WEBVTT 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:07.000 We continue this sermon series, Stored Up, where 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.259 we're looking at the gospel treasures and how 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:13.039 does Jesus talk about money, because he does, 00:00:13.220 --> 00:00:15.259 as much as maybe we don't like to talk about 00:00:15.259 --> 00:00:17.219 it or it can become a real tense thing in the 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:20.460 church. Jesus talks about it a lot because wealth 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:24.179 looked different back then as it does in 2025. 00:00:26.190 --> 00:00:27.809 We talked a little bit about that two weeks ago 00:00:27.809 --> 00:00:30.329 and last week, but I want to start with a question. 00:00:31.690 --> 00:00:34.689 I remember when Carrie and I were kind of thinking 00:00:34.689 --> 00:00:37.469 we were ready to start having kids, one of the 00:00:37.469 --> 00:00:40.469 conversations we talked about is, will we do 00:00:40.469 --> 00:00:45.009 allowance? How many of you grew up getting, and 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.070 I was about to say making, no, getting an allowance? 00:00:48.170 --> 00:00:51.689 How many people were expected to do things and 00:00:51.689 --> 00:00:53.909 the money was just kind of there or it wasn't? 00:00:55.410 --> 00:00:57.929 Yep, okay. So what kind of things did you have 00:00:57.929 --> 00:01:02.750 to do for the allowance? Half of you rose your 00:01:02.750 --> 00:01:09.290 hands, so yeah. Wash the car, right? You did 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:11.310 a poor job. So Mike didn't make much, but okay, 00:01:11.390 --> 00:01:14.370 he had to wash a car. Carry out the garbage. 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:16.430 That's one the boys have to do, right? Like, 00:01:16.450 --> 00:01:19.049 you can walk. You're doing garbage now. Karen 00:01:19.049 --> 00:01:21.349 and I are not doing it, okay? They started that 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:27.939 young. Others? Mow the lawn. Do the dishes. Scrub 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:31.939 the toilet. All right. Wow. Yeah. Kind of like 00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:37.159 prison. Good job. Others. Feed the dog, right? 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.939 If the dog dies, that's on you, and you don't 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:44.560 get an allowance. Anyone else? What kind of things, 00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:46.519 if you were in more of the second school of thought, 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:48.140 you just kind of had to do it and the money was 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:49.620 going to be there? Kind of the same kind of things? 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:52.670 Or did those go a little deeper? Did you have 00:01:52.670 --> 00:01:54.489 to do other things? How many were babysitters? 00:01:54.950 --> 00:01:56.909 And, you know, babysit brothers and sisters. 00:01:56.989 --> 00:01:59.250 You got paid for that normally, right? All of 00:01:59.250 --> 00:02:01.510 those kind of things. But even at an early age. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:04.120 And this is something that, you know, Karen and 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:06.200 I came from two different school of thoughts, 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:09.580 right? I had a single mom where I was in like 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:11.680 third, fourth, and fifth grade. And so, you know, 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.360 we had to help around the house. And the allowance 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:16.479 would be there if we did that. We had chore charts, 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:18.919 all of those things. And I remember just, you 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:21.560 know, putting my Walkman on my hip and just blasting 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:24.099 Green Day while I was scrubbing the toilets poorly. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:27.650 But I still did it. Right? They were still usable. 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:30.270 And, you know, those kind of things were care 00:02:30.270 --> 00:02:33.150 had more of. There were just expectations of 00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:35.909 the house that you did. The house needs to function. 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:38.669 And you have a part in that. And then if you 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:40.949 needed stuff, then it would be there. Right? 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:43.050 Wants, needs, all those kind of things. But just 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:47.689 at a young age, how early did you start allowances? 00:02:48.310 --> 00:02:51.250 Think about it. What age were you when that started 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:55.740 in your household? Just shout it out. Some of 00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:59.419 you have to go way back. I get it. Anybody? How 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:02.919 old were you when allowance and chores were expected? 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:09.599 In the back. Five. You were five years old. Wow. 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:16.439 Okay. Others? Last year. Okay. That's from a 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:19.919 seventh grader. So sixth grade. Okay. Eight? 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:23.460 Yeah. So, I mean. It's not like, hey, you got 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:26.159 your first tooth, go vacuum, right? It wasn't 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:29.620 that. But at a very young age, we are taught, 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:34.569 work for what you will get. Right? Work for the 00:03:34.569 --> 00:03:37.490 money and then you will be able to do things. 