WEBVTT 00:00:01.449 --> 00:00:04.169 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:04.290 --> 00:00:06.790 What if I told you that I had an investment tip 00:00:06.790 --> 00:00:08.830 that would net you a guaranteed high rate of 00:00:08.830 --> 00:00:11.429 return that would allow you to enjoy many of 00:00:11.429 --> 00:00:14.269 its benefits right away and would significantly 00:00:14.269 --> 00:00:16.949 help others without affecting your bottom line? 00:00:17.190 --> 00:00:20.329 There is such an investment strategy, and today 00:00:20.329 --> 00:00:22.870 you'll learn how to become the smartest money 00:00:22.870 --> 00:00:27.910 manager on the planet. Philanthropy is a big 00:00:27.910 --> 00:00:30.760 word for giving money away. We tend to associate 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:33.280 philanthropy with millionaires who need a tax 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.200 break. But what if generosity has nothing to 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.020 do with how much money you have or how holy you 00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:41.700 think you are? What if sharing your money produces 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:45.520 an outcome you can't receive any other way? Well, 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:47.740 today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram describes 00:00:47.740 --> 00:00:50.899 how charity becomes the gateway to intimacy with 00:00:50.899 --> 00:00:54.039 our Heavenly Father. And then, just after Chip's 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.479 message, we'll explain how you can leverage your 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:00.159 year -end donation at livingontheedge .org. Until 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.859 December 31st, every dollar given to support 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:05.900 Living on the Edge is automatically doubled in 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:09.420 size and impact because of this match. More later. 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:12.739 But right now, the message from Chip. Let me 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:15.900 give you four reasons now why it is genius to 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:19.920 be generous. Number one, generosity changes our 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:25.329 lives. Generosity changes our lives. It blesses 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:28.950 our lives. It enriches our lives. It makes life 00:01:28.950 --> 00:01:32.349 better. The very last words we ever hear in the 00:01:32.349 --> 00:01:34.269 Bible from Jesus are this, and they're not in 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:38.189 the Gospels. It's a quote from Acts where the 00:01:38.189 --> 00:01:41.189 Apostle Paul quotes Jesus and says, Jesus said, 00:01:41.310 --> 00:01:43.750 it's more blessed to give than to receive. The 00:01:43.750 --> 00:01:45.530 word blessed, you know what it means? Happy, 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:49.969 welfare, good. uplifting, encouraging. People 00:01:49.969 --> 00:01:51.969 who give are more blessed even than those who 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:54.650 give receive. I mean, this is the ultimate win 00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:59.450 -win proposition. Second reason is generosity 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:03.609 connects us with others. A generous man will 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:06.150 prosper and he who refreshes others will himself 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:10.610 be refreshed. Proverbs 11, 25. A generous, literally 00:02:10.610 --> 00:02:12.689 that word prosper, a generous man will be fat. 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:15.539 It doesn't mean, you know, like. You need to 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:17.500 go to Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, but it's 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:20.159 this idea that you'll prosper, you'll have more 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:23.080 than you need, and he who refreshes others, when 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:24.900 you give and are kind to others, will himself 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:27.460 be refreshed. When you give and when you're generous 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:29.240 of your time and generous of your talent and 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.199 generous with your money, generous with your 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:33.159 stuff, let people use your car, let them use 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:35.340 your house, let them use this, when you're generous, 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.199 it connects you with people. Third, generosity 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:45.780 helps us invest in what matters most. And so 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:49.199 Jesus is going to be like a wise investment counselor 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:51.840 in the Sermon on the Mount. And he's going to 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.580 say, don't invest over here because it won't 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.300 turn out bad ROI. But I do want you to invest 00:02:57.300 --> 00:03:00.000 over here, very positive ROI. And by the way, 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.460 here's why. Look at it. There's a negative command 00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:06.659 and there's a positive command. And then he gives 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.199 the reason. And this is sort of investment counseling. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.080 He says, do not store up for yourselves treasure 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.639 on earth where moth and rust destroy and where 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.319 thieves break in and steal. And would you underline 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:20.439 the word for yourselves? Now the way that you 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:22.680 would accumulate wealth was through fine clothing, 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:26.400 precious metals, and grains. And so even that 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.520 word rust has the idea not just of metals but 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.020 maybe of varmints getting in and eating your 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:34.060 grain and ruining it. And so basically the grammar 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:40.729 here is stop investing solely on earth. And the 00:03:40.729 --> 00:03:42.710 reason is because you can suffer great loss. 