1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,440 Hello and welcome to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,600 Here at Trinity Church, Streetsville, we want to share with you biblically based messages 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:17,280 that not only teach, but also inspire you in your faith journey as we learn together 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:21,360 to love Jesus, live like Jesus, and lead other people to Jesus. 5 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:26,680 Today we are continuing our sermon series, What Makes Us Happy, and Rob Hirkmans will 6 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:33,120 be exploring the age-old question about the connection between money and happiness. 7 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,680 And before we begin, we'd like to invite you to follow our podcast. 8 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,320 Check us out on social media and visit our website at trinitiestreetsville.org. 9 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,600 Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy. 10 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:53,760 God bless. 11 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,280 Good morning Trinity. 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:03,640 Our reading this morning is from the book of Luke, chapter 16, beginning at the 10th 13 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:05,000 verse. 14 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:11,900 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much. 15 00:01:11,900 --> 00:01:19,200 And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 16 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:25,920 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true 17 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,320 riches? 18 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:33,360 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you 19 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,280 property of your own? 20 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,800 No one can serve two masters. 21 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:46,560 Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and 22 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,040 despise the other. 23 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,380 You cannot serve both God and money. 24 00:01:53,380 --> 00:01:56,520 This is the word of the Lord. 25 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:57,520 Well good morning everyone. 26 00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:58,880 And yes, it's true. 27 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,480 Today we are going to be talking a little bit about money. 28 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,420 I mean, we're doing this whole teaching series on what makes us happy. 29 00:02:07,420 --> 00:02:09,040 And so you probably knew it was coming. 30 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,400 You knew there was going to be a sermon that had to do with money. 31 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,900 But I thought before we got into it, I would tell you, you know what really makes me happy 32 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:19,000 when I think about money and happiness? 33 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,560 And that is just how generous the people of Trinity's streetsville are. 34 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,280 I was thinking back to last Christmas when we did this big Christmas push, this big Christmas 35 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:28,360 appeal. 36 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:34,800 You guys raised like over $25,000 during that month to give away to people in need in our 37 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:36,360 community and in our world. 38 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,040 That makes me really, really happy. 39 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:44,440 And then in the spring when we partnered with World Vision to help kids down in Nueva Frontera, 40 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:50,560 in Honduras, again, something like 70 of you, 70 families here in Trinity stepped up and 41 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,680 became sponsors for these children. 42 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:54,480 That was a big financial commitment. 43 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,240 That just makes me happy. 44 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:01,440 Not to mention the way that you guys continue to support Trinity as a church week in and 45 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:02,440 week out. 46 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:03,440 I just want to say thank you. 47 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,080 Thank you for your generosity. 48 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:06,220 Thank you for the way you give. 49 00:03:06,220 --> 00:03:13,280 That truly is something that makes me happy and should make us all happy, actually. 50 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,560 I want to say, though, that as now as we're going to talk, we're going to have a little 51 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,760 sermon about money. 52 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:24,400 And I felt like I should say, listen, I am not a financial whiz at all when it comes 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:25,880 to financial advice. 54 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,360 I need as much financial advice as anybody does. 55 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,560 And so I'm preaching to myself this morning. 56 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:32,560 OK? 57 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,560 I'm preaching to myself this morning. 58 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,000 You guys just kind of get to listen in to what I'm saying to myself. 59 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,160 And so please, I want you to know that just about everything I'm going to be sharing with 60 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:46,560 you today is stuff that I've read or listened to or learned or Googled over the past few 61 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:47,960 weeks in getting ready for this. 62 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,600 So I just want you to take everything I say with a grain of salt. 63 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,400 I'm definitely not the expert here. 64 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:59,000 But there are a few different possible sermons on money that you maybe have heard before. 65 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,120 There's of course this sermon, the one where it's how you can get more money. 