WEBVTT 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:06.820 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.580 Sermons. This week we are welcoming special guest 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:12.119 Scott Cochran who works with World Vision and 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.400 is going to be sharing with us about how God's 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.600 economy is different than the world's economy. 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:20.059 What does it mean for us to sell everything that 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:22.539 we have and give it to the poor? And how can 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:25.260 we even do that? What does God have in store 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:33.240 for us? Our reading for today is from Luke chapter 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:40.719 12. verses 13 to 21 and verses 32 to 34. Someone 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.399 in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.039 to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.439 Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:57.159 you? Then he said to them, Watch out, be on your 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:01.000 guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.319 consist in an abundance of possessions. And he 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:09.379 told them this parable. The ground of a certain 00:01:09.379 --> 00:01:13.280 rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.900 to himself, what shall I do? I have no place 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:21.140 to store my crops. Then he said, this is what 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:24.769 I will do. I will tear down my barns and build 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:28.750 bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:32.709 grain. And I'll say to myself, you have plenty 00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:36.750 of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, 00:01:37.030 --> 00:01:41.730 eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, 00:01:41.829 --> 00:01:46.209 you fool, this very night your life will be demanded 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:50.269 from you. Then who will get what you have prepared 00:01:50.269 --> 00:01:54.379 for yourself? This is how it will be with whoever 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:58.719 stores up things for themselves, but is not rich 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:19.129 toward God. Verse 32. a treasure in heaven that 00:02:19.129 --> 00:02:22.729 will never fail, where no thief comes near and 00:02:22.729 --> 00:02:26.909 no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:30.789 there your heart will be also. The word of the 00:02:30.789 --> 00:02:34.819 Lord. If you've been around Trinity for any length 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:37.280 of time, you'll know that there's a couple things 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.280 that we're especially passionate about here at 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:43.500 Trinity. One is our partnership with World Vision 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:48.400 Canada and the hundred or so families and children 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.500 that we sponsor and support in the region of 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:57.099 Nueva Frontera, which is this community in Honduras. 00:02:57.300 --> 00:02:59.659 If you've been around any length of time, you 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:01.780 know we were always talking about them and praying. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.560 for them. And it was just this past June, we 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:06.120 went down and visited them. Another thing that 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:07.699 you'll know about Trinity is Trinity is very 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:11.780 passionate about developing leaders. And whether 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:14.620 it's our discipleship year students, whether 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:17.699 it's our amazing camp program and leader in training 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:20.599 program, or the mentoring opportunities that 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:22.900 are happening all the time around Trinity, leadership 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:26.599 development is also very, very close to our hearts, 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.199 which is why when you take those two things, 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:33.530 I am so excited. to welcome Scott Cochran as 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:36.610 our guest speaker and preacher this morning. 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:39.330 Sally and I had the opportunity a few months 00:03:39.330 --> 00:03:44.030 ago to have lunch with Scott, and it was such 00:03:44.030 --> 00:03:45.569 a pleasure to get to know him, and now you're 00:03:45.569 --> 00:03:47.490 going to get the chance to get to know him as 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:49.009 well. But here's the thing you need to know about 00:03:49.009 --> 00:03:52.870 Scott. On the one hand, Scott currently is Senior 00:03:52.870 --> 00:03:58.949 Manager of Church Relations in World Vision Canada. 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.840 But on top of that, Scott spent more than two 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:07.759 decades of his life serving with the Global Leadership 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:12.080 Network, where he was supporting leaders in churches 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.240 all around the world. I think I read something 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.259 like in 70 countries, he has traveled around 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:21.060 helping to support and develop leaders. So Scott 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:24.019 brings together these two passions that we have 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:26.379 here at Trinity, which makes him the perfect 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:28.720 person to come and be with us this morning, especially 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:33.079 as we bring our series, A Generous Life, to its 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.519 conclusion. So would you join with me and let's 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.639 all give Scott Cochran a very warm Trinity welcome. 