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:46.020 All those are temporal. Now, by the way, he's 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:48.360 not saying it's wrong to save because the scripture 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:50.800 tells us elsewhere to save. He's not saying that 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:53.099 it's wrong to prepare for the future. You know, 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:55.159 the writer of Proverbs says you need to make 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:56.659 provision and think about what's going to come. 00:03:56.740 --> 00:03:59.099 And it's not wrong to have something nice. We're 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.639 actually commanded in scripture to enjoy the 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:04.159 good things God gives us. This is a prohibition 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:07.280 against selfish, greedy hoarding that you think 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.819 that this is now and I'm going to have it. And 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:12.780 my life, my success, my power, my happiness is 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:15.389 going to come from investing. my time and energy 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:19.569 in the right now, in temporal stuff. Then he 00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:21.569 gives the other advice. He says, but store up. 00:04:21.649 --> 00:04:24.389 Now, would you underline why? For yourselves. 00:04:25.189 --> 00:04:27.810 This is for your benefit. He's giving wise investment 00:04:27.810 --> 00:04:30.949 counseling, treasures in heaven where moth and 00:04:30.949 --> 00:04:32.870 rust do not destroy and where thieves can't break 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:35.310 in and steal. In other words, it's a better investment 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:37.449 because when you make this investment, 100 % 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:40.540 return. And so all through the Gospels, Jesus 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:42.699 talks about what's it, so what would be like 00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:45.319 to invest treasure in heaven? Treasure in heaven 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.980 in Luke 16 is you give your money and your time 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:51.100 to help other people come to Christ. And when 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:53.560 you get to heaven, they will welcome you because 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.579 you gave. When you give a cup of cold water, 00:04:56.620 --> 00:04:58.899 when you provide relief and love in the name 00:04:58.899 --> 00:05:01.759 of Jesus, there'll be a reward. That's an eternal 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.079 heavenly treasure. When you use your money to 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:07.519 help the poor, you're lending to the Lord. All 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:10.220 those things. He says, there's a bank account 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:13.360 with your name on it with very specific reward 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.819 in heaven that can't be touched by thieves or 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.220 rust or moss. So he says, that's great. Then 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:22.339 he gives you the reason. Look at verse 21. For 00:05:22.339 --> 00:05:24.639 where your treasure is, there your heart will 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:28.079 be also. Literally meaning, it says, for where 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.100 you treasure your treasure, that's where your 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.160 heart will be. So what he's saying is, there's 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:35.480 a relationship between what you worship. Don't 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:37.420 make a bad investment where it'll be temporal, 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:39.860 loss, can change overnight. Some of you know 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:43.079 about that, right? Jesus is just saying. He's 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:45.199 not saying you're more righteous, more holy, 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.000 you're better than other people when you invest 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.079 in the things that last. He's just saying there 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:51.560 are smart investors and there's dumb investors. 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:54.579 Dumb investors focus all their time, all their 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:56.740 energy around worshiping things and people that 00:05:56.740 --> 00:05:58.660 change and that will let them down and won't 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:01.139 come through and can be stolen and removed from 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:04.259 them. And smart investors. take a big part of 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:07.040 their portfolio, and they invest in things that 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.079 can never change, never be touched, and will 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:13.720 last forever. And then he goes, because you gotta 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:15.819 be asking yourself, how does this idea of your 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:20.480 heart and investments, and why is that so important? 