00:03:37.789 --> 00:03:39.710 And again, not a bad thing. There's a stewardship 00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:42.370 in that. Right? And I don't know about you, but 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:44.969 we grew up with a bank where it had like little 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:47.469 slots. So if we got $5, I'm going to butcher 00:03:47.469 --> 00:03:50.129 this math, but you understand. Right? 10 % would 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:52.210 go in this little column. I think it was like 00:03:52.210 --> 00:03:55.409 60 or 70 % would go in savings and then whatever 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:58.490 you have left. It also then grew me, my understanding 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:01.810 of taxes and how that felt. Especially when you 00:04:01.810 --> 00:04:02.979 got into the work world and you're like, Like, 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:05.460 who's FICA? Why is he getting all my money? And 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:09.199 all of those kind of things. But at a very young 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.599 age, we're taught that money makes a difference. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:14.520 And then you get to things like high school or 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:17.540 maybe college. How many of you have ever taken 00:04:17.540 --> 00:04:20.480 a basic economics class? Maybe you had to do 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:23.060 it in high school or college or grad school. 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:27.279 But there's the law of scarcity. Does anyone 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:32.850 know what the law of scarcity is? I'll put lunch 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:37.149 on this. It's something like supply and demand. 00:04:37.350 --> 00:04:39.029 Okay, you don't get the food. We're not even 00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:45.470 in the parking lot. Value increases as it becomes 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:48.050 less available. We've ordered, but they've not 00:04:48.050 --> 00:04:50.569 brought the food yet. Say it in a different way. 00:04:55.949 --> 00:04:57.829 You just said basically the same thing, but that 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:01.149 works. I like it. There's only so much to go 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:03.790 around. You just said it in a far more intelligent 00:05:03.790 --> 00:05:06.230 way than I can up here, so I appreciate that, 00:05:06.269 --> 00:05:08.230 but you come to expect that, all of you. But 00:05:08.230 --> 00:05:10.990 that's the economy of the world. There is only 00:05:10.990 --> 00:05:15.040 so much to go around. But Jesus, and what we're 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.060 going to see in the Gospel of Mark, which, again, 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:19.540 selfishly is my favorite gospel because it's 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:22.420 kind of the Reader's Digest version of the Gospels, 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:25.459 but I like what he brings into the narrative. 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:29.360 Jesus operates with a completely different model. 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:33.199 In Jesus' kingdom, what his teaching of his kingdom 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:37.259 values are, money is a part of kingdom values. 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:41.040 Don't ever get that twisted. finances and what 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:43.240 we do with them and what they mean to us and 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:45.620 how dear we hold on to them, right, is kingdom 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:49.480 value conversation. In his kingdom, what you 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:54.420 give away is never truly lost. In fact, Jesus 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:57.959 says, the more you release, the more you will 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:02.459 receive. But about half of us just went to, well, 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.699 that's not true, because you're looking at money 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:07.980 differently than Jesus did. The more you release, 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:10.949 the more you receive, Not always in your bank 00:06:10.949 --> 00:06:16.550 balance, but in joy, in freedom, in relationships, 00:06:16.649 --> 00:06:20.990 and ultimately the eternal reward. Our passage 00:06:20.990 --> 00:06:23.149 today, what we're going to read, just a simple 00:06:23.149 --> 00:06:26.790 couple of verses in the Gospel of Mark. In this 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:31.009 text, we're going to follow, it kind of comes 00:06:31.009 --> 00:06:33.009 right off the rich young ruler. Remember that 00:06:33.009 --> 00:06:35.230 story, the one who walked away from Jesus sorrowful? 00:06:35.350 --> 00:06:38.790 And we talked about that. That man walked away 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:41.189 from Jesus because his wealth felt too heavy 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:44.449 to let go. But Jesus now turns to his disciples 00:06:44.449 --> 00:06:48.529 and explains just how upside down his kingdom 00:06:48.529 --> 00:06:50.430 is compared to even the kingdom of that time. 