00:04:49.999 --> 00:04:52.639 and thanks to each of you for making me feel 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.720 so welcome here. I was saying to Pastor Rob just 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.560 a few minutes ago, I was looking back and trying 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.579 to remember the very first time I was here with 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:07.000 you, and I realized it was 1998. Now, I was about 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.399 five years old at the time, but... Now, if I 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:12.879 remember, I got to meet Harold Percy, who was 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.519 leading the church at that time, had a wonderful 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:16.819 time of fellowship, and I've repeated visits 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.420 over the years. And in many ways, when I come 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:22.139 to Ontario, this is one of the places that I 00:05:22.139 --> 00:05:25.439 consider a home away from home. My own home is 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:29.300 in Kelowna, British Columbia. And in fact, I 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:31.459 want to bring you greetings from the church where 00:05:31.459 --> 00:05:34.699 I worship, which by wonderful coincidence is 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:37.500 also called Trinity Church. And so the folks 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:39.839 at Trinity Church in Kelowna are bringing their 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.240 greetings to Trinity Church Streetsville as well. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.699 Well, I love this series that you've been doing 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:49.620 here as a church. I love the theme that you've 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:53.579 been developing around generosity. And it leads 00:05:53.579 --> 00:05:56.720 me to ask you a question I'd like you to consider 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.839 for a few minutes. And that's this. Have you 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.759 ever found yourself that perhaps you have missed 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.819 out on something? Because perhaps you didn't 00:06:05.819 --> 00:06:09.600 know the full picture. Have you ever found that 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.620 you've missed out on an opportunity, perhaps, 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:13.680 because you really didn't know what was going 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:18.120 on maybe behind the scenes? Well, as Pastor Rob 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.139 mentioned, I served for many years in the Global 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.480 Leadership Network, developing Christian leaders 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:26.300 and pastors around the world. And on one of these 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:29.639 visits, I was in Burundi, a small little country 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:33.259 in East Africa. And when I arrived, I knew that 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:35.620 I would have to purchase a visa upon my arrival. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.079 And so I went into the airport and I found the 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.600 visa counter and the person behind the counter 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.439 said, that'll be 200 US dollars. I handed my 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:46.220 credit card and he just looked at me stone -faced, 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.740 handed back my card and said, no credit card, 00:06:49.860 --> 00:06:54.139 cash only. I realized I was about to miss out 00:06:54.139 --> 00:06:56.500 on connecting with all these leaders in Burundi 00:06:56.500 --> 00:06:59.860 because I had no cash left on me. and I did not 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:02.500 know what I was going to do. All I knew was that 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.399 there was something wonderful waiting for me 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:06.620 on the other side of the airport. There were 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.040 some wonderful people and leaders and pastors 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.779 I wanted to meet with so badly, and I was going 00:07:11.779 --> 00:07:14.040 to miss out on that because I hadn't understood 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.759 the big picture that I needed cash to get into 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.189 the country. By the way, as a footnote to that 00:07:21.189 --> 00:07:24.350 story, someone standing next to me in the aisle 00:07:24.350 --> 00:07:26.670 heard what was going on and actually gave me 00:07:26.670 --> 00:07:29.029 $200, and that's how I got into the country. 00:07:29.730 --> 00:07:34.350 But sometimes, sometimes we miss out on something 00:07:34.350 --> 00:07:37.149 wonderful because we don't really understand 00:07:37.149 --> 00:07:39.050 the big picture. We don't really understand what's 00:07:39.050 --> 00:07:43.110 going on. And that's actually a theme that Jesus 00:07:43.110 --> 00:07:45.050 develops in the parable that we had read for 00:07:45.050 --> 00:07:48.550 us today. is that sometimes we are so focused 00:07:48.550 --> 00:07:51.670 on the things that we can see. We can be so focused 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:54.089 on the things that are in our immediate surroundings 00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:57.449 that we can miss out on something wonderful that 00:07:57.449 --> 00:08:01.250 God wants to do well beyond that. That leads 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:02.949 us into this parable that's sometimes called 00:08:02.949 --> 00:08:06.350 the parable of the rich man. And let's dive into 00:08:06.350 --> 00:08:10.029 one of the key verses that kind of gets the parable 00:08:10.029 --> 00:08:15.389 started. This is Jesus talking. And Jesus said, 00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:17.910 he told them this parable, the ground of a certain 00:08:17.910 --> 00:08:21.430 rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought 00:08:21.430 --> 00:08:23.829 to himself, what shall I do? I have no place 00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:27.129 to store my crops. Then he said, this is what 00:08:27.129 --> 00:08:30.009 I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:32.809 bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:37.330 grain. Well, what's going on in this parable? 00:08:37.350 --> 00:08:40.799 What's Jesus describing here? Well, here's a 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.440 businessman, and his business is doing very well. 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:46.759 So he's in the agriculture business, and it's 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.659 booming. So he's got lots of crops coming in. 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:52.399 He has lots of grain coming in. And you can see 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.360 the problem he's got. He says, my barns just 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.200 aren't big enough. I'm going to have to do something 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.559 about this. So he says, I'm going to knock down 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:02.159 those little barns, and I'm going to build these 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:06.559 big barns over here, and now I will be set. And 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:08.779 that way of thinking is a way of thinking that's 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:12.000 very familiar to us. That way of thinking is 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.419 said that what we want to do is get as much as 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:18.559 we can, and we want to keep as much as we can. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.960 And the term we use for that is that's the world's 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.919 economy. The world's economy is all about what 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:32.289 can I get. But God's economy is different. You 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:34.549 see, God's economy is not driven by what can 00:09:34.549 --> 00:09:37.429 I get. God's economy is driven by what can I 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:40.870 give. And through that giving, what is the bigger 00:09:40.870 --> 00:09:43.750 picture that God might reveal to me? Through 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:46.169 that giving, how might God not only bless me, 00:09:46.330 --> 00:09:48.730 but how might God bless those around me, and 00:09:48.730 --> 00:09:50.629 indeed, how might God bless those on the other 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:54.509 side of the world? God's economy versus the world's 00:09:54.509 --> 00:09:58.190 economy. God's economy all about giving. The 00:09:58.190 --> 00:10:02.620 world's economy all about getting. Many of you 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:06.919 will know the legacy of Nelson Rockefeller. Nelson 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:08.879 Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest men who 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.960 ever lived, and throughout his life, he consistently 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:15.519 and he just was always accumulating more. He 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.019 built onto his wealth until the day he died as 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:20.620 one of the richest men in the world. He was once 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:24.100 asked, Mr. Rockefeller, you are still adding 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.659 on to your fortune well into your senior years. 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.019 And they asked him this question, how much money 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.899 does it take to make a man happy? Do you know 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:36.940 what he said? Just a little bit more. That's 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.460 the world's economy. Just a little bit more. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:44.279 But God's economy is not like that. And not only 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:47.580 is God's economy all about giving, it's all about 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.480 the blessings that we will receive when we have 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:54.059 hearts of generosity as well. And so in the time 00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:55.940 we have this morning, what I'd love to do is 00:10:55.940 --> 00:10:58.679 to take you on a journey. It's a journey that 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:01.610 Jesus lays out for us in this parable. It's a 00:11:01.610 --> 00:11:03.750 journey that can take us from the world's economy, 00:11:03.950 --> 00:11:08.669 step by step, into God's economy. The place where 00:11:08.669 --> 00:11:11.129 generosity flows and where God's blessings and 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:13.889 his favor flows as well. Let's take a journey 00:11:13.889 --> 00:11:16.210 together to see how is it that we can move from 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:20.389 the world's economy into God's economy. And let's 00:11:20.389 --> 00:11:23.490 trace these steps. And the first step that Jesus 00:11:23.490 --> 00:11:26.690 lays out for us in this parable is simply this. 00:11:26.750 --> 00:11:28.730 We need to develop a heart of multiplication. 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:34.200 not division. We need to develop a heart of multiplication, 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:39.700 not division. You see, the world's economy is 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:42.679 defined by having a certain amount of money, 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:45.220 a certain amount of stuff, and we have to carve 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:47.159 that up because there's not that much to go around. 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:50.259 That's the world's economy. But God's economy 00:11:50.259 --> 00:11:53.659 is so different. God's economy focuses not on 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:56.259 the limitations, but on the blessings of multiplication. 00:11:57.769 --> 00:11:59.789 Look what happened at the very beginning of this 00:11:59.789 --> 00:12:01.570 story that was read for us a few minutes ago. 00:12:02.470 --> 00:12:05.429 Jesus was in a crowd of people, and then one 00:12:05.429 --> 00:12:07.590 of them said, someone in the crowd said to him, 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:10.830 Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance 00:12:10.830 --> 00:12:14.610 with me. Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me 00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:18.549 a judge or an arbiter between you? So what's 00:12:18.549 --> 00:12:20.570 going on here? So here you've got a man in the 00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:23.730 crowd who obviously he and his siblings have 00:12:23.730 --> 00:12:26.789 come into an inheritance. Now, under the law 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:29.389 of Moses, what that meant is that the older brother 00:12:29.389 --> 00:12:31.789 would receive the lion's share. He would receive 00:12:31.789 --> 00:12:34.210 most of the inheritance, but this fellow, he 00:12:34.210 --> 00:12:36.649 is entitled to a portion of that. And he had 00:12:36.649 --> 00:12:39.070 a real concern because he said, Jesus, there's 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:41.509 only so much in this inheritance. There's only 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:44.190 so much money here that's available, and it has 00:12:44.190 --> 00:12:47.009 to be divided fairly. It has to be divided in 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:49.169 such a way that I'm going to get my portion of 00:12:49.169 --> 00:12:53.490 this. He's reflecting the world's economy. But 00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:55.590 you see, the reason God couldn't even enter into 00:12:55.590 --> 00:12:58.330 this is because his kingdom is not about dividing 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:02.710 limited resources. God's economy is about multiplication. 00:13:04.250 --> 00:13:07.049 You see, in the world's economy, we say, well, 00:13:07.070 --> 00:13:10.409 we only have five loaves and two fish. How are 00:13:10.409 --> 00:13:12.450 we going to divide that among so many people? 00:13:14.029 --> 00:13:16.529 But in God's economy, Jesus can say, I'm not 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:18.450 going to divide the loaves and fish. I'm going 00:13:18.450 --> 00:13:21.909 to multiply them so we can feed everybody. It's 00:13:21.909 --> 00:13:24.889 the difference between the world's economy and 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:27.730 God's economy. The world's economy, we always 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:29.970 think of its limited resources. There's only 00:13:29.970 --> 00:13:32.409 so much, and we have to divide this up. But in 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:34.970 God's economy, he says, no, no, there's so much 00:13:34.970 --> 00:13:37.289 more that you have no idea about. Not just more 00:13:37.289 --> 00:13:39.509 money. There's more bounty. There's more blessing. 