WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.879 I don't know if y 'all can see this. I've got 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:08.980 an olive plant here that if I cultivate it, if 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:14.740 I water it well, could become a really big olive 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:17.899 tree. And I don't know about you, but olives 00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:21.000 are good on pizzas. So I'm really hoping that 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:23.620 this will produce some olives. And I just want 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.179 to leave that there for you to look at and admire 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:28.980 its beauty because I'm really proud of my olive 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:34.030 plant. You haven't admired it. I'm looking like 00:00:34.030 --> 00:00:37.049 for some, like, yeah, like some oohs and ahs, 00:00:37.049 --> 00:00:41.869 right? Like, yeah. I'm just kidding. This is, 00:00:41.950 --> 00:00:44.109 if you can't tell from there, maybe you can tell 00:00:44.109 --> 00:00:47.929 from here, this is not a real olive plant. It 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:52.530 is fake. It was $15 at Walmart. And the best 00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:54.409 thing about it is this nice little vase that 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:57.229 maybe if I'm smart, I can reuse as like a gift 00:00:57.229 --> 00:01:02.810 for my wife. But this. plant right here is not 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:06.750 alive. It's not dead either. It's just not real. 00:01:07.090 --> 00:01:10.530 It never had any life in it. It never had anything 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:13.689 true to it. There was no power. There's no nutrients. 00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:16.790 There's nothing good about this other than it's 00:01:16.790 --> 00:01:21.349 mildly aesthetically pleasing. And now if I could 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:23.950 get Pat and Aaron to help me out, they're going 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:27.390 to bring out something that I think you'll like, 00:01:27.569 --> 00:01:31.950 something that is real. Is real, that's good. 00:01:33.909 --> 00:01:38.400 So. Pat is bringing forward my apple tree, one 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.840 of my apple trees. Thank you, Elijah, for picking 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:44.299 these up for me. I was just going to buy one 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:47.079 apple tree, and I had the plan to actually plant 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.560 this in my yard and grow apples because who doesn't 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:52.959 like apples? And Elijah was like, don't you need 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.939 two? Isn't that a thing? Like they can't grow 00:01:55.939 --> 00:01:58.659 and produce fruit on their own. So good looking 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:00.560 out. And I thought that's like a sermon illustration 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.459 in itself. We can't bear fruit on our own, right? 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:05.739 Okay, so right. that one down. That's just free. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:08.840 But yeah, so I've got this apple tree here and 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.280 it's young. It's little. I mean, there's, you 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:14.620 can't see any apples. I don't think it's bearing 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:17.300 any fruit yet. This is a real apple tree though. 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:21.620 And one day, if I do take care of it, if I water 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:24.000 it, I give it all that it needs. I put it in 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.439 good soil. I make sure to take care of it. It 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:29.659 will produce apples and we'll all get to have 00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:33.180 apples and it'll be great. and maybe I'll make 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:36.219 some apple juice out of it, and it will produce 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:39.680 good fruit. Now, this right here, if you can't 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:43.680 see it, last fall, when we moved into the house 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.259 right there up the hill, we had a big mosquito 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:50.979 problem. I'm from South Mississippi, down near 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:53.560 Louisiana. I know mosquitoes. I hate mosquitoes. 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:55.120 That's why I don't live in South Mississippi 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.479 anymore. And so when I got up there and there's 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:00.659 mosquitoes all in the backyard, I'm like, I need 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:02.960 to do something. And someone told me long ago 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:06.080 that there's a calm before the storm. I'm just 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:10.360 kidding. No CCR fans in the room. Okay, so someone 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:14.979 told me long ago that rosemary actually... gets 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:19.300 rid of, it deters bugs. So I bought this rosemary 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:22.680 plant, but as you can see, a green thumb is not 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.819 something that I possess. And so my rosemary 00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:28.639 plant is dead. Maybe I'll plant it in soil and 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:30.759 try to revive it. If anybody in here knows how 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.639 to do plants, please help a brother out. But 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:38.520 my rosemary plant is dead. And because I didn't 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:40.969 give it the proper maintenance. I didn't water 00:03:40.969 --> 00:03:43.129 it right. I didn't give it the supplements and 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:44.930 nutrients that it needed. I didn't put it in 00:03:44.930 --> 00:03:47.710 good soil, although Home Depot should have put 00:03:47.710 --> 00:03:49.490 it in good soil when they put it in the pot. 00:03:49.569 --> 00:03:51.969 That's just whatever. I'm blaming somebody else 00:03:51.969 --> 00:03:55.110 for my inadequacies. Thank you. So I've got three 00:03:55.110 --> 00:03:58.449 types of plants here. I've got a fake plant that 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:01.330 never had any life in it. I've got a dead plant 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:04.379 that... Well, maybe there's still some, I see 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:06.120 some green in there somewhere. There's still 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:09.280 some life, but it's not bearing any fruit and 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.560 it's definitely not keeping mosquitoes away like 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.460 it was intended to. And then I've got my apple 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:17.060 tree that it has life running through it and 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:19.339 you can see it's green and it looks good, but 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:22.519 it's just still very small and it hasn't started 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:26.620 bearing fruit yet. But one day, my apple tree 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:29.959 will bear fruit because someone with a green 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:32.279 thumb in this church is going to help me get 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:36.040 this apple tree to bear fruit. Otherwise, it 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:39.319 will look like my rosemary plant. But I've got 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:43.680 these three plants. These three options of things 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:48.060 that they look good. Well, not the rosemary plant. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:52.519 They at one point looked good. They at one point... 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.879 did something good. Like the rosemary plant did 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:58.639 good for a little while and the fake plant will 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:00.839 do good if I put it on my desk or put it on a 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:03.519 shelf in my office and in the apple tree, it 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.519 looks good. They all look good at one point in 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:12.220 their life. But only one of these has the potential 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:20.199 as it sits to bear good fruit anytime soon. A 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:24.470 church can be any one of these plants. A church 00:05:24.470 --> 00:05:27.509 can be the fake plant that looks good and people 00:05:27.509 --> 00:05:29.529 see it and they say, man, that's a good looking 00:05:29.529 --> 00:05:32.990 plant. That's a good looking church and it's 00:05:32.990 --> 00:05:35.329 doing something nice. I mean, it's making this 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:37.230 office look good. It's making this room look 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:42.389 good and it is doing something good, but it doesn't 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:45.550 have any life in it and it doesn't bear any fruit 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:48.110 and it doesn't really give any substance to anything 00:05:48.110 --> 00:05:51.350 or anyone. And then I've got my dead plant that 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:54.110 at one point looked good, but now it's just kind 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:56.529 of hanging on by a thread. And there's a little 00:05:56.529 --> 00:05:58.230 bit of life left in it, but there's not enough 00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:00.370 life in it to do any good. And it definitely 00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:04.589 isn't bearing any fruit. And how many churches 00:06:04.589 --> 00:06:10.029 do we see that are dead? I was telling a buddy, 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:11.610 the same one that asked me, you know, what is 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:13.569 the worship service meant for on Sunday mornings? 