know how J.R. was divided in that moment, because he was thinking about me but he was also thinking about where his money was? If your eyes are healthy, in other words, if your eyes have a singular focus... and this Greek word is the same word Paul uses to talk about generosity. What He's saying is if your eye has a single focus, if your eye is generous, if you are generous, then you are healthy.

Then He says, "But if your eyes are unhealthy." The original word there means stingy, closed-fisted. "If your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness." And then He says something crazy: "If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

I want to slow down, because I want you to get this. He's talking about deception. The reason people don't ask for prayer about greed is that we don't realize it in the moment. We can be deceived. That doesn't mean we have bad intentions. It just means we haven't realized it. What He's saying is, if our eyes are stingy, if we are not generous toward the mission of God, if your life isn't marked by some kind of generosity to the church, to the poor, to the needy, to the people around you, and you think you're following Jesus... but following Jesus means you're generous like Jesus. If you say you're following Jesus but your life is not marked by generosity, and you think you're walking in the light, He says the light you have is actually darkness. And how deep that darkness actually is.

Can you follow Jesus and be greedy?

People ask, "Okay Brad, can I follow Jesus and also be greedy?" That's a dichotomy. Either we follow Jesus in all areas or we don't follow Jesus at all.

Now, Brad, are you saying my generosity buys my salvation? No. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Can I get a good amen? We are saved by faith. But James says in James 2:17 that faith without works is dead. In other words, when Jesus comes and changes your heart and you truly start following Him, the Holy Spirit regenerates your heart. As the Holy Spirit regenerates your heart, your desires start to match His desires. You want what He wants. And if we don't want what He wants, then the question is, has our heart truly been changed? Is the Holy Spirit convicting us, and are we saying, "Okay, I need to bring this into alignment"? Why? Because the voice we listen to determines who our master is.

What does it mean that you cannot serve both God and money?

Is this okay? Y'all good? We're tracking? We're going deep today. Brad, why does this matter? Here's why. Because here's what He says right after all of that:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

The word for money here is mammon. Mammon is more than just money. It's your wealth. It's your possessions. It's kind of all of that. What you need to know is that money in and of itself is neutral. This $20 bill is not evil. You agree? But it's also not good. It's neutral.

Jesus is saying this because there is a spirit that can actually come on our money, and we can come to a place where we start listening to our money. In other words, our money becomes our master. Our money becomes our lord. This is the only place in the Bible where He talks about a rival master that can compete for the throne of your heart. He says there are two masters and you cannot serve both. You cannot have a divided focus. You need to have a singular focus. You cannot serve both God and money.

How do I know if money is my master?

How do I know which one I'm listening to? How do I know which one is Lord? It comes down to which one you listen to. So let me show you some perspective, and I want you to do a self-evaluation as you think about the last 12 months and which voice you've been listening to.

God says, "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38, Acts 20:35). That's His Word. Mammon says, "Keep it. You might need it."

God says, "Seek first My kingdom. Honor Me with your firstfruits." Mammon says, "Take care of yourself, and then give what is left."

God says, "It's all Mine. I gave you the ability to earn it." Mammon says, "It's all yours. Your effort earned it."

God says, "I am your safety. Trust Me." Mammon says, "Money is your safety. Trust it."

God says, "I will supply your needs." Mammon says, "There will never be enough."

God says, "Be content with what you have." Mammon says, "Just a little more, and then you'll be content."

My question for us today, and my question for me today, is this: which voice are you listening to?

What is God's way to handle money?

There is the world's way, and there is God's way. The world's way is stingy. It's about accumulating. It's about protecting. It's about preserving. But then you have God's way, which is that He has given us resources we are to steward for His kingdom. Think of the parable of the talents, where God gives talents, money, resources, to people and then goes away. When He comes back, He expects that they've been faithful with what they've been given. We need to make sure that the things God has given us to steward, when we come back to Him, we haven't spent on everything He doesn't care about.

The world's way has a pattern. Here's the pattern: we spend first, and then we borrow for more. Household debt right now in the US is $18.8 trillion. Y'all, we need help in our finances. Christmas is coming up, and for the first time in history Americans are expected to spend $1 trillion this Christmas. To give you context for how much that is: if I took a million dollars and spent a million dollars every day from the night Jesus was born until now, I would have spent $740 billion. I would be a quarter trillion short of what America is about to spend this Christmas. And the challenge is that 48% of people are planning on borrowing that money, and 63% of Americans are planning to take three months to pay it off. That is the world's way. We spend first. We borrow for more. We save if we can. And then we give if anything's left.

