Thank you for listening to this message from
Lifehouse Church. It's true, it's true. Now listen,
welcome, welcome. It's good to have you here.
If you're with us in the house, if you're listening
online, it's good to have you this morning. And
this is week two of a message series called Holy
Buckets. All right, Holy Buckets. And here's
what I know to be true of each one of us. God
has given us buckets full of stuff to manage.
He really has. He's given us buckets full of
stuff to manage. And in your buckets are a lot
of different things, right? You might have relationships
in your buckets. You've got family. You've got
friends. You've got people you're connected with.
You've got relationships in that bucket. You've
got a bucket of responsibilities. Raise your
hand if you've got responsibilities, all right?
Yeah, all of you, right? You've got responsibilities
that are in a bucket. You've got to show up to
work or school or whatever it is that you're
doing in life. You've got your body in a bucket.
How many of you feel like your body's in a bucket
sometimes, right? It's your mind, your will,
and your emotions that are in a bucket. You've
got to manage that. And there's something else
in your bucket that's called money and possessions.
You've got a bucket that has money and possessions
in it, and God calls all of us to manage those
buckets that he gives to us. Some of our buckets
are fuller than others, right? Of different seasons.
How many know you get in a different season in
life, your money and possession bucket might
be a lot smaller than when you get older in life.
I know when we first got married, we lived in
an apartment. That was about four rooms. And
you could stand in the middle and touch all four
rooms. And we didn't have enough to fill that
up, right? We just didn't. But the longer you're
married and life has gone on, our buckets have
gotten fuller with things and with stuff. And
God cares. deeply cares about how we manage the
buckets. In particular, we're focusing on money
and possessions. He cares about your responsibilities.
He cares about your relationships. He cares about
how you handle your body, your mind, your soul,
right? Your will, your emotions, all of that.
But we're going to focus on money and possessions.
And you don't have to look very far in scripture
to find out that God has a lot to say when it
comes to money and possessions. Now, I don't
know, I didn't actually go back and count, but
how many know everything on the internet is true,
right? Come on. I looked it up on the internet.
I'm not gonna lie. All right, I looked it up.
And the word, you know, in the internet, they
say in the word of God that there's 2 ,350, at
least 2 ,350 scriptures that talk about money
and possessions. 16 of Jesus' 38 parables have
something to say about money and possessions.
So we cannot talk Jesus and not talk about money
and possessions and what he's put into our buckets.
We can't do it, right? We manage, we steward,
another word for managing, right? We manage,
we steward what Jesus has put in our buckets.
And we're either gonna do that in a holy manner
or we're gonna do it in an unholy manner. We're
gonna do it in a godly way or an ungodly way.
It's gonna be handled in a righteous manner or
an unrighteous manner. I have buckets and it's
gonna be holy buckets that I'm carrying around
or it's gonna be unholy buckets. It's true, right?
Turn to someone and tell them, we're going to
talk holy buckets today. Say it with attitude.
We're going to talk holy buckets today. All right?
We're going to do it. I'm going to pray before
we go into God's word. Father, thank you for
this day. Thank you for this time together. I
thank you, Lord, for your word, God, that is
quick and it is powerful. It is sharper than
a two -edged sword. I pray, God, that you speak
into our spirit. Show us what you have for us
to learn today. And, Lord, help us to apply it,
God, that we might bring increase into the kingdom.
And we just give you glory in Jesus' name, we
pray. Everybody say it together. Amen, amen.
Well, Pastor Adam was here last week and reminded
us of this about our buckets, right? It matters
how we manage our buckets and we will give an
account of how we steward these buckets. Our
money and possessions, we're gonna give an account.
Hebrews 9, 27 says this, and as it is appointed
for men to die once. but after this, the judgment.
He briefly mentioned this. As it is appointed
for men to die once, but after this, the judgment.
So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of
many. To those who eagerly await him, he will
appear a second time apart from sin for salvation.
There's gonna be a judgment. There's gonna be
a review of either our holy or our unholy buckets.