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:54.569 Even more so, in my opinion, in 2025. And what 00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:57.470 his kingdom economics really are. So let's dive 00:06:57.470 --> 00:07:00.589 in. We're going to be in Mark 10, verse 23 through 00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:06.100 27 to start. The difficulty of the rich. We had 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:09.100 a very similar heading last week when we were 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:11.019 talking about the rich man. So the difficulty 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:13.300 of the rich. So let's dive in, starting with 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:16.160 verse 23. And Jesus looked around and said to 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.319 his disciples, how difficult it will be for those 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.139 who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:25.550 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:28.149 Jesus said to them, children, how difficult it 00:07:28.149 --> 00:07:30.589 is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier 00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:32.689 for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 00:07:32.689 --> 00:07:35.329 than a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 00:07:36.050 --> 00:07:38.709 And they were exceedingly astonished and said 00:07:38.709 --> 00:07:42.649 to him, then who can be saved? Jesus looked at 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:45.850 them and said, with man it is impossible, but 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:49.470 with God, for all things are possible. But not 00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:52.670 with God, for all things are possible with God. 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:59.279 Jesus looks around. After the rich young man 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.160 goes away, sorrowful, right? He looks around 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:05.620 and says, how difficult will it be for those 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:07.360 who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:11.000 And they are amazed. He repeats himself for emphasis. 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:15.199 Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:21.399 of God. A little Bible 101. When Jesus repeats 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:23.839 himself, you should underline it in your Bible. 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:26.040 When Jesus repeats himself, you should highlight 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:29.699 it in your Bible because the repetition is driving 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:34.080 home his point. The Greek difficult, daskolios, 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:39.659 does not mean inconvenient. So it's not how inconvenient 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.600 it's going to be because that puts the ownership 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.610 on the person. That's not what Jesus is saying. 00:08:45.730 --> 00:08:49.129 But what the Greek is saying is how obstructed, 00:08:49.129 --> 00:08:53.809 how hard to navigate, like a roadblock with barriers 00:08:53.809 --> 00:08:57.190 it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:01.980 So read it again a different way. How obstructed 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:04.240 will it be for those who have wealth to enter 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.279 the kingdom of God? How hard to navigate will 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.059 it be for those who have wealth to enter the 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:12.159 kingdom of God? How roadblocked will it be for 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:16.539 the rich to enter the kingdom of God? I don't 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:18.500 know about you, but that changes the verse for 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:23.840 me. Obstructed, hard to navigate, roadblocked. 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:27.279 And then he doubles down with the camel passage, 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:29.820 right? It is easier for a camel to go through 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:31.860 the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:33.960 the kingdom of God. We addressed the hyperbole 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:38.100 last week. Not about the special gate in Jerusalem. 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:41.600 It's a deliberate picture of impossibility. Though 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.600 they would have gone there in their mind. Or 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.840 maybe some of you are going to animal, little 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.940 pin, eye of a needle, of a sewing needle. What 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:52.980 Jesus is talking about is impossibility. It is 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:56.580 impossible for someone clinging to their wealth. 00:09:57.259 --> 00:10:03.000 To enter the kingdom of God. You can't cram self 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.059 -reliance, greed, or idolatry through the narrow 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:08.399 way of God's kingdom. Let me say that again. 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:12.600 You cannot cram self -reliance, greed, or idolatry 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.980 through the narrow way of God's kingdom. Well, 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:20.340 pastor, how dare you? How dare you tell me that 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:24.200 I am self -reliant, greedy, and idolatrous when 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.909 it comes to my wealth? And to that I say, I never 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:33.850 did. Jesus does. And again, it's not a sin to 00:10:33.850 --> 00:10:37.809 be wealthy. For those that have done it and done 00:10:37.809 --> 00:10:41.830 it the right way, for those that are benevolent 00:10:41.830 --> 00:10:44.370 in their wealth, that understand that their wealth 00:10:44.370 --> 00:10:47.970 is not who they are, that is a healthy understanding 00:10:47.970 --> 00:10:51.289 of wealth. And how do you know that? It's for 00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:55.190 all of us that are not. Because the same temptation 00:10:55.190 --> 00:10:58.669 holds true. Woe to me, look how poor I am. Look 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.129 how I don't have enough. And that can become 00:11:01.129 --> 00:11:05.210 an identity as well. And both can lead you into 00:11:05.210 --> 00:11:07.269 idolatry understandings of your relationship 00:11:07.269 --> 00:11:12.649 with Jesus. You cannot cram self -reliance, greed, 00:11:12.769 --> 00:11:14.610 and idolatry through the narrow way of God's 00:11:14.610 --> 00:11:17.950 kingdom. The disciples, stunned, asked, well 00:11:17.950 --> 00:11:21.389 then who can be saved? I think that's a fascinating 00:11:21.389 --> 00:11:23.830 question by the disciples. Because these disciples, 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:26.649 all but maybe one or two, They weren't wealthy. 