66 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:08,920 If you were to pray more or give more or serve more or read your Bible more, God will give 67 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:09,920 you more money. 68 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,200 You probably heard that from a preacher on TV maybe late at night when nothing else was 69 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:15,200 on. 70 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,660 That is not what today's sermon is going to be about. 71 00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:20,000 Or maybe you've heard this sermon. 72 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,800 It's not that God will give you more money, but how can we get your money? 73 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,320 We have a big building campaign. 74 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:27,320 We need a new boiler. 75 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:28,320 We need a new furnace. 76 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:29,320 We need a new roof. 77 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,680 We have a new vision and we're running a financial campaign. 78 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:32,760 We need your money. 79 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,280 I think there's a time and a place for a sermon like that, but that's not what today's sermon 80 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:38,840 is about. 81 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:43,080 Or you probably maybe have put it together in your head and now you're thinking, well, 82 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:44,480 I know what today is about. 83 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,480 Today, because we're talking about happiness, Rob is going to talk to us about is how money 84 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,720 can't buy happiness. 85 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,320 That would be a really good guess because lots of us have heard people say, especially 86 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,600 preachers say, money can't buy happiness or money is not the key to happiness. 87 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,720 And that's not the sermon we're going to be hearing today either. 88 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,240 Partly because I don't think any of us really believe that that's true. 89 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:14,040 I think deep down, whenever we hear a preacher say, money can't buy you happiness, we kind 90 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:20,920 of nod our heads, but on the inside we're like, I'm not so sure I believe that personally. 91 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,120 I'm not sure I believe that. 92 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,800 I found a quote online and it says, whoever said money can't buy happiness just did not 93 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,440 know where to go shopping. 94 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,080 So yeah, you could say, oh, money won't make me happy, Rob, or money can't buy me happiness, 95 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,160 Rob, but I'd really like to see for myself. 96 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,200 That's really a lesson that I would like to learn for myself. 97 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:43,200 Just try it out. 98 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,960 I'll learn the hard way, right? 99 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:52,520 Deep down, we all believe, I think, that there really is a connection between our money and 100 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:53,520 our happiness. 101 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,400 And so today I'm going to come at this different angle. 102 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,800 I'm not going to preach the money can't buy you happiness sermon. 103 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:06,520 Instead I'm going to show you or talk to you about the money can make you happy sermon 104 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:12,560 and that there actually is a connection between your money and your happiness. 105 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:20,320 But the thing we get wrong is what that connection is and how money and happiness are connected. 106 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,840 See, I think we assume that money and happiness are connected by this word. 107 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,520 The word is more, more. 108 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:32,120 If I had more money, I would be more happy. 109 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,120 More money equals more happiness. 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:39,160 If I'm honest, there's lots of times that's what I tell myself. 111 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:40,800 Maybe that's what you tell yourself too. 112 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,140 If I just had more, I would be happy. 113 00:06:43,140 --> 00:06:47,200 So if that's true, if that's what we think, then I just want to give you a little quiz, 114 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,720 a little thought experiment here. 115 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,440 If it's true that more money makes us more happy, then my question for you is how much 116 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,880 more money would make you more happy? 117 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:57,880 How much? 118 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,600 Just I want to take 10 seconds, just to give it a little thought. 119 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,600 How much money would make you happier? 120 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:21,080 So now, I am going to actually, you don't need to tell me your answer, because I think 121 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,680 I've got the very same answer as you do. 122 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:26,560 Let me see what I put down here on Jeopardy. 123 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:27,780 Yes, oh, you know what? 124 00:07:27,780 --> 00:07:31,500 I think we put down the same amount of money. 125 00:07:31,500 --> 00:07:32,720 So here's the thing. 126 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,440 We all answer this question the same way. 127 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,280 Whether you have very little money or whether you have a lot of money or whether you're 128 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,840 somewhere in the middle and you look at the people that have a lot of money and you're 129 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:41,840 like, how on earth did they make so much money? 