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:23.139 And so notice he's going to give a metaphor, 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.160 a picture. Look at verse 32. He says, the eye 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.759 is the lamp of your body. If your eye is good, 00:06:28.819 --> 00:06:30.759 your whole body will be full of light. But if 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:32.620 your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:35.079 of darkness. If then the light within you is 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.319 darkness, how great is that darkness? Put a box 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:40.920 around the word good, put a box around the word 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.839 bad, and circle the word eye. Jesus is an amazing 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:47.259 teacher. He talks out there's two treasures. 00:06:47.980 --> 00:06:50.740 Then he's going to say there's two eyes, and 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:52.560 later he's going to say there's two masters. 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:55.420 And he says there's treasure in heaven, there's 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.860 treasure in earth. Which investment? Now he's 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.459 going to say the way that you come about deciding 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:03.139 where to invest has to do with your eye. Your 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.620 eye is the lamp of your body. Your eye is what 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:07.839 you look through. It's how you perceive. It's 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:10.259 how you decide. It's where your focus is. It's 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:11.939 how you get direction about where you're going 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:14.730 to go. And there's a very interesting word. This 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:18.810 word for your eye is good, the word good. You 00:07:18.810 --> 00:07:20.550 know how some words in English depends on the 00:07:20.550 --> 00:07:23.730 context what they mean? This word is haplos in 00:07:23.730 --> 00:07:27.529 Greek. It can either mean singularity or loyalty 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.930 and focus, or it can mean to be liberal or generous, 00:07:30.949 --> 00:07:33.050 depending on the context. So he says if your 00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:36.389 eye is good, if your loyalty is toward God, and 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:38.790 you're liberal and generous with what he's given 00:07:38.790 --> 00:07:41.069 you, he says your body will be full of light. 00:07:41.629 --> 00:07:43.769 In other words, you'll reflect God's light. You 00:07:43.769 --> 00:07:45.829 will enjoy God's light. You'll share God's light. 00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:49.149 He says, but if your eye is bad, another interesting 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:52.529 word. We actually, it's the word poneros. Literally, 00:07:52.670 --> 00:07:55.329 it means evil. It's used of Satan for being evil. 00:07:56.790 --> 00:07:58.930 And also, there was a Jewish idiom that talked 00:07:58.930 --> 00:08:01.870 about the evil eye. And the person with the evil 00:08:01.870 --> 00:08:05.430 eye is a selfish, greedy, hoarding person. He 00:08:05.430 --> 00:08:07.649 says, if your eye is about you and accumulating 00:08:07.649 --> 00:08:09.949 and protecting and saving and not letting anybody 00:08:09.949 --> 00:08:13.110 in and trying to He says, then even the light 00:08:13.110 --> 00:08:15.689 you think you have, your focus, the idea that 00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:17.509 you think, if I just have this much, then I'll 00:08:17.509 --> 00:08:19.430 be successful. And if I'm successful, then I'll 00:08:19.430 --> 00:08:21.029 be a someone. If I'm a someone, then I'll have 00:08:21.029 --> 00:08:22.610 security. And if I have security, then people 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:29.550 will love me. He goes, hmm, dumb, dumb, bad investment. 00:08:30.110 --> 00:08:31.810 Because he says, there's two treasures you have 00:08:31.810 --> 00:08:35.830 to discern, two eyes that give your focus. And 00:08:35.830 --> 00:08:38.629 he says, it really boils down to your focus will 00:08:38.629 --> 00:08:42.129 determine. Notice there's two masters. He says 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:44.110 no one can serve two masters. This isn't like 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:46.370 double employment. He says you'll be a slave 00:08:46.370 --> 00:08:48.509 to one or a slave to the other. He'll either 00:08:48.509 --> 00:08:50.789 hate the one and love the other or he'll be devoted 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:53.610 to one and despise the other. You can't serve 00:08:53.610 --> 00:08:56.710 God and mammon or money too. According to scripture, 00:08:56.909 --> 00:08:59.769 I bet the first 15 years I was a Christian, I 00:08:59.769 --> 00:09:02.710 would think there's God and Satan, good and bad. 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:05.190 Those are the two big gods. That's not what the 00:09:05.190 --> 00:09:07.779 Bible teaches. The Bible teaches there's two 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:12.019 gods. There's God and money. Now, Satan may energize 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:15.019 that. But see, if I have money, I think it'll 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:19.059 deliver me the success, the significance, the 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:22.600 security, the people, the admiration, the fame, 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.120 whatever it is that I think will really come 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:31.000 through. And Jesus says, if you don't get the 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:33.200 right master because you have the wrong eye, 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.629 you'll invest in the wrong spot. And you can 00:09:36.629 --> 00:09:38.389 look like things are going really, really good. 00:09:38.529 --> 00:09:40.970 And just in one New York minute, things can get 00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:43.730 turned upside down. And that person you set your 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:47.330 heart on is gone. That money you set your heart 00:09:47.330 --> 00:09:50.230 