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:30.049 They were kind of middle class, blue collar workers. 00:11:30.950 --> 00:11:35.590 Tax collector aside. But understand that they 00:11:35.590 --> 00:11:38.529 ask who can be saved because Jesus needs them 00:11:38.529 --> 00:11:42.389 to get to the heart of his message. And the kingdom 00:11:42.389 --> 00:11:44.429 economics is brought into their heart with one 00:11:44.429 --> 00:11:48.629 line. With man it is impossible, but not with 00:11:48.629 --> 00:11:53.450 God. For all things are possible with God. So 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:58.330 what is Jesus actually saying there? In of ourselves, 00:11:58.610 --> 00:12:04.909 we cannot identify without Jesus. For those of 00:12:04.909 --> 00:12:08.129 us that are believers, our identity in Christ 00:12:08.129 --> 00:12:11.950 comes first and foremost. I say that even about 00:12:11.950 --> 00:12:14.149 our church. When I meet new people and they ask 00:12:14.149 --> 00:12:16.610 like, oh, what church are you a part of? First 00:12:16.610 --> 00:12:19.090 and foremost, I say, we believe in the gospel 00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:22.360 of Christ. We are born again believers. Right? 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.379 That's easier to say that we are regenerated 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:26.399 believers, because that's a whole other conversation. 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:29.799 And in the right context, I'll use that. But 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:31.659 we are a part of the Christian Reformed Church 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:35.100 denomination. But we are Jesus followers first. 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.539 Why do I feel I can answer that? Some might be 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:40.860 like, why are you not putting the brand first? 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:42.519 Because the brand in the kingdom doesn't matter. 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:46.759 Because when you all get up to glory, When your 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:49.279 table is set, your room done, and you're standing 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:53.419 before the judgment, your judgment, what is God 00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:57.200 going to see? He's going to see the denominational 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.019 building that we just sold a couple years ago 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:03.000 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No, he is going to 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.200 see our book of church order. No, he's going 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:09.379 to see Heidelberg Catechism. No, he's going to 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:12.519 see Jesus. So first and foremost, we need to 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.879 be followers of Jesus. And what he's telling 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:20.740 his disciples is for man alone to identify is 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:24.179 impossible. With God, all things are possible. 00:13:24.259 --> 00:13:27.059 That Jesus is the one that is going to be defining 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:30.460 you. Peter, right? Peter's statement in classic 00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:33.399 Peter fashion, right? Mr. Open mouth, insert 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:37.340 foot, I know I identify, blurts out. See, we 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:40.919 have left everything to follow you. Let's jump 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:46.559 into verse 28. Verse 28, Peter began to say to 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.179 him, see, we have left everything and followed 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:51.960 you. Jesus said, truly I say to you, there is 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:55.519 no one who has left house or brothers or sisters 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:58.820 or mother or father or children or land for my 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:02.559 sake and for the gospel who will not receive 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.919 a hundredfold now in this time. Houses and brothers 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.919 and mothers and children and lands with persecutions 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:15.899 and in the age to come eternal. Life. Classic 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:21.320 Peter. See, we've done all this. It's almost 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:24.720 like he's fishing for reassurance. And who is 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.639 he trying to fish against? We're following you. 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:31.659 We're doing the things. He's trying to juxtapose 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:34.879 himself to the rich guy. We're not like him. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:38.019 We're not like him. We do this. We do this. I 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:41.759 literally just described all of us. We do that. 00:14:42.909 --> 00:14:45.490 using other words and in other ways with other 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:49.710 motivations, we always like to compare our religion, 00:14:49.789 --> 00:14:52.090 our relationship with Jesus against somebody 00:14:52.090 --> 00:14:56.230 else's. And it can be, we think in grand kind 00:14:56.230 --> 00:14:59.409 of puffy chest ways. Like, look what they wear 00:14:59.409 --> 00:15:02.269 to church. I've never worn anything like that. 00:15:02.669 --> 00:15:05.830 Or, wow, they do sports on the weekends. We've 00:15:05.830 --> 00:15:09.490 never done anything like that. We do it all the 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:12.480 time. And we believe that churches are made up 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.820 of this judgmental caste system. And guess what? 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:17.259 That's what the world sees, friends. And that's 00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:20.539 not a good thing. That what a church is, as I 00:15:20.539 --> 00:15:23.240 prayed, a hospital for the sick, lighthouse for 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.259 wayward ships. If we believe that prayer, how 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:29.360 many of you believe that prayer? Guess what you 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:34.179 just called yourself? Sick and wayward. You're 00:15:34.179 --> 00:15:37.799 in good company because we all are. Yet the disciples. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.820 They're all, especially Peter, right? James and 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:44.200 John, they always try to kind of nuzzle up against 00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:46.039 Jesus because they think they'll get some kind 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.500 of apostolic brownie points. But that never works 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.039 out for Peter. How do we know? Because at the 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:54.799 end, he denies him three times and gets disowned 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:58.519 and has to be restored. But Jesus doesn't scold 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:02.159 Peter for this. Instead, he affirms and expands 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:07.179 on the promise. Have you ever been asking something 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:10.039 for Jesus? from Jesus in your life, whether it's 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:13.279 finances or relationship or comfort or peace. 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:16.759 And not only does Jesus or God grant it, he gives 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:19.600 you just that little extra. It happens a lot 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:22.820 in my life. And what does it do? It causes me 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:25.320 to praise him and feel about this big that I 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:28.559 doubted he could do it in the beginning. There 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.480 is no one. who has left house or brothers or 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:33.960 sisters or mother or father or children or land 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.279 for my sake and for the gospel, who will not 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.740 receive a hundredfold now in this time and in 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:44.019 the age to come eternal life. So Jesus uses a 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:46.580 weird word. He uses this word a hundredfold, 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:48.899 and some people may look at that and go, whoa, 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.940 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That seems like prosperity 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:53.779 gospel. That seems like if I do all these things, 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:59.070 I'm going to get a hundredfold of... You're already 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:01.570 thinking it. Prosperity gospel says, if I do 00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:05.890 the things, then I'm going to get the... Okay, 00:17:05.950 --> 00:17:09.390 go deeper than reward. Money. That if I give, 00:17:09.430 --> 00:17:11.089 a hundredfold it's going to come back to me. 00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:15.670 In money. Jesus doesn't promise that. That is 00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:19.150 not what a hundredfold means. Jesus is not introducing 00:17:19.150 --> 00:17:23.170 prosperity gospel. He's speaking not about funds. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.619 He's speaking of relational, communal, and spiritual 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:32.599 abundance. How do we know? Because, friends, 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:34.160 you've heard it before. I've said it, I think, 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.500 each sermon so far. When it comes to money, we 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.779 can't take it with us. Why in the world would 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:44.880 Jesus promise us a hundredfold dollars if we're 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:48.400 going to be called home tomorrow? If you're in 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:50.960 glory tomorrow for whatever reason, guess what 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.230 you're not bringing with you? Any of the stuff 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:58.329 here. So Jesus isn't talking about the money. 