130 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:43,960 I think we all answer it the same. 131 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:44,960 And the answer is this. 132 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:51,360 I would be happy if I just had a little more than I have right now. 133 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,300 No matter who we are, no matter what our house looks like, no matter what our car looks like 134 00:07:55,300 --> 00:08:01,320 or what we wear, we all feel like, and we'll probably for the rest of our lives feel like, 135 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,400 the answer to this question is the same. 136 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,520 How much more money do I need to be happy? 137 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,720 I just need more, more than I have right now. 138 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:10,720 Most of us think this way. 139 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,160 Most of us live this way. 140 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:16,340 But when you stop and think about it, this can't actually be true because we all know 141 00:08:16,340 --> 00:08:19,600 people who have more money than us and they don't appear to be very happy. 142 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:24,280 And we also know people who have less money than us and they appear to be very happy. 143 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,480 In fact, sitting here today, there's probably someone who's making half as much money as 144 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,680 you make, and yet they're just as happy as you are and maybe they're even happier. 145 00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:34,840 And same tune here. 146 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,600 Someone sitting here today who makes twice as much money as you do. 147 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:39,600 And you know what? 148 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,680 They're not as happy as you are. 149 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:45,240 So how can it be that some people who have less money have more happiness and some people 150 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:47,560 who have more money have less happiness? 151 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:52,160 And I think the answer is because we've got the connection between money and happiness 152 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:53,160 is wrong. 153 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:59,640 It is not true, primarily, that more money is going to make you happier. 154 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,560 That is not the connecting word. 155 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:04,800 But the experts tell us there's another connecting word. 156 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,980 And actually, even Jesus this morning is going to tell us there's another connecting word. 157 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:11,200 What is the relationship between our money and our happiness? 158 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,840 It's not that more money would make us happier. 159 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:19,560 But again, the experts tell us it's that managed money would make us happier. 160 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:23,100 The connection is about managing our money. 161 00:09:23,100 --> 00:09:27,040 It's not that more money makes me happier, but managed money makes me happier. 162 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,960 Happiness isn't about how much money that you have, so much as it is about how you manage 163 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,440 the money that you do have. 164 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,440 And that I want to suggest to you actually determine your happiness more than the amount 165 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:38,560 of money that you actually have. 166 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,360 Now here's a big, big disclaimer. 167 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:42,920 This is I'm oversimplifying things. 168 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,760 Even if I stand up here and I'm talking to you, I know I'm oversimplifying this. 169 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,560 This is because there are some people who just don't have enough money. 170 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:49,800 And it doesn't matter how they manage it. 171 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,720 They still are having a hard time putting food on the table. 172 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,800 They're having a hard time buying medicine for their kids. 173 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,800 So I would say that, yeah, this is not true 100% of the time. 174 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,480 Poverty is a real thing, and it can actually make it really hard for us to be happy, even 175 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:04,880 when we manage our money really well. 176 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,800 The good news is that next week, Mike Messenger is going to be preaching. 177 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:14,140 And Mike is actually going to be talking about that connection between poverty and happiness. 178 00:10:14,140 --> 00:10:15,460 So don't miss that. 179 00:10:15,460 --> 00:10:20,040 But for today, for most of us here today, I want to suggest that our happiness, our 180 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:25,840 happiness depends less on the amount of money that we have and more on how we manage that 181 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:26,840 money. 182 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:27,840 So here's another question for you. 183 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:29,840 I want you to actually here's what I want you to do. 184 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,000 I'm going to ask you in a second to turn to someone beside you and have this little conversation. 185 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,200 Where did you learn to manage your money? 186 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:37,200 Was it a person? 187 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:38,200 Was it a book? 188 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:39,200 Was it a seminar you went to? 189 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,440 What did some good advice from a parent? 190 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,360 Where did you learn to manage your money? 