It's gonna be a bucket examination, okay? There's
going to be a review that Jesus is going to do
with each of those who follow him. And this particular
review, this judgment it's called in Scripture,
is not a condemnation or a type of judgment.
It's not a heaven or hell issue. This is actually
a review that God's going to do, a judgment that's
going to take place where he's going to take
a look at the works and the things that we've
done, and he's going to say, hey, I'm going to
determine your reward based on your judgment.
buckets. How'd you manage your buckets? Right?
Jesus saves us. That's a free gift. We've heard
that this morning. Heaven's our home. We're saved
by grace. God, in his infinite wisdom through
his son, Jesus Christ, gives us the opportunity
for salvation. It's a free gift. But what we
do and what we manage is going to determine the
reward in the next life. It's true. 1 Corinthians
3, 9 says this, Now, pay attention close here.
Now, if anyone builds on this foundation, With
gold, silver, precious stones. Now let me stop
there for a second. You're going to build something
on the foundation that God's given you. He saved
you. He's given you grace if you follow Jesus.
And now you have a foundation which you're going
to build on. And it's going to be right, either
gold, silver, precious stones, or it's going
to be wood, hay, and straw. Each one's work will
become clear for the day. Say the day. There's
a day. There's a day of judgment. We'll declare
it. because it will be revealed by fire, and
fire will test each one's work of what sort it
is. If anyone's work which he has built on it
endures, he will receive a reward. It's all through
scripture, reward, right? If anyone's work is
burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will
be saved, yet so as through fire. Hmm. The believer's
judgment. God's eternal review, I call it a bucket
review, right? It's not a heaven or hell type
of judgment. It's a determination of reward based
on how I managed what God put in my buckets.
And if I do not manage my buckets in God's way,
it's going to be hay, water, stubble. He's going
to test it by fire. And if I haven't managed
well, it's just going to kind of disappear. There's
not going to be any reward for it. Or if I've
done it his way and I've done it according to
what he says, it's going to be stone. It's going
to be precious metal. And how many know if you
put the fire in a precious metal, it gets even
more pure, right? It remains. It's a pure thing.
Did I manage what God gave me righteously or
unrighteously? Did I take the money and possessions
that he's given me and have I handled it in his
manner? Because our eternal reward is based on
how I manage the stuff he puts in my buckets.
I didn't say your salvation. I said reward. Amen?
Some of you are like, got deer in the headlight,
looks like you've never heard this before. I
can assure you it is all through scripture. It's
all through the New Testament. right? A lot of
Jesus followers don't believe this when I first
talk about this or I first preach about this,
right? They understand salvation. They understand
the kingdom of God, and they understand that
heavens are home because of the free gift of
God, salvation through Jesus Christ. But they
don't believe, and honestly, here's what they
believe. They believe that when we get into heaven
and we walk through heaven's doors, that all
of a sudden the reward's going to just be the
same for everybody, right? Because that's how
God does, except it's not in Scripture. Scripture
talks about a reward. It talks about those who
serve him. God's going to try those works. He's
going to find out what's in your bucket. He's
going to test it by fire. And if it is pure,
if there were righteous motives behind it, it's
going to remain and he's going to reward. It's
a reward thing. Turn to your neighbor right now.
Just declare and say, there's a reward involved.
Just tell them. It's a reward. It's a bucket
thing. It's a bucket thing. It's true. Revelation
22, 12 says this. Look, and this is Jesus' thought.
Look, I'm coming soon, bringing my reward with
me to repay all people according to their deeds.
I am the alpha, the omega, the first and the
last, the beginning and the end. Right? Our heavenly
reward is based on our deeds. How we handle our
money and possessions is one of those. And he
speaks this, Jesus talks this all through the
New Testament. I'm gonna take you to a parable
in Matthew chapter 25 this morning. You can start
turning there. We're gonna pick up at verse 14.