00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:01.450 He's talking about relational, communal, and 00:18:01.450 --> 00:18:04.890 spiritual abundance that comes of being part 00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:09.009 of the kingdom of God. Yes, there's joy in giving, 00:18:09.170 --> 00:18:12.589 but there are also new families, new purposes, 00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:16.750 new ministries, internal securities that far 00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:20.069 outweigh the temporary loss of giving it up. 00:18:21.130 --> 00:18:24.150 And for some of us, We look at, a little rabbit 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:27.369 trail, we look at fasting that way. I just talked 00:18:27.369 --> 00:18:29.609 with someone who's fasting about kind of getting 00:18:29.609 --> 00:18:32.349 ready to go on mission for eight months, doing 00:18:32.349 --> 00:18:36.109 a very unique ministry in Western Africa. And 00:18:36.109 --> 00:18:38.450 he's doing a fast for a very specific reason. 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:40.609 And I asked, what are you looking to get out 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:44.809 of this fast? And he goes, well, at first it 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:46.910 was because I need, I think he needs like $9 00:18:46.910 --> 00:18:49.869 ,000 to do the mission. He goes, at first I thought 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:51.750 I was fasting so then that money would come in. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.920 And he goes, within a couple days, I knew that 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.180 wasn't the case. It was having a deeper understanding 00:18:57.180 --> 00:18:59.900 and love for the word of God because that's what 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:01.380 he's going to bring to the people of Western 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:04.140 Africa. He's not going to go and hand out checks, 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.220 right? He's not Ed McMahon. Hey -oh! How many 00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:10.880 people get that reference? How many people don't? 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:15.660 You're all under 40. And so understand that he's 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:20.009 bringing the word of God. That's what he wanted 00:19:20.009 --> 00:19:22.829 to, he wanted to fast so he could cling to that. 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:26.470 And he goes, I just trust that the funds are 00:19:26.470 --> 00:19:30.089 going to be there. Friend, that's kingdom economics. 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:34.109 That's exactly what Jesus is talking about. That 00:19:34.109 --> 00:19:38.450 when we lose or we give or whatever, we can't 00:19:38.450 --> 00:19:40.630 worry about that. We have to trust that when 00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:43.130 we're giving, when we donate, when we tithe, 00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:45.069 when we do all these things, time, talents, and 00:19:45.069 --> 00:19:48.720 treasures, God's going to use that. And we can 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:50.980 bank on it because his word says, Jesus says 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:54.579 he will. What's interesting is that now in this 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:57.500 time reference that Jesus has, refers to the 00:19:57.500 --> 00:20:00.420 community of believers. It's not the individual 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:03.440 wants, but what the needs of the community are. 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:07.740 What the church is meant to be. If you lose a 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:10.700 family because of your faith, you gain the global 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:13.819 family of Christ. You ever thought about that? 00:20:14.420 --> 00:20:17.230 Maybe that's part of your story. that you've 00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:19.869 become a believer and maybe your family is not, 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:22.910 and all of a sudden those relationships become 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:26.670 choppy. Maybe since you've maybe been baptized 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:28.430 or joined a church or whatever, some of your 00:20:28.430 --> 00:20:31.069 family are shooting arrows at you because of 00:20:31.069 --> 00:20:32.750 it, for whatever reason. My guess is because 00:20:32.750 --> 00:20:34.670 they were hurt by church at one point in their 00:20:34.670 --> 00:20:37.509 life. But what Jesus is saying is that's going 00:20:37.509 --> 00:20:39.990 to happen. That persecution is going to come, 00:20:40.069 --> 00:20:44.599 but you will gain so much more. If you give up 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:47.180 your land or your security for the sake of the 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:50.180 gospel, you will find yourself rich in the fellowship 00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:55.299 and provision of God's people. You see where 00:20:55.299 --> 00:20:57.079 the economics of the kingdom are now looking 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:00.180 really different? And friend, you know how comfortable 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:03.059 it is to preach this, knowing that in probably 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:05.200 a month and a half, two months, we're going to 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:08.400 vote on a building project? Yeah, it feels good 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.859 to be up here talking about this. Because would 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:13.819 I love to see it happen? Sure. And do I think 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.799 God could use that? Absolutely. And could I totally 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.099 go, see, Jesus wants you to give to the building 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.779 project. That would be a total misread of the 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:24.819 scripture. That's called eisegeting, and preachers 00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:28.019 should never do it. Hopefully I don't. But what 00:21:28.019 --> 00:21:30.420 I do have to bring you is what Jesus is reminding 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:34.480 us of when we give, it will be returned to us, 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:38.119 just not dollar for dollar, but life for life, 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.980 relationship for relationship, gospel for gospel. 