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:18.060 And he said, you know. We're not growing as a 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.560 church. We've just kind of been staying the same. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:23.680 And he's like, so we're not dying, but we're 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:25.959 not growing. And I said, brother, the truth is, 00:06:25.980 --> 00:06:29.420 is when it comes to a church, it is either growing 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:32.959 or it is dead. It's either alive or it's dead. 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.759 There's no in between unless it's a fake church, 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:41.250 but I will classify fake as dead. And so we've 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:42.810 got these different plants, and then there's 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:45.589 the living one, and it's like it's got the potential 00:06:45.589 --> 00:06:49.009 to bear really good fruit, but it's not there 00:06:49.009 --> 00:06:52.449 yet. It still needs some love, and it still needs 00:06:52.449 --> 00:06:56.670 some nourishment. A church can be any one of 00:06:56.670 --> 00:07:00.920 those. And the scary thing is, is from a distance, 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:03.060 you could look at my fake plant and you could 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:04.920 say, man, that looks really good. And maybe if 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:06.339 you're sitting towards the back, you didn't know 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:08.920 that it was fake. And you could look at my apple 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:10.959 tree and if you're sitting towards the back and 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.040 maybe even up front, you wouldn't know if that 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:17.259 was real or fake or not. But they look the same 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:21.860 sometimes. We can ooh and we can ah, sometimes 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:25.819 forced, sometimes just naturally looking at the 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:30.209 beauty. But one day you will always be able to 00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:32.209 tell the difference because one will bear fruit 00:07:32.209 --> 00:07:38.970 that gives life and one will not. And so before 00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:41.970 we even begin this morning, I'm asking the question, 00:07:42.129 --> 00:07:46.970 what kind of church will we be? Will we be the 00:07:46.970 --> 00:07:51.560 fake plant? bears no fruit. It doesn't give any 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:54.480 life. It doesn't do any good for anybody or anything 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:57.500 other than looking nice. And we know those churches, 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.000 right, that they make people feel good and they 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.839 look nice. And to the community, man, they are 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:06.220 doing so much good. And they look like they are 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.959 alive and they look like they are good, fruit 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:13.910 -bearing churches, but there's no spirit. Like 00:08:13.910 --> 00:08:16.550 the capital S, Holy Spirit, is not empowering 00:08:16.550 --> 00:08:19.310 them. This is just their good work, and this 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:21.569 is just their talents and just their ability, 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:23.990 and it's not that God is bringing fruit. It's 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:26.370 just that they look pretty, and we know the churches 00:08:26.370 --> 00:08:28.410 that are dead, that they're small and they're 00:08:28.410 --> 00:08:31.209 shriveled up, and it's like, man, if somebody 00:08:31.209 --> 00:08:32.889 would have just watered them, if somebody would 00:08:32.889 --> 00:08:34.850 have just given them some good fertilizer and 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:37.289 some good soil, that church could have been something 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:39.509 great. Like when I bought this rosemary plant, 00:08:39.590 --> 00:08:42.690 I had plans. I was going to plant it in my yard 00:08:42.690 --> 00:08:44.929 so that it would grow. I had a member at my home 00:08:44.929 --> 00:08:47.450 church that he would host our men's Bible study, 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:49.990 and he had a big rosemary bush right by his front 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:52.149 door. And every time I walked into the men's 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:55.309 Bible study, it smelled so good. And I loved 00:08:55.309 --> 00:08:58.049 it. And there were no mosquitoes by his house. 00:08:58.190 --> 00:09:00.750 So it was even better. And so my plan was I'm 00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:02.269 going to plant this, and it's going to grow into 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:04.769 this big bush, and then look at it. Because some 00:09:04.769 --> 00:09:09.200 lousy preacher didn't take care of it. We're 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:14.080 laughing, but I'm serious. And I look at my little 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.919 apple tree and I dream about what it could become. 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:20.879 And when my four -year -old saw it, he got so 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.340 excited because he was like, dad, we're going 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:27.220 to have so many apples. And I'm like, not if 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:31.620 it's up to your mom and I. But I dream about 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:34.860 what this apple tree could become. And I think 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:39.100 about what kind of church we could be. But you 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:41.440 know the point that I'm getting to. It takes 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.980 some work. And it takes some care, and it takes 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:47.759 some nourishment, and it takes some intentionality. 00:09:47.899 --> 00:09:49.720 And so what we're going to look at today, because 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:51.240 we've got to get to Scripture at some point, 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:54.580 otherwise it's in a biblical sermon, right? And 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:56.679 so we get to the early church in the book of 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:59.100 Acts, and we see that they're fresh off of Pentecost. 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:01.559 And, you know, last week we looked at this idea 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:03.460 that they prayed for boldness and the ground 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:05.559 shook, and they went out into the community and 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:07.600 they were boldly proclaiming the good news. And 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.539 that is what we see, and it's this church that's 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:13.039 changing lives and living in this divine. community. 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:15.940 And now here on the back end of Acts chapter 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:18.179 four, we're going to see a little bit more of 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:20.419 what that looked like. And so I want you to look 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:22.860 with me at Acts chapter four, verses 32 through 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.259 35. And if you don't have a Bible with you, or 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:26.980 you just want to look on the screen, it will 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:30.070 be up there. So let's read this together. If 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:31.429 it's underlined and you feel comfortable doing 00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:33.730 it, please read it out loud. Now, the full number 00:10:33.730 --> 00:10:36.289 of those who believed were of one heart and soul, 00:10:36.509 --> 00:10:38.909 and no one said that any of the things that belonged 00:10:38.909 --> 00:10:41.710 to him was his own, but they had everything in 00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:44.529 common. And with great power, the apostles were 00:10:44.529 --> 00:10:46.710 giving their testimony to the resurrection of 00:10:46.710 --> 00:10:49.610 the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them 00:10:49.610 --> 00:10:52.590 all. There was not a needy person among them. 00:10:52.830 --> 00:10:56.149 For as many as were owners of lands or houses 00:10:56.149 --> 00:10:59.009 sold them and brought the proceeds of what was 00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:02.169 sold and laid it at the apostles' feet. And it 00:11:02.169 --> 00:11:06.210 was distributed to each as any had need. So the 00:11:06.210 --> 00:11:09.009 first thing we see, it's similar to what Luke 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:11.549 said earlier in the book of Acts about the closeness 00:11:11.549 --> 00:11:13.710 of the church, how they had shared their possessions 00:11:13.710 --> 00:11:16.429 and they had been together and living life together. 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:20.309 They had unity. And from their unity came generosity. 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:22.960 And that's what we're talking about this morning. 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:25.559 It's this idea of being a generous church, because 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:28.519 if we are generous, then we will be able to grow 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:31.919 our tree. We will grow what God has given us 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.480 to cultivate. And so generosity is a symptom 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.259 of unity. And I want you to notice that this 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:40.980 wasn't a felt obligation. Nobody was twisting 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:43.820 the arms of these people. Luke doesn't write 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:46.399 that they were begging the people to give their 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.620 possessions and give what they had so that the 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:51.320 church could do. They didn't have to beg. This 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.899 was because of their unity, because they were 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:57.220 united in heart, united in mind. Nobody had to 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:00.340 guilt them into giving. They just wanted to take 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:03.190 care of each other. Because I can't live in the 00:12:03.190 --> 00:12:05.490 same house as somebody that's starving. I can't 00:12:05.490 --> 00:12:07.269 live in the same house as somebody that's hungry 00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:10.210 and sick. I can't be in the same room with somebody 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:12.190 that I say I care about and they're struggling 00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:14.950 to put clothes on their back. I can't be in the 00:12:14.950 --> 00:12:17.009 same family with somebody and just let them live 00:12:17.009 --> 00:12:20.190 on the street. And so because of their closeness, 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:23.090 because of their unity, they took care of each 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:26.549 other. And that is how they exemplified Christ. 