But this is one of those parables that Jesus
talks about money and possessions. He explains
what it works like in the kingdom of God. Matter
of fact, he even starts the parable off in that
manner, all right? It says this, Matthew 25,
14, y 'all there? Say amen. All right, you're
all there. You're all looking up at the screens,
aren't you? Yeah, you're not there. You're just
looking at the screens, all right? Matthew 25,
14 says this. And it says, again, the kingdom
of heaven can be illustrated by a story of a
man going on a long trip. He called together
his servants and entrusted his money to them
while he was gone. Now, let me stop right here
just for a moment and preach. Jesus starts with,
again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated.
He's saying, this is a picture of how it works
in the kingdom of God. This is a snapshot of
what it looks like in the kingdom, right? This
is how it rolls in my kingdom. This is what it
looks like where I rule and reign. He's saying,
don't be confused. Don't misunderstand. Don't
get off in some tangent. This is what it's like.
This is the plan, right? And Jesus says, he states
this, he says, there's a man going on a long
trip and he calls together his servants and entrusts
his money, his money to them. How many know there's
always a parallel in the parable, right? There's
always a parallel and there's always a parallel
in Jesus' parable. There's always something to
learn. And the man who's going on a long trip
in this, in this particular portion of scripture
is Jesus. He's talking to his disciples. He's
talking about himself. He's telling them, listen,
I'm about to leave. I'm not long and I'm going
to be gone. I'm going to be the right hand of
the father and I'm going to be gone for a long
period of time. Now I'm coming back, but I'm
going to be gone for a while. I'm going to the
father. And he says, before I go, I'm going to
call my servants together and I'm going to entrust
them with my money, his money. That's what the
word of God says. to them while he's gone. The
money and the possessions in our buckets are
not ours. They're his. What's in your hand is
not yours. It's his. Every dollar in my bucket
personally is not mine. It's his. I know I'm
the one. You're the one that went to work. You
know, you clocked in. You did your 40 hours.
You did your 50 hours. You did your 60 hours.
And they gave you a paycheck at the end of the
week or end of the month, whenever it was. But
he's the one who gave you breath to get up in
the morning. Amen? He's the one who gave you
energy in your legs to get you wherever you're
going or your arms, your brain, whatever you're
using it, wherever you work, right? He gave you
the intellect and the fortitude and the ability
to go and do whatever task he laid before you.
And he's the one who provides it all. You don't
take your next breath without his permission.
I don't know if you know that or not. but you
really don't. And I can't live and move and breathe
without him. And everything is his. I was reminded
this week, early this week, I got a little bit
sick. I was reminded how quick a germ can put
me down, right? Lay me flat on the couch. I'm
not going anywhere. I'm not doing nothing, right?
I'm just gonna lay here and die in peace. Come
on. A little dramatic when I get sick, all right?
You get reminded of how fragile you really are.
You know, how quick it can all change. And sometimes
that money and possessions in that bucket, we
think it's ours. And God says, uh -uh, it's mine.
The earth is the Lord's and everything therein,
right? And this is absolutely critical to understand.
For us to believe and understand how God manages
and wants us to manage our buckets, we cannot
even begin until we understand, and actually
not just understand, because how many know understanding
is just intellect, right? We gotta believe it.
Believe means this is how I live, this is how
I function, this is what I function out of, that
it is all his. I will never manage God's, the
bucket, what he's put in my buckets, I will never
manage it properly till I realize, understand,
and more importantly, believe that I am not the
owner of what is in my buckets. He is. He is,
right? Because if I see myself as the owner of
the buckle, I will handle things in a whole different
manner than Jesus prescribes. I really will.
Because our natural inclination is to hold on
to what is mine, right? I hang on to what is
mine. How many know somebody comes and tries
to grab your wallet or your purse? Would you
clutch onto that thing? That is mine, right?
Some of you sweet, meek people try to grab your
wallet, you'll beat them into the ground. Call
the police and cuff them yourself. Come on, right?
Justice must be served. You will hang on to whatever
is yours and you will give away generously what's
not yours. If it's yours, you'll grab ahold.
If you own that thing, you're hanging on to it.
You're defending it, right? To the death. When
my children were young, they're all adults now.