00:13:39.610 --> 00:13:42.029 There's more that God can do because God is a 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:44.730 God of multiplication, not a God of division. 00:13:47.210 --> 00:13:50.190 When I spent those years with the Global Leadership 00:13:50.190 --> 00:13:53.070 Network, one of the countries I was very privileged 00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:55.009 to spend a lot of time in building up leaders 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:59.590 was in Cuba. And I'll never forget the very first 00:13:59.590 --> 00:14:02.370 leadership conference we put on in Cuba. It was 00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:05.529 in a small church in downtown Havana in the old 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:09.750 city. And on the very first morning of the conference, 00:14:09.889 --> 00:14:12.769 before we'd even started, there was a knock on 00:14:12.769 --> 00:14:15.799 the church door. and one of our head volunteers 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:17.840 there in Cuba, her name was Nancy, she opened 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.519 the door. I was standing over to the side, and 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.340 there was a local policeman standing there. And 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:26.120 he introduced himself. He said, I'm on foot patrol 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.840 in this area today. This was interpreted for 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.139 me later. I don't speak Spanish. But then he 00:14:32.139 --> 00:14:35.100 asked this question. He says, do you have a Bible 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:38.580 I could have? Now, that was an interesting question. 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:42.580 Bibles in Cuba are not illegal, but they're very 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:45.320 difficult to get. And this policeman thought, 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:48.480 perhaps I can get one from this church. Now Nancy, 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.620 she now had an interesting problem that she had 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:53.740 to think through. Because she turned and looked, 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:56.519 and I could see there was a stack of every Bible 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:59.039 that that church owned on the table right here. 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:01.379 There was 10 Bibles there. That was it. That 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:03.440 was the entire stock of Bibles for this church. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.200 So Nancy, if she was thinking through the lens 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.500 of the world's economy, she would be thinking 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:13.009 of division. Okay, I've only got 10 Bibles. If 00:15:13.009 --> 00:15:14.929 I give one to this policeman, now I've only got 00:15:14.929 --> 00:15:17.330 nine left. Can I manage that? That's the thinking 00:15:17.330 --> 00:15:19.309 in the world's economy. That's the thinking of 00:15:19.309 --> 00:15:25.009 division. But thankfully, thankfully, Nancy understood 00:15:25.009 --> 00:15:28.769 God's economy. She understood that somehow, through 00:15:28.769 --> 00:15:31.529 generosity, God could multiply his blessings. 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:36.070 And so she gave a Bible to the policeman. Over 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:38.009 the two days of that conference, I would see 00:15:38.009 --> 00:15:40.279 this policeman at the end of the block. leaning 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:44.440 on his motorcycle and reading his Bible. Fast 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.039 forward, I'd love to tell you what happened with 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.860 that policeman. He threw the gift of that Bible. 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.100 He gave his life to Christ. He became a member 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:55.480 of that church. He was discipled and grew in 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.740 his faith. Today, he's an elder in that church, 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:02.320 and he has led many, many people to Christ, including 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:06.139 many of his fellow police officers. That's the 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:10.279 power of God's multiplication. See, God can multiply 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.200 our generosity in ways that we can't even think 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.720 or imagine. We think in the world's economy of 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:19.480 division, God thinks in terms of multiplication. 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:22.919 And that's the invitation that we have today, 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:26.000 is to think through the lens of multiplication. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.000 And you know, what that means for you and me 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.480 is that we can move into a place where we are 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:37.340 understanding God's heart for multiplication. 00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:41.210 And one way that we can do that is to simply 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:44.570 pray every day that God would open up our hearts 00:16:44.570 --> 00:16:47.710 in that way. This is the kind of prayer that 00:16:47.710 --> 00:16:49.610 you may want to think about if you want to open 00:16:49.610 --> 00:16:51.649 up your heart to have a heart of multiplication. 00:16:54.769 --> 00:16:59.350 We'll just put that up on the screen. I'll come 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:01.950 back to that. If you can just go to the prayer 00:17:01.950 --> 00:17:05.450 for a moment. That's on the next one. Say, Lord, 00:17:05.549 --> 00:17:07.970 I want to participate in your kingdom economy. 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:11.630 I lay all of my earthly possessions before you, 00:17:11.690 --> 00:17:15.589 my finances and my possessions, and I ask that 00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:19.130 you take them and you break them and you multiply 00:17:19.130 --> 00:17:24.049 them to build your kingdom here on earth. Consider 00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:27.089 a prayer like that, and a prayer like that delivered 00:17:27.089 --> 00:17:30.049 in faith on a regular basis. You watch as God 00:17:30.049 --> 00:17:34.029 changes your heart from a heart of division to 00:17:34.029 --> 00:17:36.269 a heart of multiplication, a generous heart, 00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:39.470 where God can perform his miracles in your life 00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:43.190 and in the lives of those around you. The first 00:17:43.190 --> 00:17:45.230 step, if you want to move from the world economy 00:17:45.230 --> 00:17:49.470 into God's kingdom economy, is to develop a heart 00:17:49.470 --> 00:17:53.069 of multiplication. But there's another step that 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:55.069 we can take along the way that Jesus tells us 00:17:55.069 --> 00:17:58.910 about in this parable, and that's this. We need 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:01.029 to develop a heart for the things that are timeless. 