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:30.039 I mean, just look at what Luke says in verse 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:32.600 32. No one said that any of the things that belonged 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:35.039 to him was his own. So Luke identifies it belonged 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.419 to them. They had it in their possession, but 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:41.240 it wasn't just theirs. You see, we live in such 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:44.039 an individualistic society. We live in the society 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.120 that says, it's mine, it's mine, it's mine. I've 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.240 got to get for myself. I've got to do for myself. 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:50.960 I've got to make more for myself. Or even we 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:52.600 like want to take care of our families because 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.200 that's ours. And I've got to take care of my 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.080 family. And so we do what we have to and what 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:02.700 we can for our family. But what we see in the 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:07.840 early church is radical community. It's no longer 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:15.570 mine. It's now ours. And it's no longer mine, 00:13:15.769 --> 00:13:20.269 but it's God's. And because of this communal 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:23.509 generosity, we read that there were no needy 00:13:23.509 --> 00:13:25.509 persons among them. There weren't people among 00:13:25.509 --> 00:13:27.610 them that were going hungry. There weren't people 00:13:27.610 --> 00:13:29.950 among them that were going out and having to 00:13:29.950 --> 00:13:31.490 sleep in the cold. There weren't people among 00:13:31.490 --> 00:13:33.690 them that were struggling to have their needs 00:13:33.690 --> 00:13:36.529 met because the church became the answer to the 00:13:36.529 --> 00:13:39.539 community's needs. If there was someone in the 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:41.480 church that needed something, the church handled 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.980 it. The church became the place where a disciple 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:46.500 of Christ could come. They would know that they 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:48.679 would be taken care of, and they knew that they 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:50.919 could help take care of others. They knew that 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:54.000 this was a family that made sure that nobody 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.039 got left behind. And I want to be clear. That 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:00.899 this wasn't a part of some giving initiative. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:04.080 It wasn't a campaign or a program. This was merely 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:07.779 a symptom of the Spirit moving in God's people. 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:10.519 It was the Spirit filling their lives in a way 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:13.200 that filled them so that they would overflow 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:15.440 into the lives of the people around them. It's 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:18.100 what happens when the body of Christ is filled 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:20.419 with the Spirit and is living with their heart 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:25.899 and mind on mission. And that is what a living 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:30.100 church is. It puts forth fruit that can provide 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:34.159 for the needs, which in turn creates more life. 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.899 As opposed to the dead church that has nothing 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:42.759 flowing through it and produces no life. It bears 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:47.059 no fruit. It gives no substance. It changes nothing 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:51.679 about the lives that it enters. The only thing 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:56.440 it does is it gives good looks. Maybe you've 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.019 dated before. If you're married, you've dated 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:02.700 before. And maybe you didn't, you know, get lucky. 00:15:02.779 --> 00:15:04.759 And on the first person you dated, that's the 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:06.620 only person you ever needed to be with. And that's 00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:09.179 the only person that you've ever been with. Maybe 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.860 if you're like the normal person, you dated a 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.840 couple of people. And maybe the first person 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:17.960 you dated, it was because, man, they look good. 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.840 And you know what I'm talking about. Guys, that 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.419 girl in high school that just looked really good. 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:27.779 And you dated her and you found out she was a 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:32.399 dud in the brain. Or maybe like she looked really 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:35.080 good and you dated her and you realized she is 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:38.899 an awful person. And ladies, I think maybe this, 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:40.759 no, we're not going to do that one because you 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:42.980 might be married to the person that's, they look 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:46.100 good, but they're an awful person. So, but you 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:48.080 know what I mean? Like we've got these fake plants 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.480 and they look good, but they don't do anything 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.740 of substance, of value. And then you got like 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:57.960 the plant that like this thing doesn't look good, 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.559 but I'm sure if you ate it, it would give you 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:02.659 some substance. It would give you some life. 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:05.980 And there's the churches that like they don't 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.100 look great, but if you would go to that church 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:09.700 and you'd plug into that church, it would give 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:12.799 you some life and it would give you some substance, 00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:17.000 but it probably wouldn't taste good. Doesn't 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:18.879 look good. Probably doesn't smell good. I don't 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.000 even want to smell that thing. And so like you've 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.240 got... these two, but then you've got the apple 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.340 tree, the living tree, the one that has life 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:31.860 in it. And when it starts putting apples on the 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:35.100 limbs, it is going to taste good. It is going 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:37.360 to look good. It is going to smell good, and 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:42.980 it is going to give substance. So I go back to 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:48.200 asking, what kind of church will we be? When 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:51.500 we get to Acts 4, verses 36 and 37, Luke shows 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:54.820 us a specific example of someone exemplifying 00:16:54.820 --> 00:16:57.360 this generosity. So he kind of gives us the overview 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.759 of this is what the church was doing, and then 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:03.220 he gives us a very specific example. And I want 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:05.980 to preface this with, this is not what I'm asking 00:17:05.980 --> 00:17:11.339 you to do. I'm just reading Scripture. Thus Joseph, 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.700 who the apostles called Barnabas, which means 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:17.299 son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.119 sold a field that belonged to him and brought 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:23.279 the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:29.000 Again, the Spirit -empowered and influenced church 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.640 was on mission. That the Spirit -empowered and 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:34.319 influenced church was, they were doing what they 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.500 needed to do to make sure the gospel could be 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.619 boldly proclaimed to all people and all nations, 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:45.519 no matter the cost. It's like when you go into 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:47.579 the store, and I would only do this if I was 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:50.180 taking my kids to Dollar Tree, but if you went 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.000 to the store and you said, get whatever you want, 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:56.640 no matter the cost. Because you know what I mean? 00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.240 Like if you go to Walmart and you say that your 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:00.819 kid's coming back with like a $400 bike and you're 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:03.740 like, that's not what I meant. I meant like a 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:06.500 Hot Wheel. something that's $5. When I was little, 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.200 my grandma had a boyfriend that would take me. 