They got their own children, except for one of
them. When they were young, they loved to give
my stuff away. I don't know why, but they loved
to give my stuff away. One day, my middle daughter,
I caught her out in the yard. She's giving my
tools to the neighbor. And she's like, you can
have them. She's like, go ahead, take them, whatever
you need. Just give them away. She just gave
them away. She said, right? They used to invite
their friends over. They're teenage friends.
Those kids would come over. They would give my
food away with great liberality. They would clean
out the cupboards. Just give it up. They give
doggy bags. Here, you want to take some home
with you? How many know you give away what's
not yours? You do a little bit. I'll give your
stuff away, right? You'll give my stuff away.
You won't even blink. You'll be like, sure, take
as much as you want, right? But we hang on to
what we think we own. We'll clutch onto it. We'll
put the death grip on it. And we hold tight.
So we'll clamp down. We'll lock up, right? We'll
make sure it's secure and it's tucked away just
for me. So when I believe that everything in
my bucket, believe is the key word. When I believe
that everything in my bucket is his, I will be
cool with Jesus telling me, what to do with what's
in the bucket. Whether he tells me to keep it
in the bucket or he tells me to hand it off to
somebody else. I'll be cool with his instructions
to give now or give later or tell me how much
to give. I will be cool with Christ doing that
in my life if I realize it's not mine in the
first place. It's his. It's his. Everything in
the bucket belongs to the man who's on a long
journey. who's not here, who didn't return yet.
And that's the only position you can take if
you're going to manage money and possessions
God's way. Anything outside of that, you're going
to default to, it's mine. And it's going to get
corrupt in how you handle it. Amen? It's true.
Now let me read the whole rest of the parable.
I'm going to start back at the beginning. Again,
the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by a
man, the story of a man going on a long trip.
He called together his servants and entrusted
his money to them. And while he was gone, he
gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of
silver to another, and one bag of silver to the
last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities.
I can stop and preach there a while. I'm not
going to. And then he left on his trip. The servant
who received the five bags of silver began to
invest the money and earn five more. The servant
with two bags of silver also went to work and
earned two more. But the servant who received
one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and
hid his master's money. After a long time, say
a long time. After a long time, their master
returned from his trip and called them to give
an account. of how they used his money. This
is the judgment he's talking about. The servant
to him who he had entrusted the five bags of
silver came forward with five more and said,
master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest
and I've earned five more. The master was full
of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant.
You've been faithful in hailing a small amount.
So now I'm gonna give you more responsibilities.
Let's celebrate together. The servant who had
received the two bags of silver came forward
and said, Master, you gave me two bags of silver
to invest, and I've earned two more. The master
said, Well done, my good and faithful servant.
You've been faithful in handling this small amount,
so now I give you more responsibility. Let's
go celebrate together. Then the servant with
the one bag of silver came and said, Master,
I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops
you didn't plant and gather crops you didn't
cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money,
so I hid it in the earth. Look, here's your money
back. But the master replied, listen to his reply,
you wicked, lazy servant. If you knew I harvested
crops, I didn't plant and gather crops, I didn't
cultivate, why didn't you deposit my money in
the bank? At least it would have gotten some
interest on it. Then he ordered, take the money
from this servant and give it to the one that
has the 10 bags of silver. To those who use well
what they are given, even more will be given
and they will have an abundance. But from those
who do nothing, even what little they have will
be taken away. Now throw the useless servant
into outer darkness where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. This is how it works in
the kingdom of God. This is how it works with
the man who's on a long journey. God put his
money. and his possession into our buckets. And
he expects me to use those funds in a way that
are going to bring profit into the kingdom of
God, into his work. Not investing in the kingdom
of God is not optional for a follower of Jesus
Christ. It's not optional. It's not optional
in God's word. It didn't work. How many know
it did not work out well for the one that went
and hid the money? All right, I'm not gonna go
into all that. You can see it in scripture, right?
Unless you're really into being thrown out into
outer darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth. It
did not work out well for him, all right? If
I'm managing the buckets that God's given me
in the kingdom and including the money and possessions
that God gives me, then God expects me to use
it for kingdom profit, for increase in the kingdom.