00:18:01.910 --> 00:18:05.450 Not things that are temporary We need to develop 00:18:05.450 --> 00:18:07.970 a heart for things that are timeless not things 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:10.869 that are temporary You see in in our world in 00:18:10.869 --> 00:18:13.369 the world's economy. Our focus is on the right 00:18:13.369 --> 00:18:16.670 here and the right now It's a very limited view 00:18:16.670 --> 00:18:19.470 that we have in our world We have a very short 00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:21.589 attention span, it's often said, in this world. 00:18:21.690 --> 00:18:24.289 And therefore, our focus tends to be on the things 00:18:24.289 --> 00:18:26.490 that we can see and that we can measure, we can 00:18:26.490 --> 00:18:29.230 touch, and we can feel right now. But in God's 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:31.589 economy, it's different. God's economy is on 00:18:31.589 --> 00:18:33.869 the things that are timeless, that last throughout 00:18:33.869 --> 00:18:36.210 the ages, and indeed that last for all eternity. 00:18:37.230 --> 00:18:39.750 And that's what the man in the parable had to 00:18:39.750 --> 00:18:43.430 learn. Have a look at what happened next. After 00:18:43.430 --> 00:18:47.920 he was... thinking about this barn thing he wanted 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.119 to do, building up these barns, he said, I will 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.980 then say to myself, you have plenty of grain 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.779 laid up for many years. Take like Vesey, eat, 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:01.119 drink, and be merry. But God said to him, you 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:04.380 fool, this very night your life will be demanded 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:06.940 from you. Then who will get what you have prepared 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:11.880 for yourself? This is how it will be for whoever 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.980 stores up things for themselves. but is not rich 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:19.099 towards the things of God. You see, as far as 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.900 this man was concerned, all of his problems were 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:24.160 going to be solved by building these big barns. 00:19:24.660 --> 00:19:28.140 And what Jesus wanted him to know is that that's 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:30.220 the world's economy, and it could be gone in 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:33.779 an instant. and when we put our stock when we 00:19:33.779 --> 00:19:36.420 put our investments when we put our focus only 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:38.799 on the things that we can see right now things 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:40.839 that can vanish in just a minute we are going 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:43.460 to miss out on all the blessings that god has 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:47.200 when we can take a longer view taking a longer 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:51.480 view is recognizing that in god's economy the 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:54.539 best is yet to come And it may not be what you 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:58.019 can see right now, but you can trust in God's 00:19:58.019 --> 00:20:00.839 faithfulness that the best is yet to come. Take 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:03.819 the long view. Focus on the things that are timeless. 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:08.880 Some of you will know the true story of a businessman 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:13.640 named Ron. And many years ago, Ron built a business 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:17.500 with two other partners. But after a short time, 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:20.539 Ron was unsure if the business was going to be 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.789 successful. And so he sold his shares. He had 00:20:23.789 --> 00:20:26.410 10 % in the company, and he sold his shares back 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:30.130 to his two partners. And he received $800 for 00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:36.529 those shares. The year was 1976. The man's name 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:40.250 was Ron Wayne. His business partners were named 00:20:40.250 --> 00:20:44.049 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. The company was 00:20:44.049 --> 00:20:48.789 Apple. It's estimated that if he had not sold 00:20:48.789 --> 00:20:52.130 those shares for $800, that today they'd be worth 00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:56.950 about $95 billion. But Ron didn't have the long 00:20:56.950 --> 00:21:00.329 view. Now, friends, please hear me. This is not 00:21:00.329 --> 00:21:02.630 investment advice. I don't know anything about 00:21:02.630 --> 00:21:05.109 stocks, when to buy, when to sell, anything like 00:21:05.109 --> 00:21:08.930 that. The point is that it reminds us, the story 00:21:08.930 --> 00:21:11.529 of Ron Wayne reminds us that the best is yet 00:21:11.529 --> 00:21:14.589 to come. And what we need to do is to take the 00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:20.339 long view. I think of my dear wife, Nora, and 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:23.640 for how many years she prayed for her parents 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:26.279 to come to faith in Christ. She and her siblings 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:29.319 had all come to Christ, but their parents had 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:33.880 not. And yet they prayed diligently. You see, 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:36.819 the world's economy would say, you know what, 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.500 if the prayers aren't working right now, stop 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:42.970 praying. But in God's economy, you know that 00:21:42.970 --> 00:21:45.650 the best is yet to come. And it's God's economy, 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:47.730 it's understanding to focus on things that are 00:21:47.730 --> 00:21:50.809 timeless that keeps us praying. And today, both 00:21:50.809 --> 00:21:53.549 of Nora's parents are wonderful Christians living 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:57.430 a beautiful life of faith. Having a timeless 00:21:57.430 --> 00:21:59.789 view can also remind us that when we are serving, 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.569 the results are not just what we see here and 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:06.569 now. I was so inspired to see what you as a church 00:22:06.569 --> 00:22:09.890 did in the community last week with the Christmas 00:22:09.890 --> 00:22:13.369 event down here in Streetsville. And you know, 00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:15.750 there's