on evaporates. That house that was going to be 00:09:50.230 --> 00:09:54.789 the big deal is underwater. The promotion that 00:09:54.789 --> 00:09:57.649 was going to make you a someone, you started 00:09:57.649 --> 00:09:59.370 the company and now the board says you're not 00:09:59.370 --> 00:10:01.570 fit to run it anymore. And they decide they want 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:03.909 to get someone else. And if you've ever been 00:10:03.909 --> 00:10:06.659 around a person, who set their heart on some 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:09.419 things and the thing crumbles, I will tell you 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:13.100 what, it's painful to watch. And so the final 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.340 thing he teaches here, he says generosity frees 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:18.000 our heart. See, at the core of it, what Jesus 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.120 says, you gotta invest. I wanna protect you from 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:21.879 investments, but the way to protect you from 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:24.740 investments is I wanna protect your heart. Because 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:28.779 out of your heart flow the issues of life. See, 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:32.039 when I'm consumed by the God of money, I work 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:36.389 crazy hours, I consume, I use people to get things. 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:39.649 And what that produces is very bad dysfunctional 00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:41.990 relationships. And so like, there's lots of really 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:44.730 old people in places whose kids don't care about 00:10:44.730 --> 00:10:46.610 them and don't talk to them and don't relate 00:10:46.610 --> 00:10:49.350 to them because they had their focus and their 00:10:49.350 --> 00:10:51.350 eye and their master on what they could have 00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:54.230 and succeed. And there weren't relationships 00:10:54.230 --> 00:10:58.169 because their heart got hard. Their heart wasn't 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:00.590 for the things that really mattered. I've never 00:11:00.590 --> 00:11:03.190 had anyone that I've buried say, I'll tell you 00:11:03.190 --> 00:11:06.350 what, man, my dad, He had the coolest watch, 00:11:06.610 --> 00:11:10.710 house, and 401k in the world. I mean, it was 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:13.110 awesome. In fact, I took it off his wrist when 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:14.830 they put it in the casket. That's how good it 00:11:14.830 --> 00:11:17.490 was. The only thing you ever hear when people 00:11:17.490 --> 00:11:21.690 die are the relationship that people had with 00:11:21.690 --> 00:11:24.250 that person and what that person did in relationship 00:11:24.250 --> 00:11:27.470 to them and who they impacted out of the love 00:11:27.470 --> 00:11:31.470 of their life. Very few things last. And so the 00:11:31.470 --> 00:11:35.179 lure, see, Just like, you know, in all these 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:37.159 scandals, what do they do in scandals today? 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:40.159 If you want to know what's going on in a scandal, 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:44.059 what's the old axiom? Follow the, come on now, 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:47.259 follow the money, right? The money trail. And 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:53.059 God says the same thing. Your heart goes where 00:11:53.059 --> 00:11:56.279 your money flows. So if you want your heart to 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:57.820 be about golf, spend all your money on golf. 00:11:57.960 --> 00:11:59.279 If you want your heart to be all about business, 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:01.000 make it all about business. If you want it to 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.600 be about real estate, go. Just you spend your 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.759 money where you want your heart to be because 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.240 that's where you go. And what Jesus is saying 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:13.039 here is the mirror of your heart is your money. 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.340 I mean, if you just want to know where you're 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:20.700 at, you just look at, so there's where my money 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:23.200 goes. Those are my priorities. Those are my real 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.960 values. And so what he does is he gives us this 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:30.759 investment plan to protect us. We'll hear more 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:32.840 from Chip Ingram's message in just a moment. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:35.559 First, we invite you to multiply your year in 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:38.179 support of Living on the Edge through an exciting 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:41.200 match that's active through December 31st. Every 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:45.320 gift is matched. Every dollar multiplied by two. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:49.039 Every investment maximized for kingdom impact. 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:52.279 Double the impact of your gift at livingontheedge 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.750 .org. from a series called The Genius of Generosity. 00:12:56.870 --> 00:13:00.710 Again, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. So it's 00:13:00.710 --> 00:13:02.529 genius to be generous because it changes our 00:13:02.529 --> 00:13:04.950 lives. It's positive. It's a win -win. It's genius 00:13:04.950 --> 00:13:06.809 because it connects us deeply with other people. 