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.440 This was the coolest thing. He'd take me a couple 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:12.759 of towns over. We'd go to Dollar Tree. He'd give 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.539 me five bucks. And back then, I haven't been 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:16.920 to a Dollar Tree in a while, although we're getting 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:20.420 one. So that's cool. Maybe. Don't get food there. 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:22.619 That's scary. But he would take me to Dollar 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:24.619 Tree. He'd give me five bucks and he'd say, get 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:27.339 whatever you want. And I would go in and I'd 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:32.519 get all kinds of stuff. And so we look at This 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:34.819 guy, and he's like, I don't care what it costs. 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:39.559 I want the church. to do what the church has 00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:41.900 to do. I want the church to do what the church 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:44.420 needs to do because this is the mission. And 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:46.980 as we know, it's not an easy, it's not a cheap, 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:49.880 it's not a free thing to do. And so right here, 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:52.140 we have this incredible example of generosity 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:54.779 in Barnabas. And I think it's great that his 00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:57.059 nickname is son of encouragement. Could anybody 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:00.119 give me a nickname that cool? I won't tell you 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:02.299 the nickname that I get from my four -year -old, 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.519 but it's not son of encouragement. We call it 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.799 in our house a potty word. And so this guy has 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.700 a good nickname. And so I want us to look at 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:15.059 this encouragement because what he is doing is 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:17.119 he's not just saying, I think what we're doing 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.990 here is cool. He's not just saying, I think what 00:19:19.990 --> 00:19:22.490 we're doing here is awesome and it's great for 00:19:22.490 --> 00:19:24.970 the community. What he's saying is, I believe 00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:27.930 in what God is doing here. I have faith in what 00:19:27.930 --> 00:19:31.529 we are doing as a part of God's mission. I believe, 00:19:31.589 --> 00:19:35.369 I have faith in what God is doing in this community, 00:19:35.569 --> 00:19:40.710 in this nation through his church. And by Barnabas 00:19:40.710 --> 00:19:44.109 selling his property, taking all of the proceeds, 00:19:44.269 --> 00:19:48.009 giving it to the church, he is saying, I have 00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:52.490 faith. faith and what God has called this church 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:57.549 to do. And I mean, I want you to think about 00:19:57.549 --> 00:19:59.809 how much faith that is because people invest 00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:02.289 in things all the time. Like you buy stocks, 00:20:02.390 --> 00:20:05.250 you buy land, you buy whatever it is, cars or 00:20:05.250 --> 00:20:07.789 things. Cars are depreciating assets. Don't do 00:20:07.789 --> 00:20:10.150 that as an investment. But you buy things to 00:20:10.150 --> 00:20:12.950 invest in them because you hope that they will 00:20:12.950 --> 00:20:16.789 one day reap a reward. We talk about return on 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:19.940 investment. And so what Barnabas is saying here 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:23.839 is, I'm investing in this because I believe the 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:29.960 return on investment is worth it. We do this 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:33.400 because we believe that what we are doing has 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:39.509 the potential to change our lives. But when it 00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:42.170 comes to generosity towards the church, towards 00:20:42.170 --> 00:20:44.369 the mission of God, towards the kingdom of God, 00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:46.910 what we're doing is we're saying, I am investing 00:20:46.910 --> 00:20:49.950 in this because I believe it has the potential 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:56.210 to change someone else's life. Last week in our 00:20:56.210 --> 00:21:00.509 sermon on boldness, I said fear is a symptom 00:21:00.509 --> 00:21:04.710 of believing my physical life is more important, 00:21:04.769 --> 00:21:07.069 is of more value than someone else's spiritual. 00:21:07.660 --> 00:21:12.259 Someone else's soul. And I would flip that today 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:17.240 and say, faith, investing in the mission of the 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:22.240 church, is admitting that I believe someone else's 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:29.160 soul is worth more than my physical life. That's 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:31.640 what it means to invest in the kingdom. Like 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:34.259 our plant, we water it, we feed it, we get it 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:36.039 sunlight. And I want you to notice that those 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.490 are all different things. Some people are good 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:40.210 at bringing the water pot and watering it. Some 00:21:40.210 --> 00:21:42.329 people, they've got some muscles so they can 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:44.769 move it to get it into the sunlight. And I want 00:21:44.769 --> 00:21:47.569 to make this point clear that while we're talking 00:21:47.569 --> 00:21:49.630 about generosity, I'm not just talking about 00:21:49.630 --> 00:21:52.970 money. If I'm being honest, I wish we could do 00:21:52.970 --> 00:21:56.329 this without... money. I wish we could do what 00:21:56.329 --> 00:21:58.450 the church needs to do to bring the gospel to 00:21:58.450 --> 00:22:01.009 all nations and all people. I wish we could do 00:22:01.009 --> 00:22:02.930 that without money. If it were so, I would not 00:22:02.930 --> 00:22:05.470 ever preach about money. In fact, I was very 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:07.029 nervous about this sermon because I've never 00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:09.930 preached on generosity or giving. And so please 00:22:09.930 --> 00:22:12.150 don't throw stones at me. Be generous with your 00:22:12.150 --> 00:22:14.789 grace. All right. Thank you. But I'm serious. 00:22:14.910 --> 00:22:16.670 Like I wish we could do this without talking 00:22:16.670 --> 00:22:19.109 about money. I wish I could just say, if you've 00:22:19.109 --> 00:22:21.049 got the ability to preach, go preach. If you've 00:22:21.049 --> 00:22:22.789 got the ability to take care of people, go take 00:22:22.789 --> 00:22:24.319 care of people. people. If you've got a house 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:26.500 that you could put somebody up and do that. And 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:31.039 let me rephrase this. I am saying that. I'm also 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.000 including the fact that we do have to be generous 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:39.099 with our financial blessings because the plant 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:44.099 does need water. It does need sunlight. It does 00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:49.579 need food. It does need these things. It's like 00:22:49.579 --> 00:22:51.400 we've said the last couple of weeks, we can't 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.640 make the fire. But we absolutely can stack the 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:59.119 wood. We can put the wood in position for God 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.839 to rain down fire on it. And we stack the wood 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:07.000 by investing in the mission of the church. And 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.019 I want to say this, even though we're a small 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:14.829 church, I believe we have a big calling. because 00:23:14.829 --> 00:23:16.809 we have the same calling that the church in Acts 00:23:16.809 --> 00:23:19.049 had. We have the same calling that the people 00:23:19.049 --> 00:23:20.990 in the New Testament, the people all throughout 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:23.069 history that have claimed to be the church of 00:23:23.069 --> 00:23:25.690 Christ, we have the same calling they did, and 00:23:25.690 --> 00:23:29.029 that is to bring the good news, the gospel message, 00:23:29.130 --> 00:23:33.069 the message of a living, a risen, saving, grace 00:23:33.069 --> 00:23:36.950 -giving, life -filling God. We have that message 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:39.670 to proclaim to all nations, and so that is our 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:43.980 calling, and I believe our calling. is to proclaim 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:49.640 that message to all nations, all people, in all 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:54.339 generations, which includes, and I would say 00:23:54.339 --> 00:23:57.160 most importantly, no offense to the older people, 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.180 but we've had our chance. We've heard the message. 