one view that says the results of that 00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:18.369 was a lot of people got hot chocolate, and there 00:22:18.369 --> 00:22:20.349 was a great festive atmosphere, and people got 00:22:20.349 --> 00:22:22.190 to understand the church. And that's all true. 00:22:23.069 --> 00:22:26.309 But here's what we know in God's economy. There 00:22:26.309 --> 00:22:29.089 were seeds planted that day that might reap a 00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:33.160 harvest in 10, 20, or 30 years from now. People 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:35.539 perhaps for the very first time got a glimpse 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:37.440 of the love of God through what you were doing 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.819 out there. You see, in God's economy, we measure 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:43.640 things differently. We don't look only at what 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:45.640 we can see right now, like this man did with 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:49.380 his barns, but we take an eternal view. And the 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:51.480 work that you are doing as a church, the investments 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:54.180 you're making in your community, they can pay 00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:56.900 off for years and years and years to come, and 00:22:56.900 --> 00:23:00.680 indeed right into eternity. I think the same 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:03.220 thing is true with... the charity work that you 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.440 support around the world whether it's with world 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:08.200 vision or somewhere else you know the the world's 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:10.660 economy says well you've done this for a little 00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:13.539 while and you know maybe the results have had 00:23:13.539 --> 00:23:15.519 their best day let's move on to something else 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:19.940 but in god's economy you recognize that whatever 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:21.980 work you're supporting whether it's world vision 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:25.279 or somewhere else that there is fruit being born 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:27.200 that's going to last for generations and right 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:31.539 on into eternity Friends, develop a heart for 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:33.640 the things that are timeless, not for the things 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.720 that are temporary. And what that might mean 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:38.819 to you is that if there's been someone in your 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:42.259 life that you've been praying for, either to 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:44.759 come to Christ, or perhaps it's been a health 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:48.259 issue, the world might say, it's time to give 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:51.980 up and move on. But remember that in God's economy, 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:56.299 the best is yet to come. Keep praying. The world's 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:58.099 economy might say that, you know, you've been 00:23:58.099 --> 00:24:01.000 serving a lot here at Trinity, and, you know, 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:03.579 sometimes it just gets hard. Maybe you need to 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:05.700 just take a break for a while. And sometimes 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:08.779 that could be true. But remember that the work 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.779 you're doing now can have an eternal difference 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.359 in the lives of somebody else. Keep serving. 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.579 And certainly, if you've been supporting, whether 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:20.319 it's World Vision or some other worthwhile organization, 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:23.259 and you may not see the results you want right 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:26.259 now, Just remember that in God's economy, the 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:29.240 best is yet to come. Keep supporting the work 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:33.059 that you're committed to. Because to take a step 00:24:33.059 --> 00:24:35.700 from the world's economy into God's economy, 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:39.599 it means remembering, focus on the things that 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:43.460 are timeless. Well, there's a third step that 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.940 takes us into God's economy as well, and that's 00:24:45.940 --> 00:24:49.619 this. Develop a heart of open hands, not closed 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:55.250 fists. Develop a heart of open hands, not closed 00:24:55.250 --> 00:24:58.869 fists. You know, there's a Jewish expression 00:24:58.869 --> 00:25:01.970 that says that we are born with a closed fist 00:25:01.970 --> 00:25:06.410 and we die with an open hand. And what that means 00:25:06.410 --> 00:25:08.730 is, I'm sure you've all seen this, when a beautiful 00:25:08.730 --> 00:25:10.710 baby is born, have you ever noticed that for 00:25:10.710 --> 00:25:13.009 a while they always keep their fist clenched 00:25:13.009 --> 00:25:17.049 like this? And really that's what the Jewish 00:25:17.049 --> 00:25:19.970 expression speaks to is... That points to the 00:25:19.970 --> 00:25:22.490 lives that many people will live afterwards, 00:25:22.670 --> 00:25:25.269 which is that we hold very tightly to our things. 00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:29.150 We hold very tightly to our stuff. But the expression 00:25:29.150 --> 00:25:32.250 says that we die like this, meaning we can't 00:25:32.250 --> 00:25:34.150 take anything with us after we leave this earth. 00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:38.430 And what Jesus is calling us to through this 00:25:38.430 --> 00:25:41.450 parable is to live our lives like this, not with 00:25:41.450 --> 00:25:45.150 clenched fists. Listen to the words of the man 00:25:45.150 --> 00:25:48.420 in the parable. And listen to how tightly his 00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:53.220 fist was clenched. He thought to himself as he 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:55.119 was processing what he wanted to do with all 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.240 his wealth, he thought to himself, what shall 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:02.720 I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:06.039 he said, this is what I'll do. I will tear down 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:10.140 my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:14.220 store my surplus grains. Boy, you talk about 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:20.809 a clenched fist. My grain, my barns, and my surplus. 