191 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,640 And if you haven't learned to manage your money, you can say that too. 192 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,100 But take 10 seconds, turn to the person beside you. 193 00:10:48,100 --> 00:10:49,760 Where did you learn to manage your money? 194 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:50,760 Well... 195 00:10:50,760 --> 00:11:20,680 Okay. 196 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:26,680 Let's stop it there for a moment. 197 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:30,280 You know, this is one of those conversations that can totally keep on going. 198 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,200 And we actually, at the end of the service, I'm going to tell you how you can keep this 199 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:34,700 conversation going. 200 00:11:34,700 --> 00:11:40,120 There are lots of ways you can learn to manage your money, lots of programs, lots of programs 201 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,120 out there. 202 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,120 I found a program that's quite helpful. 203 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,760 I thought I'd show you the commercial just to let you in on it. 204 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:45,760 Here it is. 205 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,760 Oh, I just can't get these numbers to add up. 206 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:51,960 Like we're never going to get out of this hole. 207 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,760 Credit card debt, does it ever end? 208 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,120 Maybe I can help. 209 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,000 We sure could use it. 210 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,160 We've tried debt consolidation companies. 211 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,280 We've even taken out loans to help make payments. 212 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,520 Well, you're not the only ones. 213 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,280 Did you know millions of Americans live with debt they cannot control? 214 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,980 That's why I developed this unique new program for managing your debt. 215 00:12:12,980 --> 00:12:15,880 It's called Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford. 216 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:22,360 Oh, let me see that. 217 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,840 If you don't have any money, you should not buy anything. 218 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,200 Hmm, sounds interesting. 219 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:29,200 Sounds confusing. 220 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:30,200 I don't know, honey. 221 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:31,200 This makes a lot of sense. 222 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:36,720 There's a whole section here on how to buy expensive things using money you save. 223 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,000 Give me that. 224 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,480 And where would you get this saved money? 225 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,480 I tell you where and how in chapter three. 226 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,520 OK, but what if I want something but I don't have any money? 227 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:50,520 You don't buy it. 228 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:54,360 Well, let's say I don't have enough money to buy something. 229 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,360 Should I buy it anyway? 230 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:57,360 No. 231 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,880 Now I'm really confused. 232 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:01,880 It's a little confusing at first. 233 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:02,880 Well, what if you have the money? 234 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:03,880 Can you buy something? 235 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:04,880 Yes. 236 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:05,880 Now take the money away. 237 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:06,880 Same story? 238 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:07,880 Nope. 239 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:13,560 You shouldn't buy stuff when you don't have the money. 240 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:14,760 I think I got it. 241 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:20,000 I buy something I want and then hope that I can pay for it, right? 242 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:21,000 No. 243 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,760 You make sure you have money, then you buy it. 244 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,560 Oh, then you buy it. 245 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,840 But shouldn't you buy it before you have the money? 246 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:30,840 No. 247 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:31,840 Why not? 248 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,360 It's in the book. 249 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:36,360 It's only one page long. 250 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,760 The advice is priceless and the book is free. 251 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:40,880 Wow, I like the sound of that. 252 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,600 Yeah, we can put it on our credit card. 253 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,240 So get out of debt now. 254 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,520 Write for your free copy of Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford. 255 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:54,440 So I think what that video is trying to teach us is that there's two approaches to money 256 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:55,440 management. 257 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,040 One is that you can manage your money. 258 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,440 The other is that your money can actually manage you. 259 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,520 And when you manage your money, what I want to suggest is that's a key to happiness. 260 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,240 But when your money manages you, well, then that actually results in a lot of unhappiness. 261 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:11,940 But you don't need to run out and buy that book. 262 00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:17,040 You can actually find this financial plan in the Gospel of Luke. 263 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,720 Jesus provides us with this one page long plan. 264 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,040 And let's take a look at it here. 265 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,160 It's in Luke 16 verse 13. 