00:13:06.929 --> 00:13:09.250 It's genius because it helps us invest in what's 00:13:09.250 --> 00:13:11.190 going to matter most so we're not disappointed 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:13.389 and have a bad investment. And it's genius because 00:13:13.389 --> 00:13:15.909 it frees our heart. So here's the kind of $64 00:13:15.909 --> 00:13:19.629 question. If generosity is so smart, why isn't 00:13:19.629 --> 00:13:22.639 everyone doing it? I mean, I could give you the 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.360 statistics among Christians. It's not real pretty. 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:28.980 Most Christians are not very generous. But why? 00:13:29.059 --> 00:13:31.860 I mean, if what I just taught is true, why wouldn't 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:34.000 we be the most generous people in the world? 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.480 We're going to explore that. And I'm not talking 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:42.480 just about your money. I mean, if you think this 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:43.879 series is going to be about money and you're 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:46.879 tempted to check out, let me warn you. Money 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.519 is like the training wheels of authentic generosity. 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.460 But let me highlight, this is why I struggle 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:57.139 with not being smart. One is because wealth is 00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:02.139 powerful and deceptive. I mean, money isn't neutral. 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:04.120 According to Jesus, remember he talks about the 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.779 sower and the seed in Matthew 13 and Mark 4. 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.460 And the sower of God's word, he casts the seed. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.399 And there's four different kinds of soils. And, 00:14:11.419 --> 00:14:13.159 you know, there's the hard soil and there's shallow 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.019 soil. And then there's the soil with the thorns. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.620 And the thorns that grow up are the deceitfulness 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:21.379 of riches and the worries of other things. This 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:25.679 is just reality. When money is deceiving me, 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:29.389 I'm the last to know it. Most people that are 00:14:29.389 --> 00:14:32.250 greedy and hoarding think other people are greedy 00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:35.429 and hoarding, but not them. I mean, when your 00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:38.950 eye is bad, notice even Jesus said, even the 00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:40.950 light that's within you, he uses the same word. 00:14:41.029 --> 00:14:44.570 We think we're doing okay. See, the problem with 00:14:44.570 --> 00:14:48.210 it is it's so easy to be deceived and we rationalize 00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:49.929 and we're in denial and compare ourselves to 00:14:49.929 --> 00:14:53.250 other people. The second reason is because of 00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:56.929 the lure of mammon worship. I mean, the drive, 00:14:57.049 --> 00:14:59.009 I grew up thinking, you've got to be successful, 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:00.549 you've got to be significant, you've got to have 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:02.529 security. And the way you measure that is what? 00:15:03.669 --> 00:15:05.809 I mean, I remember talking to a number of years, 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:07.669 an executive here in the Silicon Valley is well 00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:09.929 -connected, and he had had a conversation with 00:15:09.929 --> 00:15:11.970 someone who was, remember when they did, I don't 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:14.289 know if they do top 40 or top 50 on Forbes now, 00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:16.629 but this guy was, they were doing top 50 at that 00:15:16.629 --> 00:15:20.440 time, and he was 51. And he wrote like a seven 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.200 page letter to Forbes demanding that he be put 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.059 on the list because why he qualified as one of 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:31.220 the 50 richest people in the world. You think 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:35.559 that's about money? I mean, that's like ego over 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:38.500 the top. But the problem is I can look at that 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:40.580 out there and say, oh yeah, I can't believe that. 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:42.299 I mean, how many, the guy's worth a bazillion 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:44.240 dollars and he's got to write eight page letters 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:47.940 to, but see. And mammon worship says if you have 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:50.000 enough money, then you can buy that and be that 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.139 and show that. And this kind of car says that 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:53.899 and this kind of watch. And, you know, now you've 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:55.240 got a place in the mountains. You've got a place 00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:57.480 on the beach. And, you know, you've got the Maserati, 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.620 the Ferrari, the Bentley, whatever. Or you're 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:01.820 low -key about it and you have lots and just 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:03.899 at the right time you let people know what you 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:08.259 have. And you know what? It's all relative. Because 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:09.860 you may not have any of that all kind of stuff, 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:11.820 but, man, you've got a pair of jeans. You probably 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:16.029 didn't understand these are diesels, baby. Amen. 00:16:16.450 --> 00:16:22.149 Wranglers, man. I mean, we all do it. We all 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:25.590 do it. Mammon worship, impressing, success, significance, 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:28.350 what I look like, what I've got, what zip code 00:16:28.350 --> 00:16:31.769 I'm in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it 00:16:31.769 --> 00:16:33.850 sucks. Guess what? And it just demands your life. 