00:26:21.690 --> 00:26:26.089 That's the language of the world's economy. But 00:26:26.089 --> 00:26:29.349 open -handed living, kingdom living, is different 00:26:29.349 --> 00:26:33.450 than that. You see, as citizens of God's kingdom, 00:26:33.589 --> 00:26:38.490 we recognize it's not my barns. It's not my surplus. 00:26:38.650 --> 00:26:44.009 It's not my grain. It's not my job. It's not 00:26:44.009 --> 00:26:48.400 my car. It's not my money. These are all things 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:51.819 that God has graciously provided to us. These 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:53.700 are all things that come from the gracious, loving 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:56.819 hand of God, and we are simply stewards of them. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.980 I don't have a job at World Vision. God has provided 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:07.259 me with an opportunity to serve. I don't have 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:10.720 a house in Kelowna. God has provided me with 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:13.279 a dwelling. It's come from Him, and I hold it 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:17.609 with open hands. Everything that you and I have 00:27:17.609 --> 00:27:21.769 is not ours to hang on to tightly. It's ours 00:27:21.769 --> 00:27:23.890 to recognize that it's come from the loving hand 00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:28.049 of God, and we serve like this. We open our hands. 00:27:29.470 --> 00:27:32.670 And friends, if you want to thrive and serve 00:27:32.670 --> 00:27:36.230 and live in God's economy, we need to develop 00:27:36.230 --> 00:27:42.349 a heart of open hands. One of the countries that 00:27:42.349 --> 00:27:44.589 we served when I was with the Global Leadership 00:27:44.589 --> 00:27:49.210 Network, was Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a place you 00:27:49.210 --> 00:27:51.210 may know. It's a small island off the coast of 00:27:51.210 --> 00:27:54.730 Tanzania. And it's a place that's 98 % Muslim 00:27:54.730 --> 00:27:58.670 with about a 2 % Christian population. And it's 00:27:58.670 --> 00:28:00.670 been fraught with tension between the Muslim 00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:04.190 majority and the Christians who are there. Well, 00:28:04.250 --> 00:28:06.630 one day, one of the government officials from 00:28:06.630 --> 00:28:09.450 Zanzibar was traveling in South Africa and saw 00:28:09.450 --> 00:28:12.609 an advertisement for the conference we were doing 00:28:12.609 --> 00:28:16.369 down there. And she wanted to attend, but she 00:28:16.369 --> 00:28:18.150 didn't know if she was allowed to because she's 00:28:18.150 --> 00:28:21.890 Muslim. And so she called our office in South 00:28:21.890 --> 00:28:24.509 Africa, and that's exactly what she said. I'd 00:28:24.509 --> 00:28:26.289 like to attend your conference, but I don't know 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:28.569 if I'm allowed to because I'm not Christian. 00:28:30.250 --> 00:28:32.990 Well, there would be two ways for our office 00:28:32.990 --> 00:28:36.650 to have answered that call. The clenched fist 00:28:36.650 --> 00:28:39.170 way would have been, this is our conference, 00:28:39.349 --> 00:28:41.970 this is for Christians, this is for pastors. 00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:44.670 and only people in that category can come to 00:28:44.670 --> 00:28:48.910 our conference. But I'm so grateful that the 00:28:48.910 --> 00:28:51.910 person who answered the phone understood having 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:54.869 a heart of open hands. And she said, of course 00:28:54.869 --> 00:28:57.890 you can come. In fact, she said, bring as many 00:28:57.890 --> 00:29:00.130 friends and colleagues as you'd like. You'd be 00:29:00.130 --> 00:29:03.109 more than welcome. Well, when this government 00:29:03.109 --> 00:29:05.349 official had finished the conference, she went 00:29:05.349 --> 00:29:07.769 back to Zanzibar, and she reported to the government 00:29:07.769 --> 00:29:10.990 about her experience in South Africa. And she 00:29:10.990 --> 00:29:13.309 said, the power of the experience to me, she 00:29:13.309 --> 00:29:15.609 said, was not just in the content of the conference, 00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:19.869 it was in the way I was treated. She said, the 00:29:19.869 --> 00:29:23.009 Christians treated me with love, with kindness, 00:29:23.190 --> 00:29:26.410 and with respect. She said, they even set up 00:29:26.410 --> 00:29:28.650 a prayer room for me, because, you know, Muslims 00:29:28.650 --> 00:29:31.089 have a scheduled prayer system that they follow. 00:29:32.250 --> 00:29:35.470 And the government was impacted deeply by that 00:29:35.470 --> 00:29:38.619 experience. To the point that they contacted 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:41.980 our ministry and said, could you bring your Christian 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:44.960 ministry to Zanzibar? Because we believe this 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.059 could form a bridge between the Muslims and the 00:29:47.059 --> 00:29:50.599 Christians in our nation. That's what happens 00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:53.160 when we approach our lives with open hands and 00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:57.019 we recognize this is not ours. This is what God 00:29:57.019 --> 00:30:00.500 has graciously entrusted to us. And that's what 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:02.799 fuels our generosity. When we recognize we are 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.180 simply stewards of all that God has given to 00:30:05.180 --> 00:30:10.160 us. And friends, I wonder for you today, is there 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:13.640 anything in your life that you are still hanging 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:17.599 on to with a clenched fist? You see, for many 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:19.859 of us, what we do is we think we want to have 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:22.220 a heart of open hands. We want to say, God, I 00:30:22.220 --> 00:30:26.500 can offer before you the job you've given me 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:29.819 and the car and the house, but I'm not sure about 00:30:29.819 --> 00:30:32.579 my money. Maybe that is still something we're 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:35.299 hanging on to with a clenched fist. Or maybe 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:38.329 it's our title. Or maybe it's some other area 00:30:38.329 --> 00:30:40.549 of influence we have. Friends, here's what I'd 00:30:40.549 --> 00:30:43.569 like to challenge you to do today. Would you 00:30:43.569 --> 00:30:46.509 make an inventory of all the things in your life 00:30:46.509 --> 00:30:49.650 that we would traditionally, in the world's view, 00:30:49.690 --> 00:30:53.869 say, that's mine? And would you pray, Lord, would 00:30:53.869 --> 00:30:58.210 you open my heart? Would you open my hand? Maybe 00:30:58.210 --> 00:31:03.809 it is your job. Maybe it's your income. Maybe 00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:06.480 it's your house. Whatever it is, say, Lord, would 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:09.619 you help me to release it to you? And when you 00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:12.940 can do that, when you can develop a true heart 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:16.220 of open -handed living, you've taken another 00:31:16.220 --> 00:31:21.359 step into God's economy. Well, what do we do 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:25.140 with this? Once we are now in God's economy, 00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:27.319 once we've taken that journey from the world's 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:30.099 economy, step by step into God's economy, what 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:32.420 do we do now? What does life look like there? 