He expects me to invest it so the kingdom increase
takes place. Now I gotta stop here and just explain
a little bit what profit is in the kingdom of
God. Because if you don't know, you're going
to think worldly like terms of money, right?
When we say profited in business, that's like,
oh, yeah, well, we made a billion dollars this
year. I don't know, right? Or they made a million
dollars this year, or they made $3 this year,
whatever that is. The profit above all their
expenses is the profit. But profit in the kingdom
of God, you've got to understand something in
the kingdom of God. God has it all. He owns the
world and everything that's in it, right? If
you can look in Revelation, you can take a look
at heaven, right? Streets of gold. The city's
built. Heaven's going to be built with pearl.
God's not too worried about money. Profiting
in the kingdom of God is people. People. That's
what profiting in the kingdom of God. People
coming into the kingdom of God. We use unrighteous
mammon, which is money, so that we get profit
in the kingdom of God. So we minister to people
and they come into the kingdom of God. I want
you to turn to a person right beside you right
now. Look at them. Don't say anything. Just stare
at them very awkwardly. Okay? Just stare at them
for a minute. Go ahead. Make it completely awkward,
all right? You're looking at profit in the kingdom
of God. People are profit in the kingdom of God.
God just uses money and possessions to bring
people into the kingdom. Jesus gave us money
and possessions, and he gives us a plan in his
word to do that. He does. It's in his word. Worship
team, if you'd come. Can I tell you for a fact,
Jesus has a money management plan. for his servants.
He has a money management plan for his servants.
Here's the beautiful thing with his plan. God's
plan for money will sustain me and it will grow
the kingdom of God at the same time. You notice
something in Jesus' parable that he told, right?
Because it's a parallel of what's happening on
and takes place in the kingdom of God. You notice
some things in the parable. Sometimes you got
to read between the lines. You got to really
see the story in scripture to fully understand
what it is, right? And if you look, let me tell
you what you do not see happen to the servants
here. In the parable, you don't see any of the
servants. who come back right after the master's
been gone for a long time none of them come back
and say master where have you been we're starving
to death you've been gone so long we've had no
food no provision You don't see anybody come
back, right, and say, we've been homeless. Nobody's
coming in before the master and the Lord and
saying, we're naked, right? We're homeless. None
of them are in dire need. As a matter of fact,
those who went and invested, they're healthy
and whole. And God's saying, you know, the master's
saying, let's celebrate. You've brought increase
into the kingdom. You're doing well. The kingdom's
doing well. They're following the master's plan
because God's plan for money, the money and possessions
he puts in the buckets that you have is to sustain
you, right? To bring blessing into your life,
to sustain your family. The word of God says
that those who don't take care of the family
is worse than an infidel. He gives us substance
to take care of our families. And then he says,
you use the rest to invest into the kingdom to
bring people into the kingdom of God. He's got
a plan. In the parable, the servants who were,
actually all three of the servants were sustained
the whole way through. God's got a plan. Jesus
has a money management plan. Invest in the kingdom.
You got to think kingdom when you're talking
about money. You can't think like the world,
right? Matthew 6 .31 says this, Therefore do
not worry, saying, and Jesus spoke this, What
shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what
shall we wear? For after these things the Gentiles
seek. For your heavenly Father knows you need
these things, right? But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
its own things. Sufficient for the day is its
own trouble. Everything in the bucket's his.
Just manage it in a righteous manner, in a godly
manner, in a holy manner, in a kingdom manner.
God will supply everything you need for your
family and for you. And simultaneously, if you
work God's plan, he will fund the kingdom of
God and the kingdom of God will grow. That's
how he works. That's how he does it. That's how
he rolls. Last week, Pastor Adam talked about
tithing. He preached about tithing and giving.
And here's what I know. And I've done this. Anytime
I've done a financial series, and I'm gonna do
it this morning again, right? And you're saying,
well, Pastor, it's Labor Day weekend. You're
doing it because there's not a lot of people
in the house. No, you can tell your friends too.
Tell those who've done it. I tell people, I've
done this every time I've done a financial series.