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:36.169 Whatever you worship, it demands your life. You 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:37.690 got to work and you got up early and there's 00:16:37.690 --> 00:16:43.000 pressure. The third reason it's... Generosity 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:47.120 is difficult as it demands faith. I mean, if 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:49.360 we actually believed in heaven, I mean, if I 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.799 told you, if I told you, hey, I got this amazing 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:55.039 investment, 90 % of it fails. You really need 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.539 to invest with me. You're going to go, what? 00:16:57.559 --> 00:16:59.799 That's what Jesus is saying. Look, treasures 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:03.159 on earth, 90 % of it's going to fail. Treasures 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.759 in heaven, 100%, great ROI. Where do you want 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:08.339 to invest? See, if you believed in heaven and 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:09.759 I believed in heaven and I believed in eternal 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:13.670 rewards, I'd be going, duh. It doesn't mean I 00:17:13.670 --> 00:17:15.390 wouldn't enjoy nice things now. It doesn't mean 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:17.049 I wouldn't have a good savings plan. But it would 00:17:17.049 --> 00:17:19.890 mean I'd draw a line like I have that this is 00:17:19.890 --> 00:17:22.029 my standard of living and any and everything 00:17:22.029 --> 00:17:23.930 over above that, God, you keep bringing it in, 00:17:23.990 --> 00:17:26.390 I'll pass it on. I mean, my dream is to give 00:17:26.390 --> 00:17:28.230 more and more and more and more and more till 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:31.210 the day I die. I got plenty. I've got more than 00:17:31.210 --> 00:17:34.390 I ever dreamed I'd have. But it requires faith. 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:36.950 The number one reason people aren't generous 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:39.970 other than greed and selfishness, we just sort 00:17:39.970 --> 00:17:43.599 of, is fear. At the end of the day, what is it? 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:46.460 I would be generous with my time, but I only 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:48.539 have so much, and if I give this away, I'd be 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:50.200 generous with my talent, but I can't volunteer 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:51.960 for that because I've got to take care. I'd be 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:53.900 generous with my money, but I'm afraid I won't. 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:58.700 God says, wait a second. I have unlimited supply. 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:01.900 The reason Jesus talked about money, the reason 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:04.059 the Bible teaches about this, it just is the 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:06.339 easiest way to see it. When I've given money 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:09.799 and God blesses, given and God blesses, I get 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:13.359 to see in reality, This is real, but it requires 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:16.319 faith. And there's times where he's, at least 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:18.680 in my life and people I've known, he asks you 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.019 to take some steps when you think, well, if I 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:23.660 do this, then what about me? And he goes, well, 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:26.500 well, what about me? You think I can deliver 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:30.880 or not? The fourth reason is because of what 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.500 I call temporal myopia. It's just, that's nearsighted, 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:37.619 but I thought it sounded more cool than nearsighted. 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:42.200 Temporal myopia. Jesus was teaching, and as he 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:44.339 was teaching, a man yelled out, Master, Master, 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.220 tell my brother to share the inheritance with 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:48.920 me. And Jesus said, Who made me your financial 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.299 counselor? But he took that moment. He said, 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:54.180 Hey, everybody, since that guy brings it up, 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.480 beware. Beware. You better be really, really 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:02.190 careful of the deceitfulness. Of money and what 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:03.809 it will do to your heart. And your relationship 00:19:03.809 --> 00:19:06.130 with God. In fact let me tell you a story. And 00:19:06.130 --> 00:19:08.309 this is in Luke chapter 12. He tells a story 00:19:08.309 --> 00:19:10.609 of men who. His business was booming and booming 00:19:10.609 --> 00:19:11.769 and booming. He goes you know what I'm going 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:13.130 to do. I'm just going to build bigger and bigger 00:19:13.130 --> 00:19:15.869 barns. And I'm just going to eat drink. And you 00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:17.690 know not worry about anybody else. Life is about 00:19:17.690 --> 00:19:19.609 me. It's hedonism. It's about pleasure. It's 00:19:19.609 --> 00:19:22.230 about when I arrive. I have arrived. And I'm 00:19:22.230 --> 00:19:26.650 going to do it. The Bible says God required his 00:19:26.650 --> 00:19:31.039 life that night. And said you fool. And then 