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.460 Like if you're in this room, you've heard the 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:05.740 gospel. But I want you to consider that there 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:08.519 is a generation of young people out there that 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:10.819 have not heard the gospel. They have not had 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:13.279 this message communicated to them in a way that 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:15.720 really touches their life. And so I want us to 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:17.619 think about the next generation. We don't have 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:20.380 to be a big church to make a difference in their 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:22.299 lives. We don't have to be a big church to make 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.420 a difference in anybody's lives. We don't have 00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:26.380 to be wealthy. We don't have to be influential. 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:29.319 We don't have to have any type of status or power 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:31.319 to make a difference. I want you to think about 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.019 my little fruit tree. I keep going back because 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:39.099 look how pretty. it is. That tree, it's small 00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:43.000 and it doesn't have much yet, but it's alive. 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:47.680 And because it's alive, we know what its potential 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:52.480 is, the potential to give life through its good 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.740 fruit. And so let me ask you, thinking about 00:24:55.740 --> 00:24:59.640 Barnabas and the field that he sold so that he 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:02.339 could give the proceeds to the church. I don't 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:04.799 know that you have a lot of financial blessings. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:06.960 And I would go as far as to say most of us don't. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.160 Most of us don't have a field just laying around 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:11.119 that we can just sell it, give the proceeds. 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:15.220 Like, we don't have that. But you do have a field. 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:20.839 You have a gift. You have extra time. Like, I 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:23.299 think about Miss Linda and the ladies, and I'm 00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:24.799 not going to call it what they call it, but in 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:28.680 the ladies' Bible class that sew and put together 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:33.529 these boxes for Panama. That's their field. And 00:25:33.529 --> 00:25:35.589 they are selling that field every time they get 00:25:35.589 --> 00:25:38.269 together to do that work. I think about Brittany 00:25:38.269 --> 00:25:40.490 and the work she does with the blessing box and 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:44.130 the food pantry. That's her field. And she is 00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:46.789 using that to bless the mission of the church. 00:25:47.589 --> 00:25:49.569 Again, I think about Pam and the work she does 00:25:49.569 --> 00:25:51.210 to make sure this place is clean so that when 00:25:51.210 --> 00:25:53.369 we come in here, it doesn't smell bad and look 00:25:53.369 --> 00:25:55.490 bad. That is her field, and she's using that 00:25:55.490 --> 00:25:57.970 to bless the church. Chad and Phil, these are 00:25:57.970 --> 00:26:01.390 people that are using their abilities, their 00:26:01.390 --> 00:26:04.049 gifts, And I could go on, and I'm not leaving 00:26:04.049 --> 00:26:07.109 anybody out on purpose. We don't have time because 00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:09.450 there are people in this room that are using 00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:13.410 what they have to bless the mission of the church. 00:26:14.690 --> 00:26:16.589 But there's also people in this room, like I'm 00:26:16.589 --> 00:26:18.970 just going to be honest, that we got the field. 00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:22.809 We're just sitting on it. And notice I said we. 00:26:23.170 --> 00:26:25.910 I won't put myself in that boat. We are just 00:26:25.910 --> 00:26:28.710 sitting on these things that we could use to 00:26:28.710 --> 00:26:32.779 bless the church. And I'm not talking about this 00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:34.559 building. I don't care about this building. If 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.400 it were up to me, we'd meet in a park somewhere. 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:41.900 It's to bless the mission of bringing the good 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:47.240 news to all nations and generations. So what 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:51.339 field do you have? What talent, what skill, what 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:55.259 availability do you have that you could use, 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:58.220 that you could be generous with to make this 00:26:58.220 --> 00:27:01.660 tree? grow and bear good fruit that will bless 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:05.819 people. When I was in college, I want to give 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:07.279 you a visual of this. When I was in college, 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:09.940 I got my first youth ministry job in LaGrange, 00:27:10.099 --> 00:27:12.880 Georgia. And we, I don't think anybody in here. 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:15.299 are connected to my LaGrange. Yeah, we've got 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:18.160 my LaGrange connection. So I got my first job 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.259 at a church in LaGrange, Georgia, and that church 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:22.500 couldn't afford to pay somebody to be their youth 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:25.319 minister and live there full -time, but they 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:27.519 could afford to pay a college student enough 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:30.299 to make the drive over on Wednesdays and weekends, 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.740 which is what I did, and stay over the weekend 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:35.380 and stay over the holidays. And so Christmases 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:38.599 and summers, I spent in LaGrange, Georgia. While 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:40.500 I was there, I needed a place to stay. On the 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.180 weekends, I would just sleep in my office. I 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:44.180 had a futon. It was terrible, but it was great. 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:48.460 During the summers and the winters, though, there 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:51.259 was a family in the church that had a farm. And 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:53.819 on their farm, they have this, like, I say little 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:56.039 cabin. It's a really nice cabin, but it was relatively 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:59.480 unused. And so they would let me stay on their 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:03.759 farm in this cabin. And so for two years on weekends, 00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:07.119 sometimes winter breaks and summer, I lived in 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:12.240 the majors, their family's cabin. They used what 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:17.140 they had for kingdom work, for the mission. And 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:18.900 that's what we're talking about here. I'm not 00:28:18.900 --> 00:28:21.079 asking you to go hungry for the sake of the mission. 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:24.059 I'm not asking you to give what you don't have. 00:28:24.180 --> 00:28:26.160 I saw a video the other day that was talking 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.259 about there was a research done and it said a 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:32.680 reason that most people don't give is because 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:36.069 they can't afford to. And so I look at that and 00:28:36.069 --> 00:28:37.750 I say, that's fine. Like if you can't afford 00:28:37.750 --> 00:28:40.130 to, I'm not telling you to do that. But what 00:28:40.130 --> 00:28:45.170 do you have that you can give? What do you have 00:28:45.170 --> 00:28:49.170 that could bless the kingdom, that could be used 00:28:49.170 --> 00:28:51.589 to help the body of Christ cover more ground 00:28:51.589 --> 00:28:54.950 and produce more fruit? We need greeters. We 00:28:54.950 --> 00:28:57.130 need song leaders. We need Bible class teachers. 00:28:57.329 --> 00:28:59.349 We need people to help with the food pantry. 00:28:59.450 --> 00:29:01.670 We need people to help with meals. We need people 00:29:01.670 --> 00:29:04.529 to help with sowing. Ms. Linda and I talked about 00:29:04.529 --> 00:29:08.069 it. If you sow and you want to be a part of a 00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:11.910 good kingdom work, talk to Ms. Linda. Because 00:29:11.910 --> 00:29:14.349 I've been to Panama and I have seen the benefit, 00:29:14.549 --> 00:29:18.009 the fruit of that labor, and it's good work. 00:29:18.369 --> 00:29:20.869 It's good fruit. Those people down there are 00:29:20.869 --> 00:29:24.029 on fire for the Lord. So if you sow, I got you. 00:29:24.490 --> 00:29:26.549 If you can help with building stuff, like I'm 00:29:26.549 --> 00:29:30.150 not a super handy person, but I know some guys 00:29:30.150 --> 00:29:32.390 that are. Titus could use some extra hands sometimes. 00:29:32.609 --> 00:29:35.589 I hope I'm okay to say that. Like if you want 00:29:35.589 --> 00:29:37.430 to help with the yard work, I know Josh would 00:29:37.430 --> 00:29:40.069 love to get some volunteers to cut grass and 00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:43.369 weed. Like we've got areas where people can serve. 00:29:44.410 --> 00:29:50.210 What do you have? What field do you have? I'll 00:29:50.210 --> 00:29:52.369 throw another one out there because I have personally 00:29:52.369 --> 00:29:55.279 seen how good it is. Catherine Nelson needs some 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:59.460 mentors in the schools. And I've seen, and it's 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:01.240 been so cool, especially we had that banquet 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:03.359 the other day, and to hear the story of that 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:06.059 young man about how his mentor has changed his 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:10.319 life. Like, we need people in the community, 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:12.579 not just in this building and not just working 00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:14.539 on the grounds here. We need people in the community 00:30:14.539 --> 00:30:17.880 doing things that bless others so that the gospel 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:22.039 is proclaimed again to all nations and all generations. 