Let me show you God's way.

1. We give first

We give first. Why? Because God gave first. He gave His one and only Son. When do we give? We give first.

How do we give? I preached a message on this last year about New Testament giving. In the Old Testament, people would give a tithe. A tithe means a tenth. It means 10%. So under the Mosaic law, people would return 10% to God. Here's what it says in Leviticus 27:30: "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." It says you are returning it to God. Not giving it, returning it. Why? Because He already gave it.

Do Christians have to tithe 10%?

Now, we are not Old Testament Christians. Can I get a good amen? We are New Testament Christians. We are not under the Mosaic law. We are not under the Levitical priesthood. If you look in the Bible, the way we get our marching orders is by looking at what is stated in the New Testament. At no point in the New Testament, talking to those who are now Jesus people, is the tithe commanded. So everyone take a deep breath. Breathe out. I can feel you're so stressed. You could cut that tension with a knife. Praise the Lord.

The New Testament, though, gives us a different model for our generosity. It says our giving should be planned. It should be proportional. It should be sacrificial. It should be generous. It should be missional. And you should do it voluntarily, with joy. If you want to read more about that, on our website on our Give page I have a theology of New Testament giving. It's called Rich Toward God, and it breaks down New Testament theology on giving. I also talked about that last year. I don't have time to get into all of it, but I want you to know that's what the New Testament teaches.

Now let me take a pastoral moment here. If you hear that and you say, "Oh, thank God. I'm no longer under the law. I don't need to give," I would just warn you to weigh everything the New Testament does say about our generosity. Yes, it has moved away from law, and it has moved to a heart posture, which means: how is your heart?

I don't know about y'all, but sometimes I'm like, man, it would be a lot easier if God just told me the percentage and I just did that, versus actually having to say, "God, how have You been generous to me, and how do You expect me to be generous back?" We have to weigh these things, y'all. As followers of Jesus, I wouldn't love you well if I didn't say this. We have to weigh this incredibly well.

So we give in the New Testament knowing that the measure we use will be given to us. The Bible says we aren't to store up treasure on earth, and that we cannot serve both God and money. Ephesians 5:5 says that the greedy are idolaters and they have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. That's why, when someone asks, "Can I follow Jesus and be greedy?" it's a dichotomy.

So how do we give? We give first. How much? You decide that. You take that to God. Paige and I decided from the beginning of our marriage that we would give 10%. That's where we started. We prayed about it. Why did we start there? Because we saw it in the Old Testament and thought, "This sounds like a good idea." We don't do it out of law. We do it out of grace. Does that make sense? But we did pray, and we had to make a decision. And our goal every year of our marriage has been to grow in our generosity. That has been our heart. You need to pray about what that looks like for you.

What if I can't afford to give 10%?

If you're a single mom and you're like, "Brad, there's no way I can even get close to that," I want you to know this: Jesus sees you. Jesus sees you. I love what Luke 21 says:

"As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'Truly I tell you,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'"

2 Corinthians 8:12: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have." The Lord knows where you are, and He knows where your heart is. You can take that to Him and say, "God, this is my situation. What would You have me do?" And then be obedient with what He says.

For some people, less than 10% is a stretch. But there are other people God has significantly blessed, and you can give 10% without thinking. If the Bible calls us all to be generous, what does that look like? Can y'all see how it's more nuanced than just 10%? And you're like, "Brad, just tell me what." No, no, no. You need to take it to God.

2. We save for tomorrow

Here's the second thing we do under God's way: we save for tomorrow. Can I get a good amen? Proverbs 21:20 says, "The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down."

As a church, we are setting our budget for next year. We set our budget on 90% of this year's income. Why? Because I don't want to live up to the line. I want to live before the line. I want to have space. I want to have margin. What does that look like in your life? It could be that you give to God, then you say, "Okay, 10% I'm going to put in savings, and I'm going to live on the rest." I think that's a good idea, and it's so countercultural to what we actually do. We give first, then we save for tomorrow.