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:34.119 Jesus explained this nearsightedness. He said, 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:37.480 so it will be with all those that are rich toward 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:39.359 the things of the world, but not rich toward 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.059 God. I don't know about you. I want to be rich 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:45.440 toward God. And every time I've ever been generous, 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.440 people I know, they're ever generous. You know 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:51.519 what happened? God just blesses. What you do 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:54.200 and how you wrestle in your own heart, and that's 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:56.019 where you're at. What your body language tells 00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:58.859 me. Ooh, if this is really true, I'd have to 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:02.799 make some adjustments. Yeah, you would. It's 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:05.000 called peeling off the calluses of your heart. 00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:09.980 Faith, letting the Holy Spirit warm it up. But 00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:12.880 here's what you need to hear. Generosity is the 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:19.400 gateway to intimacy with God. Some of you don't 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:21.500 feel real close to God. I didn't feel very close 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:24.809 to John Saville. You start realizing that it's 00:20:24.809 --> 00:20:27.250 his money instead of yours, and you just say, 00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:29.609 every day, I just, that checkbook, how do you 00:20:29.609 --> 00:20:32.250 want to spend it today, Lord? And to this day, 00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:34.750 I'm still asking God, you know, I've got a few 00:20:34.750 --> 00:20:36.829 hours left in the day. How do you want to spend 00:20:36.829 --> 00:20:39.509 it today? And then as I was studying this yesterday 00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:42.730 morning, reviewing, I, around the table, I gave 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:45.089 each of my grown kids around the table and their 00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:47.690 mates a $100 bill. And I said, here's what I'd 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:50.660 like you to do between now and Christmas. Would 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:53.700 you just ask God as you come across someone who 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:56.440 has a need, and it can be a poor person, a hurting 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.220 person, a friend, just whenever God speaks to 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.440 you, you've got $100 between now and Christmas, 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:04.259 would you love them for God and in my name? Would 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:06.319 you just do whatever you think would really, 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:10.279 you know why I did that? Because I want my kids, 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:13.900 I want my kids to understand. They'll be pretty 00:21:13.900 --> 00:21:15.680 free spending my money, I think, don't you think? 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:19.690 And they're already generous. But I just, I wanted 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:21.690 to give them that experience between now and 00:21:21.690 --> 00:21:23.289 Christmas. And then I said, when we get together 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:25.250 at Christmas, tell me the stories, will you? 00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:27.369 Just tell me the stories. I just want to hear. 00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:32.930 That's what God's done for you and me. Brilliant 00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:35.849 people ask these three questions. Am I using 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:37.769 the money and trust to me in accordance with 00:21:37.769 --> 00:21:41.049 the owner's wishes? And who's the owner? God. 00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:44.910 Am I carefully keeping account of where all the 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.670 owner's funds are going? I mean, a lot of us, 00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:49.890 if we just got even on a basic budget, we would 00:21:49.890 --> 00:21:52.670 have excess to share with others. We're just 00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:56.630 sloppy with it. Third, am I becoming best friends 00:21:56.630 --> 00:21:59.230 with the owner by the privilege and opportunity 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:01.549 of managing his resources? You know, you want 00:22:01.549 --> 00:22:03.170 to hear some answers to your prayers? Try this 00:22:03.170 --> 00:22:05.670 one. Okay, God, I want to take a little, here's 00:22:05.670 --> 00:22:08.910 $50, $20, $100, $1 ,000. I'm going to set it 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:11.250 aside. Who do you want me to bless? Would you 00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:13.170 show me in the next few days as I walk around 00:22:13.170 --> 00:22:15.549 who you want me to help? I will tell you what, 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:17.900 he will. And you'll give it, and you'll have 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.180 this charge of joy. And something great will 00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:22.700 happen. And you'll get connected to your Father, 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:27.859 some of you, in ways that you never have. This 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:31.440 is the genius of generosity, that God would give 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:34.119 us an opportunity to partner with Him by sharing 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:37.099 in the joy of giving. You're listening to Living 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:40.059 on the Edge with Bible teacher Chip Ingram. We'll 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:42.380 hear a closing comment from Chip in just a moment. 