I tell people, you just try God's word out. Because
in Malachi, God says, if you try me in this,
if you follow what I speak about the tithing
and the offering, if you do this, if you walk
in obedience with this, you watch and see if
I don't open the windows of heaven and pour on
you blessings that you cannot contain. So I've
told churches over the years, I've been preaching
over 20 years now, anytime I've done a message,
I tell them, you just follow God's prescription
for money. and possession. You just follow his
plan. You walk in obedience to what he says about
tithing and giving. And if he doesn't hold up
his end of the bargain, if you do that here at
LifeHouse, and six months from now, God doesn't
come through with what he says he'll do, I'll
write you a check right back. Amen? Go, right?
But it's true. I can say that because God's never
failed. I could take you to story after story
after story where people began to walk in God's
plan for giving. And there's much, much more
to it. It's way more than just tithing and offering.
I know that's all you ever hear in church, right?
There's way more to it. But here's what I don't
understand. What will block you from following
God and his money management plan boils down
to just a couple things. And I'm closing with
this. If you believe you're the owner of the
possessions, you will not follow God's money
management plan. plant, if you don't believe
that he's the owner. And if you're discounting
scripture this morning and you're like, well,
that's what the Bible says, well, let me give
you a little just something you can look at in
real life, something physical. How many of you
have ever seen a hearse going down the road hauling
a corpse with a U -Haul hooked behind it? Anybody
ever see that? You know why? You can't take it
with you. You came in with nothing, you're going
out with nothing, right? It's his. It's his.
You're letting it here. You'll go out with your
soul. That's all. Right? So that'll keep you.
Two. One. Second is ignorance. Ignorance. If
you don't understand God's plan for money, and
it's in depth. If you don't understand God's
plan for finances and managing finances, you...
will not follow God's prescription. If you're
just gonna take what I say and what's been said
in a couple of messages and you don't understand
the full counsel of God out of scripture and
what it has to say, because God's word talks
about investing, it talks about saving, it talks
about all kinds of things that have to do with
finances in depth. If you don't understand the
plan, ignorance, you will not walk in God's plan
for finances, for money management. Now you say,
well, pastor, I don't know. I don't know where
to get that. Well, guess what? We made a plan
for all this. We're gonna have, we're offering
this on Wednesday nights, Financial Peace University.
Anybody ever hear that? It's through the Dave
Ramsey ministry. If you wanna learn and understand
about finances, you can sign up for a life group.
It is Financial Peace University. You can go
and we will teach you what God's word has to
say. You don't have to take my word for it. You
don't have to take any preacher's word for it.
We'll show you what the word of God has to say
about money and finances and what it means to
manage the buckets. Amen. So that's an action
step you can take right now. You can hop on the
Church Center app right while I'm talking. Just
go ahead. Don't get on Facebook, but you can
get on the Church Center app, right? And sign
up for that group right now. If you can't make
it to Wednesday night, let us know. We'll try
to figure something out and get you in in the
future or work something out somehow, some way.
Let me tell you what else will keep you from
doing money God's way. History. History. If you've
had a history of finances, being a wreck, a train
wreck in your life. Some people just reserve
themselves. I'll talk with people sometimes.
They just reserve themselves to, pastor, it's
been this way my entire life and it's just gonna
continue that way. Yes, it will unless you do
something, right? You've gotta do something.
You gotta learn something new. You gotta do something
new. You gotta find out what God has. I'm here
to tell you, you can turn around quick. It can
turn around. Now, not tomorrow quick, but it
can turn around. You can shift those things.
Last thing that'll block you from getting involved
in God's management plan is greed or materialism.
And this is a spiritual issue. If your identity
is wrapped up in what you own and what you have
and what you can attain, that's a sin issue.
And the only way that I know to break a sin issue
is to confess it before God and to repent. If
it's materialism. Four things can block you,
right? If you don't believe it's all his, if
you're ignorant to God's plan, if you're hung
up on your history or of greater materialism
is what's in your heart. I'm gonna ask you to
stand. I'm gonna ask you to do this. If you're
new with us, please, you don't need to do this.