00:21:42.650 --> 00:21:49.509 That is kingdom economics. In the age to come, 00:21:49.509 --> 00:21:53.950 eternal life, the only return on investment is 00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:59.329 something massive. It's eternal. Think about 00:21:59.329 --> 00:22:02.650 that. When you invest in the kingdom of God, 00:22:02.789 --> 00:22:07.589 you are investing in something eternal. I know 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:12.670 this much about the stock market. Right? That 00:22:12.670 --> 00:22:15.349 much. But I know that when you give, you want 00:22:15.349 --> 00:22:17.109 to give to things that you're going to make money 00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:19.349 back. Right? I think I understand some of that. 00:22:19.529 --> 00:22:23.170 Right? We have that mindset. How do I know? Because 00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:25.990 when I was in third grade and my chore was to 00:22:25.990 --> 00:22:29.210 do the laundry, I knew that I had to do it in 00:22:29.210 --> 00:22:33.509 order to get my $6 or whatever it was. From a 00:22:33.509 --> 00:22:36.789 very young age, we are taught to give or do or 00:22:36.789 --> 00:22:41.759 work to get. You all work in your jobs. And in 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.779 some ways, pastors do too, right? To make a living. 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:48.319 And that's not a bad thing. There's stewardship 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:50.240 in that. There's hard work in that. Colossians 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.119 says, whatever you do, whatever you do in life, 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:54.900 do for the glory of God. And we can do that. 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:58.019 It's when we become misers. It's when we want 00:22:58.019 --> 00:23:00.779 to hoard. It's when we want to sit on our wealth. 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:03.920 Because we think our wealth defines us, that 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.319 we lose the kingdom understanding of finances, 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:12.099 of time, of talents and treasures. I love how 00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.819 Jesus kind of throws in there. Did you all catch 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:18.799 that? The word persecution? The inclusion of 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:22.140 persecutions. Jesus includes with persecutions 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:24.940 in the list. Because when you give and the kingdom 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:28.259 of God grows, when you invest and the investment 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:31.460 is found true, just like we prayed in the prayer 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:34.180 today, someone hates that, and that's Satan. 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:37.380 That's the darkness of the world. Kingdom economics 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:40.299 doesn't promise a trouble -free life. That's 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:44.000 a different level of prosperity gospel. Isn't 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.200 it funny? Even prosperity preachers don't even 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:50.740 go down that road because you can't. Kingdom 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.160 economics doesn't promise a trouble -free life. 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:57.500 It promises a full life. Sacrifice for Christ 00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:00.400 will be met with both joy and opposition, with 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:05.380 both blessing and cost. Would I love it? If our 00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:07.900 general contractor and all the subs would understand 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:09.400 what we're trying to do and go, you know what, 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:11.299 we're just going to donate everything for free. 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:15.880 That would be on par with Loaves and Fish Miracle 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.599 and Jim Lasaudus' lasagna. I mean, that would 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.619 be on par with all of that. How many people think 00:24:21.619 --> 00:24:25.000 that's going to happen? Exactly. That sometimes 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:27.640 it's going to cost. There's blessing. There's 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.460 cost. But there's also something else when it 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:33.460 comes to the persecutions of life. And it's something 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:36.500 we all need and none of us can pay for it. I 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:39.019 don't care how wealthy you are. And that's grace. 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:43.480 That the kingdom lends, right? Kingdom economics 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:47.319 can be kind of said in one phrase, grace over 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:50.359 scarcity. The kingdom doesn't run on scarcity. 