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:45.619 It's Christmas Eve, and we commend you for spending 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.059 this half hour with us. We're hoping and praying 00:22:48.059 --> 00:22:50.380 that today's program inspires you to elevate 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:53.680 your walk with God as you engage in the joy -filled 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.859 process of giving. Chip, there's not a day that 00:22:56.859 --> 00:22:59.299 passes without someone telling us what they gain 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:02.660 from living on the edge. For 30 years, God has 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:05.200 used this ministry to inspire better marriages 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.119 through a deeper walk with God. I can't tell 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:11.140 you how many letters I receive that say something 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:14.509 like this. Chip, my spouse and I have been going 00:23:14.509 --> 00:23:16.990 to church for years, but we've been kind of just 00:23:16.990 --> 00:23:19.190 going through the motions. Then we started listening 00:23:19.190 --> 00:23:21.630 to Living on the Edge together, and something 00:23:21.630 --> 00:23:24.289 shifted. We're talking about spiritual things 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:27.230 again. We're praying together. Our faith is becoming 00:23:27.230 --> 00:23:30.109 real in a way like never before. You know, when 00:23:30.109 --> 00:23:32.210 couples grow deeper in their faith together, 00:23:32.490 --> 00:23:36.049 everything changes. Their marriage strengthens, 00:23:36.109 --> 00:23:39.170 their parenting improves, and their entire family 00:23:39.170 --> 00:23:43.400 is transformed. I can't tell you. how thrilled 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:46.559 I get when people talk to me about their marriage 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.039 getting restored. And if you've listened to Living 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:51.180 on the Edge, you understand that Teresa and I 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:53.339 had to go through marriage counseling and that 00:23:53.339 --> 00:23:55.440 book called Marriage That Works is really just 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.380 a testimony of how God worked in us in practical 00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:03.519 biblical ways and that we actually believe that 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.460 God's direction for marriage from Ephesians chapter 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:10.240 5, it's His will and there's fruit and there's 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.579 blessing. And when you give To Living on the 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:15.359 Edge, you help us put those kind of tools in 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:18.339 couples' lives. And I just can't tell you my 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:21.819 heart and the joy that I have because when a 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:24.359 marriage comes back together or when it gets 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:27.940 renewed, it impacts the whole family. It impacts 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:31.319 kids. It impacts relatives. When you give to 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:35.200 Living on the Edge, it's not like just a ministry. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:39.240 You're actually restoring families and the dominoes 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:43.279 go on and on and on. You've heard a lot about 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:45.359 this match, but you have to know that this is 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:48.559 a huge part of all that we do at Living on the 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.500 Edge. It's a huge portion of our income. And 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.460 so if you care about families, if you care about 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:56.240 kids, everyone talks about America changing. 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:59.180 America's got to change from the heart before 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:01.680 it changes from the head or whether it's political 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:04.420 or any other way. And so let me encourage you, 00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:08.119 join us. December 31st, the match is over. This 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:11.579 is a window of time to have your gift doubled 00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:15.119 and really make an impact in the lives of hundreds 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:18.240 of thousands of families. Even on Christmas Eve, 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:20.740 we have people standing by to take your call. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.440 As you're ready to respond to Chip, just call 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:28.759 this number, 888 -333 -6003. If you prefer to 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:32.619 give online, just go to livingontheedge .org. 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.579 And many in our audience prefer to send a check 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:37.579 in the mail. Now, you can do that by addressing 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:41.079 your envelope to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:46.599 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. Our address again 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:54.240 is P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. I'm 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:56.319 Dave Drewy, inviting you to join us tomorrow, 00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:59.140 Christmas Day, when Chip Ingram assures us of 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:01.960 God's never -ending presence on Living on the 00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:02.319 Edge.