266 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,120 Jesus begins by saying, no one can serve two masters. 267 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,560 And we would all probably stop right away and say, OK, Jesus, we don't live 2,000 years 268 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:36,560 ago. 269 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:37,900 We're not slaves and masters here. 270 00:14:37,900 --> 00:14:39,640 This seems a little antiquated. 271 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:41,640 And what does that have to do with money anyways? 272 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,400 And Jesus will say, well, let me just keep on going. 273 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:44,400 Just pay attention. 274 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,400 And he goes and he says, you will either hate the one and you will love the other or you 275 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,580 will despise the one and be devoted to the other. 276 00:14:52,580 --> 00:14:57,480 And again, we would say, OK, sure, Jesus, the next time I'm a slave, I'll remember what 277 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:58,480 you said. 278 00:14:58,480 --> 00:14:59,480 I'll make a note of it. 279 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:00,480 Thank you very much. 280 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:01,480 And Jesus says, I'm not finished. 281 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:02,800 He's coming to the punch line now. 282 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,100 He's coming to the application point. 283 00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:10,720 And so he says, you cannot serve both God and, and this is very interesting, because 284 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:14,760 he's just said that you're going to be you're going to love one and hate the other. 285 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,840 You'll be devoted to one and you'll despise the other. 286 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,600 There's these two things in conflict. 287 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,760 And so now you can't serve both God and so what is the opposite of God? 288 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,080 It seems like that's the natural choice to fill in this blank. 289 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,200 The opposite of God is you can't serve God and sin. 290 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,920 You can't serve God and evil. 291 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:35,600 You can't serve God and the devil, whatever is the opposite. 292 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,000 But then Jesus comes along and he throws the answer in. 293 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:44,760 And he says, you cannot serve God and money and we're all like, what are you talking about? 294 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,040 And it's a tricky one. 295 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:52,600 The Greek word for money here is mammon, which actually means stuff. 296 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,720 And it's all the stuff that you buy with your money. 297 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,020 It's all the stuff that you want to buy with your money. 298 00:15:58,020 --> 00:16:02,080 So it refers to money, but it also refers to the stuff that money gets us. 299 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,240 And Jesus says, you can't have two masters. 300 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,720 You either serve God or you serve your stuff. 301 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,400 You either serve God or you serve your money. 302 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:17,240 I find this really, really fascinating that according to Jesus, and again, you don't have 303 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:18,960 to agree with Jesus, but he is Jesus. 304 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,840 So probably a good idea to listen to what he has to say. 305 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:27,800 But according to Jesus, the biggest competitor for your relationship with God, the biggest 306 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:34,400 competitor for your devotion to God is not sin or evil or the devil or lust or whatever. 307 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:39,880 The biggest competitor for your devotion to God is your stuff. 308 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:40,880 It's your money. 309 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,440 I mean, that's what was written 2000 years ago. 310 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,000 It could have been written yesterday. 311 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,200 There's so much there for us to think about. 312 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:53,760 Jesus knows that when our money masters us instead of us mastering our money, when our 313 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,900 money manages us instead of us managing our money, then that is a recipe for unhappiness 314 00:16:58,900 --> 00:17:01,520 because it separates us from God. 315 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,040 It separates us from our relationship with God. 316 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,840 There's actually three kind of key ingredients, I think, to this recipe for unhappiness when 317 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:09,840 it comes to money. 318 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:11,320 Here's the first part. 319 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:13,400 Unchecked desire. 320 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,820 When you hear Jesus say that you can't have two masters and you're going to love one and 321 00:17:16,820 --> 00:17:19,280 hate the other, love is a desire word. 322 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,800 When you hear him say you'll be devoted to one and you'll despise the other, devotion 323 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,840 is a desire word. 324 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,360 If you love something, you're devoted to it. 325 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:32,160 If you devoted to something, you have a desire for it, a strong attachment. 326 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:36,880 Now you might say, Rob, I'm not attached to my stuff and I don't love money. 