00:30:24.269 --> 00:30:27.609 So what field do you have that you could give 00:30:27.609 --> 00:30:32.369 up for the kingdom work? Now that's the good 00:30:32.369 --> 00:30:36.569 and easy part of this message. But now I want 00:30:36.569 --> 00:30:40.910 to get to the weighty issue here. So right after 00:30:40.910 --> 00:30:43.309 Luke tells us about the good deed of Barnabas, 00:30:43.309 --> 00:30:46.190 this encouraging deed of Barnabas, he tells us 00:30:46.190 --> 00:30:48.539 another story. It's similar but a little bit 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:50.559 different. There's this married couple named 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:52.759 Ananias and Sapphira. If you've been in church 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:54.660 for a while, you know this story. But if you 00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:56.900 haven't been, let me just tell you, it does not 00:30:56.900 --> 00:31:00.079 end well for them. Ananias and Sapphira, they 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:02.980 too, they sold a piece of property. They said, 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:05.079 I've got a field. Like, I've got a field that 00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:07.099 I could sell. So they sell their field. And they 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:08.680 bring it to the apostles. Well, they bring the 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:12.440 proceeds, some of, to the apostles. This is the 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:15.079 difference. They kept some of the proceeds for 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:17.920 themselves, but tried to pass it off as if they 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:20.880 had given everything, as if they had given the 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:24.119 full amount to the church. And I want to clarify 00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:27.559 by saying the problem here isn't that they kept 00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:30.539 a little bit for themselves. It's what they were 00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:33.579 trying to do when keeping a little bit for themselves. 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:39.500 And I've read it said that they were trying to 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:42.740 pretend like they were just as good as Barnabas. 00:31:43.150 --> 00:31:45.170 They wanted people to think, like, oh, Barnabas, 00:31:45.170 --> 00:31:47.470 he gets the cool nickname, son of encouragement. 00:31:47.690 --> 00:31:50.940 Maybe if we go and we give what we've... gotten 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:53.920 from the sale, maybe people will give us a cool 00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:56.279 nickname and maybe people will applaud us and 00:31:56.279 --> 00:31:58.559 maybe we'll get written about in the Bible by 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:00.940 name. And well, they got their wish. They were 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:03.380 written about in the Bible by name, but not in 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:05.380 a good way. I want you to look how Peter responds 00:32:05.380 --> 00:32:08.640 to this attempt at deception in Acts chapter 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:11.519 four, verses three and four. But Peter said, 00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:15.119 Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:17.819 to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:35.390 part of the proceeds of the land? That's pretty 00:32:35.390 --> 00:32:39.319 harsh stuff right there. I mean, that's... Pretty 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.220 tough, but it's reality. Like, I want to be clear 00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:45.380 again, Peter isn't upset because Ananias is keeping 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:47.799 some for himself and for his family. I think 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:50.019 any of us would agree like that. That's okay. 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:53.000 You go to work like nobody is telling you go 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.920 work 40 hours a week, work your tail off and 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:58.539 then take that whole check and bring it. Nobody's 00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:01.420 asking for that. And again, nobody is asking 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:04.079 you for you to go hungry. Nobody's asking you 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:07.849 for you to go without. What Peter is upset with, 00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:10.049 and he says as much, he says, was it not at your 00:33:10.049 --> 00:33:12.490 disposal? Essentially saying, was it not yours 00:33:12.490 --> 00:33:16.130 to do as you pleased? The issue is the deception 00:33:16.130 --> 00:33:19.369 that they are trying to pretend like they are 00:33:19.369 --> 00:33:22.329 just like Barnabas in doing this radical thing 00:33:22.329 --> 00:33:27.880 without the reality of it. They wanted to look 00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:31.200 like a living tree that was growing and producing 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:33.720 good fruit, that was giving everything it had 00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:36.279 to give life to someone else. But really, they 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:41.200 weren't. They were just fake trees. And so I 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:44.339 look at my fake tree again. So little and so 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:47.619 cute. Can we get another ooh and an ah? Ooh and 00:33:47.619 --> 00:33:52.880 ah. Yeah. They wanted somebody to look at this 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:57.269 and say, man, look how good of a gift. Ananias 00:33:57.269 --> 00:34:01.470 and Sapphira gave. And it would be kind of like 00:34:01.470 --> 00:34:06.390 if I bought on Mother's Day, if I bought my wife 00:34:06.390 --> 00:34:10.210 fake flowers. She would be happy to just get 00:34:10.210 --> 00:34:12.869 a gift. But could you imagine if I bought her 00:34:12.869 --> 00:34:16.010 fake flowers? They look real. And I said, honey, 00:34:16.250 --> 00:34:19.250 I'm so grateful for you. So I bought you these 00:34:19.250 --> 00:34:24.630 real amazing roses and I give them to her. And 00:34:24.630 --> 00:34:28.730 she's like, do you think I'm stupid? These aren't 00:34:28.730 --> 00:34:33.510 real, and I know you're lying. She wouldn't be 00:34:33.510 --> 00:34:36.210 upset because I lied. She wouldn't be upset because 00:34:36.210 --> 00:34:38.369 I gave her fake flowers. Again, she would be 00:34:38.369 --> 00:34:40.650 happy to just get the gift, but she would be 00:34:40.650 --> 00:34:43.170 upset because I tried to pass it off as something 00:34:43.170 --> 00:34:48.750 it was not. And that's what happened to Ananias 00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:52.730 and Sapphira. They tried to pass it off. And 00:34:52.730 --> 00:34:54.829 maybe I can make this a little bit more practical. 00:34:55.510 --> 00:34:58.349 You know, we've seen when the bad things happen, 00:34:58.469 --> 00:35:01.309 like the floods in North Carolina and the hurricanes 00:35:01.309 --> 00:35:04.730 down south, and every time that happens, an artist, 00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:06.489 like a singer, will say, we're going to do a 00:35:06.489 --> 00:35:09.969 benefit concert, and we're going to, 100 % of 00:35:09.969 --> 00:35:11.650 the proceeds of this concert are going to go 00:35:11.650 --> 00:35:14.150 to the community that has been devastated by 00:35:14.150 --> 00:35:17.949 this tragedy. But do any of you, like, look at 00:35:17.949 --> 00:35:19.570 that and say, man, I wonder if they're really 00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:23.010 giving 100%. Did any of y 'all do that? Okay, 00:35:23.090 --> 00:35:25.110 so I'm the only one who's skeptical. All right, 00:35:25.110 --> 00:35:28.690 that's fine. But like, imagine they do that, 00:35:28.750 --> 00:35:31.409 but they only give 50%, but they claim that they 00:35:31.409 --> 00:35:34.869 were given 100%. It's still a good gift and it 00:35:34.869 --> 00:35:38.409 still helps people, but it's not honest. And 00:35:38.409 --> 00:35:40.710 if people found out, it would lead to a lot of 00:35:40.710 --> 00:35:44.150 people questioning the motives of why they gave 00:35:44.150 --> 00:35:46.429 that gift, why they did it in the first place. 00:35:46.449 --> 00:35:48.110 We'd look at it and say, oh, that's just a publicity 00:35:48.110 --> 00:35:53.699 stunt. What my hope is for us, individually and 00:35:53.699 --> 00:35:58.119 communally, is that we never just look generous, 00:35:58.280 --> 00:36:01.280 that we never try to make people think that we're 00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:03.039 doing good work. Like, I don't want to get on 00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:05.639 Facebook and say, man, I'm so glad to be a part 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:07.039 of the Blairsville Church of Christ because we 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.320 do so much good in the community, when in reality, 00:36:09.340 --> 00:36:11.380 we're just doing it so that I can make that Facebook 00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:13.960 post. I don't want to be a part of the church 00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:16.150 that just... does good things so that people 00:36:16.150 --> 00:36:18.329 will say we do good things so that they will 00:36:18.329 --> 00:36:20.929 come. That's not what we're here for. We're here 00:36:20.929 --> 00:36:23.829 to do good things so that it truly blesses people's 00:36:23.829 --> 00:36:26.809 lives so that they hear the good news that changes 00:36:26.809 --> 00:36:29.610 people's lives. We're not here to be performative. 00:36:29.630 --> 00:36:32.329 We are here to be transformative. And the only 00:36:32.329 --> 00:36:35.150 transformation that comes from performative generosity 00:36:35.150 --> 00:36:40.690 is death. And that's what happens to Ananias 00:36:40.690 --> 00:36:44.550 and Sapphira. Look at the scripture. When Ananias 00:36:44.550 --> 00:36:47.329 heard these words, he fell down and breathed 00:36:47.329 --> 00:36:51.650 his last, and great fear came upon all who heard 00:36:51.650 --> 00:36:58.230 of it. So what does it look like for us, for 00:36:58.230 --> 00:37:01.250 this family of believers? What does it look like 00:37:01.250 --> 00:37:04.349 for us right here in Union County, Georgia? What 00:37:04.349 --> 00:37:08.730 does it look like for us to not give a fake gift? 