00:31:33.309 --> 00:31:35.470 Well, this is one of those parables and one of 00:31:35.470 --> 00:31:38.190 those teachings where Jesus is beautifully clear. 00:31:39.029 --> 00:31:42.710 Here's what he says. Sell your possessions and 00:31:42.710 --> 00:31:46.230 give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves 00:31:46.230 --> 00:31:50.269 that will not wear out. Well, what is a purse 00:31:50.269 --> 00:31:54.710 that will not wear out? That's when you are generous, 00:31:54.769 --> 00:31:58.829 when you are giving to the poor, that is credited 00:31:58.829 --> 00:32:02.680 to your account in heaven. God is saying when 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:04.779 you are generous, when you give to the poor, 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:08.119 you are receiving a blessing that you may not 00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:10.759 even fully realize for years to come. It's an 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:13.000 eternal blessing you receive when you are generous 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.359 to the poor. That's a purse that will never wear 00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:19.920 out. But it's interesting that Jesus says, sell 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:23.299 your possessions. And that's in stark contrast 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:25.880 to the world's view of generosity, especially 00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:29.170 generosity to the poor. Because here's what the 00:32:29.170 --> 00:32:31.769 world says. Here's the world's financial plan 00:32:31.769 --> 00:32:34.670 for giving to the poor. Go through the month, 00:32:34.769 --> 00:32:37.930 pay all your bills, make sure everything's checked 00:32:37.930 --> 00:32:40.789 off, and if there's anything left over at the 00:32:40.789 --> 00:32:43.769 end, you can give some of that to the poor. The 00:32:43.769 --> 00:32:46.869 world's economy when it comes to generosity is 00:32:46.869 --> 00:32:51.089 based on surplus. But God's economy when it comes 00:32:51.089 --> 00:32:54.210 to generosity, it's not based on surplus, it's 00:32:54.210 --> 00:32:58.480 based on sacrifice. It should change some things 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:02.460 in our lives when we want to participate in God's 00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:05.019 economy through hearts of generosity to the poor. 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:08.799 In other words, it doesn't mean that at the end 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:11.500 of the month we've made sure that all the recreation 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:14.279 we wanted to do and all of the nights out we 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.940 wanted to do, once all that is done, now we can 00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:19.759 give. No, in God's economy, what it means is 00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:22.640 maybe we're going to cancel two or three of the 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:24.480 streaming services that come into our house. 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:28.579 And out of that, we're going to give to the poor. 00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:32.460 Maybe it means that we're not going to go out 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:34.680 for dinner every week. We're only going to go 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:36.980 out for dinner once a month or twice a month. 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:38.880 And the difference from that, we're going to 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:41.579 give to the poor. It means that we are going 00:33:41.579 --> 00:33:44.720 to make sacrifices. We are going to change the 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:47.259 way we live so that we are freeing up resources 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:50.859 that God can put to use in serving the poor and 00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:53.539 letting his blessings flow in our lives and around 00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:57.920 the world. In other words, generous living in 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:01.279 God's economy is about sacrifice. It should mean 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:03.759 that we're going to change something in our lives 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:08.900 so that we can support the poor. But here's the 00:34:08.900 --> 00:34:12.559 good news. Jesus beautifully wraps up this parable 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:16.099 with a wonderful promise to us. Because he says 00:34:16.099 --> 00:34:19.480 that when you've done this, when you have given 00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:22.159 to the poor sacrificially, you will be receiving 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:25.780 a treasure in heaven. that will never fail, where 00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:30.340 no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For 00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:33.039 where your treasure is, there your heart will 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:37.500 be also. There are blessings untold for each 00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:41.539 one of us when we step into God's economy and 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:45.679 we sacrificially give to support the poor. And 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:49.000 that's my invitation for you today, that would 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:53.230 you join us as a full participating... member 00:34:53.230 --> 00:34:56.650 of god's economy would you give sacrificially 00:34:56.650 --> 00:35:01.909 to the poor your heart will be blessed and you'll 00:35:01.909 --> 00:35:06.289 be a part of changing the world let me pray for 00:35:06.289 --> 00:35:10.449 you our heavenly father how grateful we are that 00:35:10.449 --> 00:35:13.170 we can gather in a wonderful church like trinity 00:35:13.170 --> 00:35:16.650 a church that has such a heart for generosity 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:20.239 And Father, may that be true of each one of us. 00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:24.539 Father, guide us into your kingdom economy. May 00:35:24.539 --> 00:35:28.340 we be faithful to support the poor. And Father, 00:35:28.380 --> 00:35:32.920 we do so out of hearts of joy, love, and gratitude 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:36.239 for all you will do around the world. We pray 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:41.130 these things in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank 00:35:41.130 --> 00:35:43.210 you for listening to this week's episode of Trinity 00:35:43.210 --> 00:35:45.650 Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity 00:35:45.650 --> 00:35:48.429 Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on 00:35:48.429 --> 00:35:50.929 November 23rd, 2025.