327 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,680 But if you're constantly thinking about it and if you find yourself worrying about it 328 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,760 and if you find yourself attached to it, then those are all signs that there is this unchecked 329 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:46,960 desire in you. 330 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,240 Better not to even go in a store if that's what you want because you'll see things and 331 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,720 you'll start to desire it right away. 332 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,560 We have to check that desire. 333 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,520 And if that desire is unchecked, it is the first step to unhappiness, especially when 334 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:06,480 you add the second ingredient in, which is uncontrolled spending. 335 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,720 Research shows, this is shocking, research shows that impulse buying accounts for between 336 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,640 40 and 80% of all purchases. 337 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:20,600 40 to 80% of all purchases were things that we didn't even mean to go buy, but we just 338 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,240 bought them because of why? 339 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:27,040 Because that unchecked desire led to uncontrolled spending. 340 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:32,040 And that is why we have that pair of shoes in our closet when we already had 10 pairs 341 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:33,040 of shoes. 342 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,960 And that's why we have the new car in the driveway when the old car actually worked 343 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:36,960 perfectly fine. 344 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:42,840 It was our unchecked desire that led to this uncontrolled spending. 345 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:44,480 And it's kind of like greed. 346 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,320 Most of us don't like to think of ourselves as greedy, but when we can't stop spending 347 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,960 on ourselves, that's kind of what greed is. 348 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:53,560 It gets the better of us. 349 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:59,160 And that can lead to the third un, which really, really will make us unhappy, and that's unmanageable 350 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:00,760 debt. 351 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,660 Pretty soon, you've got a lease payment you can't afford, and you've got credit card bills 352 00:19:04,660 --> 00:19:08,300 that are sky high, and you've got a line of credit that keeps getting bigger and bigger 353 00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:09,300 and bigger. 354 00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:12,360 And again, it doesn't matter how much you have. 355 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:13,360 I found a statistic. 356 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:14,360 Just take this in. 357 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:20,880 20% of people making over $100,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck. 358 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:27,280 20% of people making over $100,000 a year don't know where they would come up with $400 359 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,360 if they needed it in a pinch. 360 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,200 Why is that? 361 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:32,200 How can that be? 362 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,300 It's because it's not about how much money you have. 363 00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:40,440 It's about how you manage the money that you do have. 364 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:45,640 And if our desire is unchecked and our spending is uncontrolled and our debt is unmanageable, 365 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,620 then pretty soon we will realize Jesus was right. 366 00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:49,880 Our money's managing us. 367 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:50,880 We've been mastered. 368 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:51,880 We're enslaved. 369 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,360 And when you're enslaved, there's no possible way you can be happy. 370 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,880 It's a recipe for an unhappy life. 371 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,520 Now, there is good news. 372 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:00,740 There is really good news. 373 00:20:00,740 --> 00:20:05,280 There is a way for you to submit your finances to God. 374 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:10,360 There is a way for you to say, God, actually, God, I don't want my money to manage me. 375 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,080 God, I want you to manage me. 376 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:18,280 I want you to be in control so that I can be in control of my money. 377 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:19,520 And I want to share with you. 378 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:20,800 This is really, really simple. 379 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,940 Again, I'm not the expert, but I want to share with you something really simple. 380 00:20:23,940 --> 00:20:27,280 When our kids were young, we got each of them one of these things. 381 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,880 It's like a piggy bank, but it's actually got three piggy banks in one. 382 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:32,360 It's pretty cool. 383 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,720 And on each of these piggy banks, there is a word. 384 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,140 The first one says share. 385 00:20:37,140 --> 00:20:39,040 The second one says save. 386 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,840 And the third one says spend. 387 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,720 And the idea was when the kids got their allowance or when they got a paycheck from a part-time 388 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,280 job or whatever the case may be, they would come and they would split their money up into 389 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:50,280 these jars. 390 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,280 They would first put a certain amount of money in the share piggy bank. 391 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:57,000 And that was money that they were intending to give away to somebody or some need or some 392 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,720 charity, someone else. 393 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:00,520 They were going to share their money. 