3. We get out of debt

Number three: we get out of debt. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." At one point the Bible talks about someone who puts up security for someone else's debt, and here's what it says in Proverbs 6:4-5: "Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter." We get out of debt.

4. We live below our means

And the fourth thing is that we live below our means. Proverbs 13:7 says, "One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth."

Those are four ways we can actually live into God's paradigm. And here's my encouragement: let someone in. If you're struggling in this area, let someone in. I'm so thankful I have trustees and a board of overseers who can see every single penny of what we do. It gives me such confidence. For some of you, that might be exactly what you need to do. You might need to get in a group. You might need to get into a Financial Peace group and come alongside someone and say, "Hey, can you help me?"

What if following Jesus means changing how I spend?

We have a choice. Are we going to live a life that is generous, or a life that is stingy? I know this is a hard truth. I know y'all are used to me always being funny, and I want to be funny. Praise the Lord, God gives us joy. But every now and then I need to come and say, "Hey, I need you all to weigh this incredibly seriously, because I love you."

And you're saying, "Okay Brad, this is a really hard word to swallow. Are you saying that for me to fully follow Jesus in this area I might need to change some things in my life? Are you saying that for me to fully follow Jesus in this area I might need to cancel some things? Are you saying that for me to fully follow Jesus in this area I might have to change my priorities?" That's exactly what I'm saying. That's exactly what I'm saying.

And my ask is that you would pray. Not just say you'll pray, but actually pray about what the Lord would have you do with your generosity. And I'm not just saying give here to the church. I think this is a great place for you to give. We steward it well. We do what we can in outreach. We give away at least 10% of everything that comes into our church. And we're getting better and better at how we steward. I can show you all of that. But you can also give to the poor. You can give everywhere. I just think the church is the best vehicle for that. So what I'm asking you to do is just be generous. Be generous toward the kingdom of God.

Why does Jesus tell us not to worry about money?

And I know the weight that comes with that. Trust me. I prayed so much coming in today. I know the weight. And I think it's because Jesus knows the weight, and He knows we can be stressed, that after He said all of that, He said this:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

He's saying, "I'm taking care of you, so you can live a generous life."

Is it wrong for Christians to save money?

And you're like, "Brad, does that mean I shouldn't save? Does that mean I should just give it all? Is that what Jesus is saying?" No. Scripture interprets Scripture. Saving is all throughout the Bible. We just read a scripture on that. Here's another one, Proverbs 6:6-8: "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." Joseph advised Pharaoh to save in the seven years of abundance for the seven years of famine. Paul uses parental provision as an illustration in 2 Corinthians 12:14: "After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children." Proverbs 13:22: "A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children."

So is God saying, "Give it all and save none"? No. Praise the Lord. But watch this. Luke 12:16:

"And he told them this parable: 'The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, "What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.'"'"

Retire. I'm good. I don't have to work. I've saved all of this. This is beautiful.

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."

God is not condemning saving. But He is talking about saving in abundance with a lack of generosity. Can y'all see that?

What should I do if God has blessed me with wealth?

Let me talk to some business owners in the room, because I know there might be some of you whom God has blessed abundantly, and you feel like you lack purpose. You've made the money. You've done the thing. And you're like, "I don't know what to do with this anymore. I'm storing up, but I feel like I'm running into what Ecclesiastes says: 'Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless.' What am I to do?"

Maybe God gave you the ability to earn so that you can steward and accelerate what God wants to do through His church. Maybe what God is calling you to do is be a kingdom builder. Build His kingdom. Maybe that's the way you're going to serve on the Dream Team. Maybe you're not going to greet at a door, but you're saying, "No, I'm going to steward resources for Jesus, and I'm going to accelerate what God wants to do, because Phoenix needs Jesus."

It's what Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17-19: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

The only thing you can take to heaven is people

Jesus challenges every one of us: do not store up treasures on earth, where everything fades, but store up treasures in heaven. And I think one of the things that saddens me most is that so often we have lost a perspective, as a church, of what it looks like to live a life that actually leaves an impact.