If you don't feel comfortable, it's perfectly
fine. We're just gonna pray. But I ask you to
slip out of your seats and move towards the front.
I think this is something we pray together. This
is a family thing we're talking about here. And
I'm passionate about this. You can move that
table. We'll just pop that right up on this step
here to where we get a mile away. Just move up
as close as you can. I promise I won't spit on
anyone. All right. The prayer team's over here.
They're always ready to go and pray with people.
They may slide in behind you. They may lay hand
on you. Pray this morning. Four things. I'm gonna
go back over them again. Just move up closer
so everybody behind you can get in too. We want
everybody up as close as you can get. All right,
so here's what we're gonna do. I want you to
just, wherever you're at, just close your eyes
right now because I don't want you looking around
anybody. I want you focusing. What do you believe
about God's financial plan for your life? What
do you believe? Eyes closed just as you're looking.
Focusing on Him. What do you believe? You believe
it's all His in the bucket? Because if not, you've
got to deal with that. You've got to work that
out first. I can show you more in Scripture.
I don't have time to unfold it all this morning.
Are you ignorant of God's plan with your money
and possessions? Because ignorance will get you.
What you don't know will hurt you. Will hurt
you. Are you ignorant? Are you caught because
you've had a history of mess? In this area of
your life. You can be saved on your way to heaven
and have a complete mess in this part of your
life. It can be a struggle. Or are you dealing
with greed and materialism? Everything you are,
your identity is wrapped up in what you own,
what's in your bank account, what you can earn
in your career, whatever that is. This is time
for spiritual surgery this morning. I want you
just to recognize I'm just delaying. So you can
answer this for yourself because this is important.
You cannot launch forward in God's plan with
money and possessions until this is straight,
until this is right. Everything else will build
off of this. Father, we come before you today.
God, I know you are the keeper of life. God,
your spirit is the one who came this morning.
We felt your presence so strong in this place.
But we know that we must walk in your truth and
your word, Lord, if we are to go forward, Lord,
if we are to know, God, your presence, if we
are to know, God, your freedom, if we are to
know deliverance. God, if we're to know that
one day we will walk into your presence and we
will stand before you at a judgment, at a review,
but we will answer for the deeds that we've done.
And we'll either receive reward or we'll be burned
up like chaff. And God, it's not that we're after
the reward. Lord, we're after hearing, well done,
good and faithful servant. We want your favor.
And we want to see the kingdom increase. So Lord,
I pray for every person in this house. God, there's
people represented here that could be deep in
debt and they need freedom. They might be thinking,
Pastor, you don't understand. I'm drowning right
now. We want to help them, Lord, get above water.
God, your plan will help them get above water.
God, we want them to swim. We want them to know
what it is to walk in your freedom. You want
your people free. So, Lord, I pray for that couple,
that person, that individual. God, I pray, Lord,
for the one that's had the history. And, God,
the one maybe who's caught and they need to confess
and repent right now that it is materialism.
It is the things that's had me. I don't own this
stuff. The stuff owns me. So Lord, I pray, God,
that they would confess it and they would repent.
And God, they might just be like the rich guy
that you encountered. They may have to go sell
a bunch of that just to get it out of their presence.
I don't know, whatever you instruct them to do,
or it might be that they use it for the kingdom,
whatever it is, but Lord, shift their hearts.
And God, help us to stand before you whole and
right and holy, because you are a holy God. And
Lord, we don't want to miss a thing expanding
the kingdom of God. We don't want to miss a thing,
Lord, with what you're doing in the kingdom.
God, I ask for each person. I pray as they pray,
your spirit would overshadow them and fill them.
Give them vision and sight. And Lord, I ask this
in Jesus' name. Take this serious. God can do
great things in your life. He wants, and listen,
I don't know, maybe you're a one talent, right?
Maybe God gave you the one, maybe he gave you
the two, maybe he gave you the five. That's irrelevant.
Just take what God's given you in the bucket
and use it for the kingdom. All right, that's
how you hear well done. to this message from
Lifehouse Church. We pray that you were impacted
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