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:53.759 The kingdom runs on grace. And we all should 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.240 give a hearty amen because I don't care how much 00:24:57.240 --> 00:25:00.779 money you have, you can't buy it. What does that 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:03.640 mean? Thank you. What does that mean? It means 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:08.079 three things. You can't out -give God. Your obedience 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:12.259 is never wasted, and the ultimate reward is not 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:17.519 here, but it's in the age to come. The Belgian 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:20.019 Confession, Article 24, reminds us that good 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:23.579 works flow from a true faith, and that God rewards 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:27.039 that. Not because they earn salvation, but because 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:31.920 he graciously crowns his own gifts. And that's 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.819 what you and I are. This passage reinforces that 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:40.759 salvation is God's work from start to finish. 00:25:41.019 --> 00:25:46.160 The impossible is made possible by his grace 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:50.220 alone. And every act of surrender is caught up 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:53.900 into that greater plan. When we surrender our 00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:56.400 finances, right? And that doesn't mean that you're 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.450 just living on zero. But when you surrender the 00:25:59.450 --> 00:26:02.529 temptation to have your finances define you and 00:26:02.529 --> 00:26:03.990 go, God, what do you want me to do with this? 00:26:05.250 --> 00:26:07.809 You have blessed me, so let me bless others. 00:26:08.089 --> 00:26:10.009 And maybe you haven't been blessed financially. 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:12.230 You still need to have the same mindset. Where 00:26:12.230 --> 00:26:15.150 can I give? What can I do with this? How can 00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:18.690 I be good stewards? That's all part of kingdom 00:26:18.690 --> 00:26:21.670 economics. It's all part of his grace. So how 00:26:21.670 --> 00:26:24.730 do we live this way? I forgot to make a slide, 00:26:24.890 --> 00:26:29.910 so I'll go slow. How do we live by kingdom economics 00:26:29.910 --> 00:26:37.630 today, 2025? Hold your possessions loosely. If 00:26:37.630 --> 00:26:40.349 it's God's, you can't lose it. If it's not God's, 00:26:40.349 --> 00:26:43.230 you can't keep it. Let me say that again. If 00:26:43.230 --> 00:26:45.730 it's God's, you can't lose it. If it's not God's, 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:49.029 you can't keep it. I've used this analogy before. 00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:51.049 Dave Sanders, one of my professors and mentors 00:26:51.049 --> 00:26:54.190 of life, was a military helicopter pilot. And 00:26:54.190 --> 00:26:57.200 he always gave this teaching. That a lot of times 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:59.579 people think when a helicopter is going kind 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:01.680 of crazy, you have to hold on to it really, really, 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:03.819 really, really tight. And he goes, that is the 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:06.839 worst way to pilot a helicopter. You have to 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:09.900 let the helicopter do its job. You can't over 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:14.500 grip. So hold your possessions loosely too. Trust 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:19.259 God's abundance. Scarcity thinking keeps us tight 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:22.700 fisted. Grace thinking brings us to open hands. 00:27:23.529 --> 00:27:28.849 Third, invest in eternal dividends. Time, relationships, 00:27:29.210 --> 00:27:32.269 acts of service, generosity toward mission, these 00:27:32.269 --> 00:27:39.490 all have eternal rewards. Four, expect both blessing 00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:43.549 and opposition. Why? Friends, Jesus promised 00:27:43.549 --> 00:27:46.630 both. Don't be surprised when generosity brings 00:27:46.630 --> 00:27:54.220 joy and costs. And fifth, rejoice. in the family 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:58.779 of God. Your greatest wealth is being a part 00:27:58.779 --> 00:28:03.259 of a body of Christ. And on a personal note, 00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:06.759 I am honored that you choose this church. You 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.740 don't have to, right? There are many other, just 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:11.799 going on Ridge Road, there are many other wonderful 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:14.960 churches. But for whatever reason, you want to 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.890 be a part of this family of faith. If we all, 00:28:19.049 --> 00:28:22.589 if this church can live by kingdom economics, 00:28:22.670 --> 00:28:26.289 we can have that grace and we can rejoice. Why? 00:28:26.950 --> 00:28:30.750 Because we have Christ, the true treasure and 00:28:30.750 --> 00:28:33.049 the greatest return. And I'll land the plane 00:28:33.049 --> 00:28:37.730 here. Jesus himself is the embodiment of kingdom 00:28:37.730 --> 00:28:41.549 economics. He left heaven's glory for earthly 00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:45.769 poverty. He surrendered all so we could inherit. 00:28:46.410 --> 00:28:50.789 inherit eternal life. He gave his life so we 00:28:50.789 --> 00:28:56.049 could gain eternal life. If he is our treasure, 00:28:56.230 --> 00:29:00.970 Munster Church, no loss is too great, no gift 00:29:00.970 --> 00:29:06.349 too costly, and no sacrifice too heavy. Go back 00:29:06.349 --> 00:29:09.069 last week. The rich young ruler couldn't imagine 00:29:09.069 --> 00:29:12.390 life without his wealth. The disciples left everything, 00:29:12.509 --> 00:29:17.119 yet found everything. The difference is kingdom 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:19.700 economics. Seeing the world through the lens 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:23.880 of scarcity or through the eyes of the abundance 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:28.240 of God's grace. So my final question before I 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:33.259 pray. Will you cling to what you can't keep or 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:37.740 invest in what you can never lose? Let's pray.