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:11.800 What does it look like for us to not just not 00:37:11.800 --> 00:37:15.000 give gifts like I did to my rosemary plant? What 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:17.480 does it look like for us to not drop dead but 00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:23.039 to be a living tree? What does it look like for 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:27.579 us to give until the needs are met rather than 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:31.780 just enough to look good? I think it starts with 00:37:31.780 --> 00:37:34.280 being honest about what the needs really are. 00:37:35.050 --> 00:37:37.590 And as the minister here, I feel like I'm allowed 00:37:37.590 --> 00:37:39.769 to be straightforward with you. I think you would 00:37:39.769 --> 00:37:41.570 prefer I be straightforward with you. Otherwise, 00:37:41.690 --> 00:37:43.769 I might be like Ananias and Sapphira and I might 00:37:43.769 --> 00:37:47.070 die. I want to be straightforward with you. And 00:37:47.070 --> 00:37:49.090 I want to tell you what I believe God is calling 00:37:49.090 --> 00:37:53.039 this church family to invest in right now. like 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:55.199 where we can be generous, where we can pour into. 00:37:55.320 --> 00:37:56.800 And we've talked about it a little bit before, 00:37:56.940 --> 00:38:00.559 but I think we've got two things, two current 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:02.739 needs. And the first one is we have talked about, 00:38:02.820 --> 00:38:04.420 the elders have talked about, we've prayed about, 00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:07.559 what would it look like for us to be more benevolent? 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:10.340 What would it look like to take care of the community 00:38:10.340 --> 00:38:12.780 around us more? Like how could we pour into the 00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:14.960 food pantry more? How could we pour into these 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:18.480 different ministry programs that we are a part 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:20.460 of in this community? What would it look like 00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:23.079 for us to be able to do more for missions? What 00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:24.900 would it look like for us to be able to do more 00:38:24.900 --> 00:38:28.260 for the local outreach? How could we be more 00:38:28.260 --> 00:38:31.719 benevolent? And then how can we better serve 00:38:31.719 --> 00:38:33.400 the next generation? We've talked about this 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.500 a little bit, but seriously, like what would 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:38.599 it look like? How could we pour into our young 00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:41.800 people? We talk about, we pray about, and it's 00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:44.400 awesome the amount of children we've got in this 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:46.820 church building right now. That is something 00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:49.539 that should be applauded. That is something that 00:38:49.539 --> 00:38:51.900 we really should be oohing and aahing about because 00:38:51.900 --> 00:38:54.340 it is a good thing. It shows that we are not 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:57.619 dead, that there is something here that has life. 00:38:59.019 --> 00:39:01.260 But we've got them here and we've got them out 00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:04.059 there. Like I was very impressed before we moved 00:39:04.059 --> 00:39:06.800 here to find out that we've got a pretty decent 00:39:06.800 --> 00:39:09.880 like size school system. Because before we moved 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:11.699 here, I thought there was like five people in 00:39:11.699 --> 00:39:14.219 this town. I'm going to be honest. I found out 00:39:14.219 --> 00:39:16.380 that there's a lot more people here than I thought. 00:39:16.889 --> 00:39:18.710 And that's an awesome thing because there's a 00:39:18.710 --> 00:39:21.110 bunch of kids out there that do not go to church, 00:39:21.210 --> 00:39:23.590 that don't have a relationship with Christ, that 00:39:23.590 --> 00:39:25.889 need somebody to tell them about Jesus. There's 00:39:25.889 --> 00:39:28.070 an old acapella song. Who's going to tell the 00:39:28.070 --> 00:39:31.670 child about Jesus? Who is? I hope it would be 00:39:31.670 --> 00:39:33.929 us, but how are we going to do that? There's 00:39:33.929 --> 00:39:39.150 some real logistical needs that are there. And 00:39:39.150 --> 00:39:41.510 I'm not putting those up there as announcements 00:39:41.510 --> 00:39:44.230 or challenges. I'm not putting those up there 00:39:44.230 --> 00:39:47.369 as line items on the budget. What I want us to 00:39:47.369 --> 00:39:49.690 see is that these are places that I believe and 00:39:49.690 --> 00:39:52.289 I think our leadership believes God is looking 00:39:52.289 --> 00:39:56.150 at us and saying, this will help the living tree 00:39:56.150 --> 00:40:00.650 here bear more fruit. Do y 'all want to feed 00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:03.170 like spiritually? Do y 'all want to spiritually 00:40:03.170 --> 00:40:08.119 feed this community? It doesn't sound like many 00:40:08.119 --> 00:40:11.579 of us do. Do we want to spiritually feed this 00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:16.659 community? Well, I know how we can do that. I 00:40:16.659 --> 00:40:21.260 know two practical ways we can do that. These 00:40:21.260 --> 00:40:23.099 are parts of our tree that need tending. These 00:40:23.099 --> 00:40:24.840 are parts of our tree that need to be poured 00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:27.099 into. I'm not going to get into the stats about 00:40:27.099 --> 00:40:29.119 why good youth ministry is such an essential 00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:31.840 piece to the kingdom's mission. And I don't think 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:34.019 I have to make the case for feeding the hungry 00:40:34.019 --> 00:40:36.079 and taking care of the orphans and widows. I 00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:40.119 don't think I need to preach about that right 00:40:40.119 --> 00:40:43.420 now. I think maybe we've got that one. I'll simply 00:40:43.420 --> 00:40:48.659 say that I believe these are practical ways we 00:40:48.659 --> 00:40:53.369 can bless the mission. here. And so again, I 00:40:53.369 --> 00:40:58.309 ask you, what kind of church do we want to be? 00:40:58.349 --> 00:41:00.150 What kind of tree do we plant? Do we want to 00:41:00.150 --> 00:41:04.010 be? I'll ask you another question because I said 00:41:04.010 --> 00:41:06.449 generosity is a symptom of faith. It's a symptom 00:41:06.449 --> 00:41:09.090 of saying, I believe in what God is doing here. 00:41:09.130 --> 00:41:13.449 So I'm asking, do we believe in what God is doing 00:41:13.449 --> 00:41:17.869 here through this family of believers? If so, 00:41:20.179 --> 00:41:22.460 Let's just remember, generosity is a symptom 00:41:22.460 --> 00:41:25.820 of faith. And there's more to it than just finances. 00:41:25.860 --> 00:41:28.199 Like I said, we need more people physically using 00:41:28.199 --> 00:41:30.780 their gifts to serve the kingdom. How many of 00:41:30.780 --> 00:41:33.800 you could go and coach a little league t -ball 00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:36.619 team? Because let me tell you, Easton thinks 00:41:36.619 --> 00:41:39.380 his t -ball coach is the coolest person in the 00:41:39.380 --> 00:41:41.699 world. Sorry, Chad, you've been demoted. He thinks 00:41:41.699 --> 00:41:43.559 his t -ball coach is the coolest person in the 00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:45.739 world. Peyton thinks his t -ball coach is the 00:41:45.739 --> 00:41:47.659 coolest person in the world. Sorry, Greg, you've 00:41:47.659 --> 00:41:50.289 also been demoted. They love... their t -ball 00:41:50.289 --> 00:41:54.389 coach how many of us could could go and be a 00:41:54.389 --> 00:41:56.769 mentor in the school again like going to that 00:41:56.769 --> 00:41:58.690 mentor banquet and seeing the way that that young 00:41:58.690 --> 00:42:02.570 man talked about his mentor was awesome because 00:42:02.570 --> 00:42:05.090 that little guy like well he's not little he's 00:42:05.090 --> 00:42:06.949 in high school like he thinks of his mentor as 00:42:06.949 --> 00:42:10.230 a hero and I think about my youth minister who 00:42:10.230 --> 00:42:13.670 did youth ministry voluntarily he didn't like 00:42:13.670 --> 00:42:18.179 I look at him as a hero And because of those 00:42:18.179 --> 00:42:20.760 people's good work, lives are being changed. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.940 Now for the t -ball coach, for the mentor, imagine 00:42:23.940 --> 00:42:26.840 if we take those lives and we add the gospel 00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:35.519 to it. So, what could we do? What could we do 00:42:35.519 --> 00:42:38.000 for the community to bless these people? The 00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:41.099 schools, the food pantry, visiting the shut -ins, 00:42:41.199 --> 00:42:43.820 the homeless shelters, like all of these things, 00:42:44.059 --> 00:42:47.300 these are ways that we could bless people. right 00:42:47.300 --> 00:42:51.119 here, right now. And I need to say this because 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:52.800 we're coming to a close. For the visitor with 00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:55.800 us today, I hope what you take from this is the 00:42:55.800 --> 00:42:57.460 heart of this church family. Because this is 00:42:57.460 --> 00:42:59.559 kind of like insider, right? Like, you know, 00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:02.039 used to be churches would do men's business meetings 00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:04.320 and this is what would get talked at about at 00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:07.039 those. But I want to talk to everybody. And for 00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:08.559 the visitor, I hope that you're not like, oh, 00:43:08.599 --> 00:43:10.159 here we go, another preacher that's just preaching 00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:13.679 about money. And that's not what this is about. 00:43:14.380 --> 00:43:16.639 This is about the heart of this church family 00:43:16.639 --> 00:43:19.199 and what we're trying to do for the kingdom of 00:43:19.199 --> 00:43:22.039 God and for the people in this community around 00:43:22.039 --> 00:43:27.400 us. And on a much lighter and frankly more important 00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:29.400 note, I want you to look at my little fruit tree 00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:32.280 again. Because again, I'm so proud of this thing. 