394 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,180 The second bank, the blue one, was for saving. 395 00:21:03,180 --> 00:21:06,780 Now that was money that they were going to put aside for something down the road. 396 00:21:06,780 --> 00:21:11,200 And then the third spot where they put their money was the spend piggy bank. 397 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:15,460 And that meant that they could spend that money however they wanted. 398 00:21:15,460 --> 00:21:16,460 It was simple. 399 00:21:16,460 --> 00:21:18,140 Share, save, and spend. 400 00:21:18,140 --> 00:21:19,400 And I know it seems juvenile. 401 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,520 I know it seems like just really, really, really basic. 402 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,700 But actually, there's a lot of wisdom there. 403 00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:29,960 And it's actually not a lot different than what the Bible encourages us to do when it 404 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,200 comes to our money either. 405 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:39,240 For example, the Bible teaches us to share our money. 406 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,760 And it's not just that we're supposed to share it or find some money left over to share. 407 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,120 The first thing we're supposed to do is give our money. 408 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:51,200 The first thing we're supposed to do is set aside some money for others. 409 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,120 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits, the first fruits, not what's 410 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:02,400 left over, not what's left behind, not as an afterthought, but as a top financial priority. 411 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,000 The first thing you should do to manage your money, it seems counterintuitive, but wait 412 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000 for it. 413 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,600 We want you to be happy is to share some of it first. 414 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:17,880 Second thing that we do with our money after we have given some away is to save some secondly. 415 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:22,040 Now remember, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us, he said, saving your money 416 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,700 in this world is always a crap shoot. 417 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:29,380 No one can predict what investments will do, but still it's a good idea to save some money, 418 00:22:29,380 --> 00:22:31,600 to put some aside for a rainy day. 419 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:35,280 Think of what Joseph did when Joseph knew there was a famine coming in Egypt. 420 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:36,280 What did he say? 421 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:41,520 He said, take 20% of the harvest during the seven good years and hold it in reserve. 422 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:42,520 Why? 423 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,800 Because a rainy day is coming and you're going to need to use some of that stuff that you 424 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:50,240 save to help get through the famine when it comes. 425 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:56,880 And that means the third step is you give first, you save second, and then you can spend 426 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,020 third. 427 00:22:58,020 --> 00:23:00,840 We live on the rest of that money. 428 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,600 And again, I'm oversimplifying and you're going to say, Rob, how is that even possible? 429 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,360 Look at with the rents going up and housing prices going up and inflation going up and 430 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:13,720 cost of living going up, how can we possibly live on less than everything that we get? 431 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,360 And again, I'm just saying, I don't know the answer, but I want us to take to heart words 432 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:19,360 like Paul. 433 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:23,840 When Paul says this to us, God will generously provide for all you need. 434 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:30,120 And then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 435 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:32,140 So there you have these three simple things. 436 00:23:32,140 --> 00:23:35,920 Give first, save second, and spend third. 437 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:37,900 Can it be that simple? 438 00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:41,640 Could it possibly be true, as simple as that? 439 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:48,200 That simply by intentionally, intentionally deciding that I'm going to share some of my 440 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:54,040 money and then save some of my money and then spend it, that we are actually pushing back 441 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,720 against money that's trying to manage us. 442 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,480 We're managing our money. 443 00:23:58,480 --> 00:23:59,600 And we know what we're saying. 444 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,440 We're saying, hey, money, guess what? 445 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:02,540 You're not my master anymore. 446 00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:03,540 You know why? 447 00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:05,560 Because I'm actually going to give some of you away right away. 448 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:06,560 See, I'm not connected. 449 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,080 I'm not devoted to you. 450 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:09,080 I don't love you. 451 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:10,620 I'm giving some away right away. 452 00:24:10,620 --> 00:24:17,560 And every time you share first and every time you save second, every time you spend third, 453 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:22,960 it's a way of you managing your money and showing that money's not actually in charge 454 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:24,440 of you. 455 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,160 And you say, Rob, I hear what you're saying. 