Unfortunately, I think so many of us have bought the lie of the American dream: I can get a nice house, a nice car, save up money, retire early, live a life of leisure, take it easy, travel, have fun, and not go to hell. Praise the Lord. I think sometimes we've bought that lie, and we're like, "I just need to retire early. I need to retire young." I wish I could go on a whole thing about retirement and what the Bible says about it, and I may post something this week on my social about that. But here's what you need to know: retirement is not here on earth. Our retirement is when we're with Jesus. We get to enter into the fullness of our rest. There's work in heaven, but we get to enter into the fullness of our rest. The challenge is that we will spend our entire lives saving for retirement here on earth. We will store our treasures here on earth, but we will not put our treasures in heaven.

When I was 20 years old, I watched a sermon from John Piper. What a legend. He preached a sermon that probably had the single greatest impact on my life. In that sermon he says, "The thing that challenges me about so many of us is that we actually don't want our lives to count for God." Everyone's looking at him strangely, and he's like, "We actually don't want our lives to count."

And he tells a story about Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards, two ladies in their 80s who go to Cameroon to spread the gospel to the poorest of the poor. And in that moment they die. They die while they're spreading the gospel. He stands before his church talking about these two ladies who have died, and he asks, "Is this a tragedy?" Two ladies pouring out their hearts for the gospel. Is this a tragedy? And he says, "Church, this is not a tragedy. Let me read you what a tragedy is."

And he pulls out Reader's Digest and reads an article that says, "Start now, retire early." The article says, "Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago, when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells."

And he says, "My friends, that's a tragedy." That we will spend our entire lives getting to a place where we retire, and we will spend the final chapter of our lives, before we face a holy and righteous God, collecting shells. And God will say, "What did you do with My Son, Jesus?" And you will say, "God, look at my shells." What did you do? "God, look at my boat."

These are things we can't take to heaven. The only thing we can take is people.

And I beg you today to check your focus. I plead with you to check your focus. Read everything the New Testament says about money, about the god of money and how we listen to it. I beg you today to check it. Jesus says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." And here's one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. I think people forget it's about money: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Fully follow Jesus in everything

So today we're confronted with a choice. Do we follow Jesus or not? Do we put God first or not? Do we give according to the New Testament or not? Do we build treasures in heaven or not? Do we follow God's way, or do we follow the world's way?

Because at the end of the sermon, in the next chapter, He says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

It's in that context that He says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

And it's in that context that He then says, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Our mission as a church is to help you fully follow Jesus. And my question today is, are you going to fully follow Jesus in everything? In everything. Not, did you say a prayer one time? "Yeah, I said the prayer thing. I'm a Christian." No, no, no. That prayer is where you make Him Lord, which means He's your master, which means you do everything He says. "I'm a Christian, but I don't want to forgive." You don't get to say that. "I'm a Christian, but I get to have a lot of enemies." You don't get to say that. Either we follow Jesus or we don't follow Jesus. And all God's people said, amen.

Can I pray for you? I think some of you might be in this place today, and you realize you're following Jesus, but maybe this is one area where you're not. If that's the case, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. All we have to do is say, "God, I'm sorry." We repent, and then we correct. We change our pattern.

Y'all, I mean this with everything inside of me: you do not have to give here. If there's another church you trust more, I would love for you to give to that church. But I would love for you to step into generosity in some way.

So if you're here and you're like, "I need to make that confession," just say, "Father, forgive me for the times I've stored up for myself, for the times I haven't been rich toward You. Jesus, give me a perspective on generosity." And Lord, show every one of us what we need to do. What's the step we need to take, whatever that looks like? No compulsion from man, but Holy Spirit, right now, speak. What is it that You want us to do?

I also want to take a moment and talk to anyone who maybe isn't following Jesus at all. Maybe you said a prayer once and you thought, "I think I'm good. I don't have to change my life or do any of that." And you didn't actually make Jesus your Lord. You're not actually following Jesus. If you're here and you want to actually follow Jesus, the Bible says that if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you want to make that decision today, just repeat after me:

"Dear Jesus, today I make You Lord, which means today is the day I fully follow You. Lord, I know that doesn't mean I won't make mistakes or that I won't fall short, but I pray that Your Holy Spirit will empower me to follow You all the days of my life. I make You my Lord today. I know You were raised from the dead. And today You are my Savior. You are my King. You are my Master. In Jesus' name."

Amen and amen. Can you put your hands together for everyone who just said that? If you just said yes to Jesus, that is the best decision you could ever make.