00:43:32.360 --> 00:43:34.920 I can't wait to plant it. Seriously though, if 00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:37.960 anybody knows about plants, help me out. I want 00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:40.360 you to look at my little fruit tree. This little 00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:43.159 guy, he's going to cost me something. I'm going 00:43:43.159 --> 00:43:46.059 to have to make sure I'm intentional about watering 00:43:46.059 --> 00:43:48.679 it. I'm going to have to make sure that I give 00:43:48.679 --> 00:43:51.039 it a good space in my yard so that it doesn't 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:53.559 get destroyed by my heathen children. I got to 00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:56.139 make sure that that I take care of it and it's 00:43:56.139 --> 00:44:01.300 going to cost something. But I want this tree 00:44:01.300 --> 00:44:05.239 when it does start to bear fruit. I want it to 00:44:05.239 --> 00:44:07.199 be a community tree. Like, I want you all to 00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:09.119 just go in my yard. Well, first of all, it's 00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:11.760 not my yard. It's your yard. But I want you to 00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:14.579 go in the yard up there and just take an apple 00:44:14.579 --> 00:44:16.780 off the tree. Wash it before you eat it. My grandma 00:44:16.780 --> 00:44:18.239 always said to wash your fruit before eating 00:44:18.239 --> 00:44:20.960 it. Wash it before you eat it. But I want you 00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:23.340 to just get a fruit or an apple off the tree 00:44:23.340 --> 00:44:25.800 and eat it or make an apple pie. If you do, bring 00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:29.300 me a slice. I want this to be a community tree. 00:44:31.150 --> 00:44:33.250 I'm going to put some work into it. And whoever 00:44:33.250 --> 00:44:35.090 decides to help me out, like we're going to put 00:44:35.090 --> 00:44:38.530 some work into it. But the fruit of it is going 00:44:38.530 --> 00:44:41.849 to be available to everybody freely. And that's 00:44:41.849 --> 00:44:45.849 exactly what Jesus did. It's exactly what Jesus 00:44:45.849 --> 00:44:50.989 still does. Jesus gave his time. Jesus gave up 00:44:50.989 --> 00:44:54.809 his home. He gave up his comfort and he gave 00:44:54.809 --> 00:45:00.170 up ultimately his life. Jesus displayed the greatest 00:45:00.170 --> 00:45:03.230 act of generosity. Like we look at Barnabas and 00:45:03.230 --> 00:45:04.690 we're like, man, he sold a whole field. Like, 00:45:04.710 --> 00:45:07.510 do y 'all know how much land is worth? He sold 00:45:07.510 --> 00:45:10.690 it and just gave it all. And that was a great 00:45:10.690 --> 00:45:12.769 act of generosity. And some of you have displayed 00:45:12.769 --> 00:45:15.329 great acts of generosity in this church and at 00:45:15.329 --> 00:45:18.010 other places. And those are awesome. But what 00:45:18.010 --> 00:45:24.309 Jesus did, that, that is the ultimate act of 00:45:24.309 --> 00:45:27.309 generosity. And he did it so that others could 00:45:27.309 --> 00:45:32.190 eat of his fruit. Because his life, by his sacrifice, 00:45:32.309 --> 00:45:36.230 we receive life. Not just eternal life, but abundant 00:45:36.230 --> 00:45:39.389 life. And I want you to think about this. When 00:45:39.389 --> 00:45:42.349 you eat of the fruit of this tree, you'll receive 00:45:42.349 --> 00:45:44.610 nutrients, and you'll get some flavor, and it's 00:45:44.610 --> 00:45:46.820 going to give you a little bit of life. Provide 00:45:46.820 --> 00:45:49.500 substance. But when you eat of the generous gift 00:45:49.500 --> 00:45:53.219 of Jesus' tree, you will receive far more abundance, 00:45:53.480 --> 00:45:57.460 far more life than any apple could ever give 00:45:57.460 --> 00:46:01.599 you. And that's the gospel. That's the good news. 00:46:02.239 --> 00:46:06.460 Because generosity is the source and it's a symptom 00:46:06.460 --> 00:46:15.920 of Jesus' work. And so for us, We have a symptom, 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:20.380 and it's to be generous in our time, in our service, 00:46:20.599 --> 00:46:23.500 in our effort, generous with our gifts, our abilities, 00:46:23.619 --> 00:46:29.639 all because of Jesus' gift. Okay, now, one last 00:46:29.639 --> 00:46:31.219 look at my plants. Okay, you can't see my little 00:46:31.219 --> 00:46:32.639 tree because there's a little plant. He's right 00:46:32.639 --> 00:46:34.500 here, so I'm going to put him back up here. Look 00:46:34.500 --> 00:46:38.039 at him, ooh and ah. That's dirty. I'm not putting 00:46:38.039 --> 00:46:39.800 it up there, but you can hopefully see that. 00:46:39.880 --> 00:46:44.699 Look at my plants. A year from now, One of these 00:46:44.699 --> 00:46:48.559 is going to look exactly the same. Unless my 00:46:48.559 --> 00:46:50.460 children destroy it. I might put it in my office 00:46:50.460 --> 00:46:53.860 because it's safe there. He's going to look the 00:46:53.860 --> 00:46:56.780 same. He'll still be pretty. You can still ooh 00:46:56.780 --> 00:47:01.739 and ah at him. No fruit though. No life. He didn't 00:47:01.739 --> 00:47:05.400 die. He's still there. Still looks good. The 00:47:05.400 --> 00:47:08.179 other one, well, hopefully he's got some life 00:47:08.179 --> 00:47:09.920 because I'm going to do my best to revive him. 00:47:10.639 --> 00:47:13.360 And again, my plant people. You're going to help 00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:16.179 me revive him if he's savable. If not, we're 00:47:16.179 --> 00:47:20.599 going to toss him. But this one right here, a 00:47:20.599 --> 00:47:24.380 year from now, because of the generous help that 00:47:24.380 --> 00:47:26.119 a plant person in this room is going to give 00:47:26.119 --> 00:47:29.139 me, this guy hopefully will have some apples. 00:47:29.980 --> 00:47:32.820 I don't know. Do apple trees sprout apples that 00:47:32.820 --> 00:47:35.420 fast? We'll find out. He's going to be bigger. 00:47:35.539 --> 00:47:37.559 Two years. Okay. I don't know how old that is. 00:47:37.780 --> 00:47:40.460 He's going to be bigger, if nothing else. He's 00:47:40.460 --> 00:47:42.420 going to have a few more leaves on him. He's 00:47:42.420 --> 00:47:44.400 going to be closer to bearing that good fruit, 00:47:44.599 --> 00:47:48.159 if not bearing fruit yet. And I want you to think 00:47:48.159 --> 00:47:50.800 about two years from now, and three years from 00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:55.139 now, and four years from now. If I will intentionally, 00:47:55.420 --> 00:48:01.519 generously take care of this tree, he's going 00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:07.099 to produce a lot of good fruit. Which one of 00:48:07.099 --> 00:48:11.619 these is the Blairsville Church of Christ? Which 00:48:11.619 --> 00:48:13.659 one of these is, if you're visiting from another 00:48:13.659 --> 00:48:15.780 church out of town, or which one of these is 00:48:15.780 --> 00:48:19.480 your church family going to be? And then individually, 00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:22.380 which one of these trees is Donovan Rillian or 00:48:22.380 --> 00:48:25.619 Chad Laracy or Courtney Waller or Shayla Peel? 00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:28.260 Which one of these trees are you going to be? 00:48:28.380 --> 00:48:32.840 Am I going to be? The challenge for us this morning 00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:39.079 is to be a real living tree that does bear good 00:48:39.079 --> 00:48:44.159 fruit. and covers so much ground. I want the 00:48:44.159 --> 00:48:47.320 church, my vision, my dream, like I have a vision 00:48:47.320 --> 00:48:49.460 and a dream for this tree. My vision and dream 00:48:49.460 --> 00:48:53.119 for this tree right here is that we cover so 00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:55.199 much ground that people start thinking we are 00:48:55.199 --> 00:49:02.239 an invasive species. Like kudzu level invasive. 00:49:04.969 --> 00:49:07.250 That's what I want. That's my dream. That's my 00:49:07.250 --> 00:49:09.469 vision. And that was Christ's vision when he 00:49:09.469 --> 00:49:12.010 said, you're going to proclaim the gospel to 00:49:12.010 --> 00:49:15.010 all nations, to all generations. And I want us 00:49:15.010 --> 00:49:17.949 to bear so much good fruit in this community 00:49:17.949 --> 00:49:20.150 and abroad that we fill every food bank from 00:49:20.150 --> 00:49:23.489 here to Thailand. When we're done with our work 00:49:23.489 --> 00:49:25.849 on this earth, people will look back and say, 00:49:25.929 --> 00:49:30.090 that was a good tree. We've got a tree in my 00:49:30.090 --> 00:49:33.789 hometown called the Friendship Oak. And it has 00:49:33.789 --> 00:49:36.449 been there for hundreds of years. And a few years 00:49:36.449 --> 00:49:38.769 ago, some people, some, I'm not going to say 00:49:38.769 --> 00:49:43.090 it, they wanted to cut that tree down. When I 00:49:43.090 --> 00:49:47.250 was a little kid, I played in that tree. Because 00:49:47.250 --> 00:49:49.349 it's a big, I mean, it's big, like it covers, 00:49:49.429 --> 00:49:51.329 down in South Mississippi, we've got these live 00:49:51.329 --> 00:49:55.550 oaks that just like go. And that tree covers 00:49:55.550 --> 00:49:57.829 so much ground. It's got like its own little 00:49:57.829 --> 00:50:03.440 area roped off. And when I think about that tree, 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:07.000 I think about my memories in that tree, playing 00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:10.320 under the shade of that tree. And when people 00:50:10.320 --> 00:50:12.480 50 years older than me that are from South Mississippi 00:50:12.480 --> 00:50:14.119 think about that tree, they think about the same 00:50:14.119 --> 00:50:16.360 thing. When people that are 100 years old think 00:50:16.360 --> 00:50:17.900 about that tree, they think about the same thing. 00:50:17.980 --> 00:50:20.719 When people think about this church, what will 00:50:20.719 --> 00:50:25.320 they think? What will they remember? When we 00:50:25.320 --> 00:50:30.000 get to heaven and God is looking back on... the 00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:33.000 history of the churches in the world, will He 00:50:33.000 --> 00:50:36.739 look at us and say, man, they don't have any 00:50:36.739 --> 00:50:39.619 life in them? Will He look at us and will He 00:50:39.619 --> 00:50:43.940 say, that preacher really let them down and they 00:50:43.940 --> 00:50:47.179 just kind of withered away? Or will He look at 00:50:47.179 --> 00:50:52.539 us and say, man, they bore good fruit? That's 00:50:52.539 --> 00:50:57.880 the challenge. And it is all possible. It is 00:50:57.880 --> 00:51:00.099 all a part of our mission because of the good 00:51:00.099 --> 00:51:03.300 news of Jesus. So when I'm done, we're going 00:51:03.300 --> 00:51:06.460 to sing a song of invitation. And I want to challenge 00:51:06.460 --> 00:51:08.460 you. Maybe you've never received the most generous 00:51:08.460 --> 00:51:10.880 gift, that ultimate gift of generosity that is 00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:13.760 the grace of Jesus. Maybe you've never accepted 00:51:13.760 --> 00:51:17.360 His generosity. The invitation is open. We ask 00:51:17.360 --> 00:51:19.420 you to come. Maybe you're already in Christ, 00:51:19.519 --> 00:51:21.840 but you know you've been holding back, like you've 00:51:21.840 --> 00:51:23.599 just been following. You aren't quite a disciple. 00:51:23.820 --> 00:51:26.380 The invitation is open. And maybe you just need 00:51:26.380 --> 00:51:28.300 the body of Christ to pray over you, to help 00:51:28.300 --> 00:51:30.960 you. Or you need the generosity of the church. 00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:33.900 Wherever you stand today, whatever it is that 00:51:33.900 --> 00:51:37.179 you need, the invitation is the same for everyone 00:51:37.179 --> 00:51:40.699 in this room. As we stand and sing, if you need 00:51:40.699 --> 00:51:42.059 anything, please come.