456 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,080 I hear what you're saying, but that doesn't sound like it's going to make me happy. 457 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,100 I think keeping all my money for myself would probably make me feel more happy, but that's 458 00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:33,100 where you're wrong. 459 00:24:33,100 --> 00:24:37,120 Because if you look at the studies, it is very clear in the studies that giving makes 460 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:38,680 you happy. 461 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,960 Study after study, including a 2008 Harvard study shows that giving money away to someone 462 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:48,880 else made people feel happier than when they spent it on themselves, even though they predicted 463 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,040 that they'd feel better if they spent it on themselves. 464 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,200 There's something about giving that actually makes us happy. 465 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,400 And secondly, saving also makes us feel happy. 466 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,680 Another study from the University of Arizona. 467 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,560 They interviewed a thousand millennials, right? 468 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,880 Some of you are millennials, and they discovered that, quote, people who save money report 469 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:13,160 better overall well-being, included less psychological distress. 470 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:14,740 Saving makes you happy. 471 00:25:14,740 --> 00:25:17,780 And even spending can make you happy. 472 00:25:17,780 --> 00:25:22,040 When your money is managing you and controlling you, spending always feels like guilty and 473 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,240 shameful and, oh, am I overspending? 474 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,080 Am I, do I even have this money? 475 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:31,080 But when we manage it and we know we're not spending money that we don't have, then actually 476 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:36,480 the spending of it can actually be very freeing and can also make us happy. 477 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:41,060 So if giving can make us happy and actually saving can make us happy and even spending 478 00:25:41,060 --> 00:25:46,440 can make us happy, again, I'm not a financial whiz, but happy plus happy plus happy equals 479 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,100 happy, right? 480 00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:52,380 This is how you can be happy. 481 00:25:52,380 --> 00:25:56,400 This is how money can make us happy. 482 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,760 So let me just kind of summarize this in a nutshell. 483 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:06,480 When money manages us, we have unchecked desires, uncontrolled spending, and eventually unmanageable 484 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,480 debt, and that is a recipe for unhappiness. 485 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:16,860 But when we manage our money, when we share first, when we save second, and when we spend 486 00:26:16,860 --> 00:26:24,480 and live on the rest third, then money no longer masters us, but we're mastering it, 487 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,480 and we can be truly happy. 488 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,480 So I'm not a financial planner. 489 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,240 You need to talk to somebody who knows more than me if you have financial problems. 490 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:35,480 I really encourage you to do that. 491 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,760 I encourage you to keep having conversations among yourselves. 492 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,680 In fact, we've created some questions to kind of go along with today's sermon. 493 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,200 You can access those questions by going to our website and clicking on the sermon and 494 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:46,200 services link. 495 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:47,320 They're right there for you. 496 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,760 Why not use them in your life group this week? 497 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,540 If you're not in a life group, then grab somebody for a coffee this week and say, hey, let's 498 00:26:53,540 --> 00:26:56,240 talk about some of these things because this is important stuff. 499 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,280 There is lots that we can learn. 500 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,920 But for today, I think maybe there was at least two things that we did learn. 501 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:03,720 And here's the first one. 502 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,400 Your money can make you happy if you manage it well. 503 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:12,280 And the second thing, second thing, maybe even more important, the best decision you 504 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:19,480 can make in your life is to invite God, to invite your heavenly father to be the one 505 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,360 who manages your life. 506 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,640 No one can serve two masters. 507 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:31,960 So, make sure you're serving the one true God and him alone. 508 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:38,880 Because as God manages your life, then you'll be able to manage everything else, including 509 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:39,880 your money. 510 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:46,280 And that will lead you to joy and that will lead you to happiness. 511 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:47,280 Thanks be to God. 512 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,280 Amen. 513 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,480 Thank you so much for joining us today. 514 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:56,280 And we hope that you found the sermon informative, challenging and inspiring. 515 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,400 Come back next week for our next sermon in this series. 516 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:00,400 Take care. 517 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:05,640 Today's sermon was taken from the October 15th, 2023 service at Trinity Church Streetsville 518 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:22,240 in Mississauga, Ontario.