The Biblical Worldview on Money, Possessions, and Giving

You know, there is a very special group of people I want to introduce you to. They are a group of people who are passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed in this nation and beyond. Without them, harvest ministries could not even exist. We call them harvest partners. They're people who have chosen to give monthly to harvest to keep the gospel moving forward.

Will you become a harvest partner and help us fulfill the great commission in our lifetime? Let's do this together. Just go to harvest.org. Amen.

Well, all right, let's turn in our Bibles now to Matthew chapter 5. The title of my message is The Biblical Worldview. on money, possessions, and giving. I want to talk to you today. about stuff.

And by stuff, I mean You know. Stop. We all have it. Guys, we cram it in our wallets and put it in our back pocket and dislocate our hip in the process. We stuff it into our pockets.

Girls, you have even a bigger place to carry all your stuff in your purse, and we carry it everywhere that we go. And our cars are filled with stuff, and the trunks of our cars are filled with stuff. In fact, for many, the meaning of their life is to get more stuff. and then to find bigger places to put their stuff in. Comedian George Carlin said that that's what a house is for: it's a place to put your stuff.

In fact, if you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't even need a house. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on top of it.

So one day you realize you have too much stuff because you open up the doors of your closet and they're full and the drawer, everything, the drawers are overflowing and so you have a garage sale. And you sell off your stuff, and this always works because there's someone else out there that wants more stuff too. And they're driving around looking for stuff to buy, and they come and buy your stuff. Oh, by the way, have you ever noticed that your stuff is cool, but other people's stuff is junk? You know?

So then you get the money from your garage sale, from selling your stuff, and what do you do?

Well, you go and buy more stuff. Right? And then it begins to pile up, and I think one of the best places to store stuff is our garage. Because you have everything out there. You have athletic stuff, and bike stuff, and surfboard stuff, and spare parts, and tools, and broken tools you can't let go of, and old clothes.

In fact, there's so much stuff in your garage, there's not even room for a car. And one of my favorite things that people keep in a garage is one of those very expensive workout machines. What do they do with it? Workout? No, they hang stuff off of that, you see.

It's just another place to collect it all. Then there's traveling. And I have a problem with overpacking when I travel. This last trip to Israel was a joke. Because we took our extended family, that's two grandchildren, and kids come with a lot of stuff.

They have their car seats and then they have their strollers and they have everything else that goes with it, and it just starts multiplying. And you're good, people see you coming and they run in horror, you know, as you're dragging all of this stuff to get on the plane. And then you get somewhere, and invariably, despite the fact that I've taken all those things with me, I forgot the one thing that I wish I had, so I got on but go out and get another.

Now I have a duplicate of stuff that I already have. It just goes on and on and on.

Well, you know what? The Bible talks a lot about these things. In fact, Jesus told the story of a guy who had a lot of stuff. In fact, he had so much because he was so successful in business that he built larger buildings to house his stuff. But the problem was this guy never gave a passing thought to God.

And one day he said to himself, Self, you have done really well. You've got a main, and now you can retire. Take it easy, and have the time of your life. And then Jesus said in response to that in Luke 12, you fool, you will die this very night. Then who will get it all?

Yes, Jesus says in conclusion, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth and not have a rich relationship with God. And then Jesus said, real life is not measured by how much we own. Real life is not measured by how much we own. Despite the popularity of the saying, he that dies with the most toys wins. That is not the measure of a successful life.

Jesus talked a lot about things. Stuff. Possessions, money, and so forth. In fact, it might surprise you to know that 15% of everything that Jesus said related to the topic of money and possessions, more than all of his teachings on heaven and hell combined. Another interesting thing is half of the parables that Jesus told dealt with stuff, things, money, etc.

In addition, one out of every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic.

Now, if you compare that with other topics addressed in the Bible, you'll find that the scripture offers about 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 on faith, while there are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible on the subject of money.

However, When you bring this subject up, people cringe. They reach for their wallet. Make sure it's still there. Dangerous proposition. preacher talking about money.

Why do we feel that way?

Well, we think this is our money. This belongs to us. And don't you dare suggest we part with it in any way, shape, or form. But here's what the Bible reminds us of. that you belong to God.

Therefore, everything that you have belongs to God as well. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, Don't you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? What you have from God. You are not your own. For you were bought at a price.

Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. You belong to God. I belong to God. My health, if I have good health, and I do thankfully. is a gift to me from God.

The breath I draw into my lungs right now is a gift to me from God. The beat of my heart right now is a gift to me from God. One time the Pharisees came to Jesus trying to trap him. And they said, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Now back in those days they were overtaxed. just like we are in our days. And it was really a trap because if he said, yes, pay taxes to Caesar, and they would say, well, don't you think we're all overtaxed? And if he said, don't pay taxes to Caesar, then they would say, oh, well, you're an insurrectionist and you should be arrested.

So Jesus said, someone show me a coin. And someone produced a coin with a face of Caesar. I was in an antiquity store in Israel on this last trip, and I said, find me a coin like the one Jesus would have held up and pointed to. And they found me a coin. It had the face of Tiberius Caesar on it.

And I wanted to buy the coin. I said, How much is the coin? $1,000. No, thank you. But it was a good illustration.

That's okay. I have a quarter. It has a face on it too. I'll use that instead. But here's the point: there was the face of the emperor.

Jesus said, Whose face is on that coin? They said, Caesar's. He said, therefore, give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and give to God the things that belong to God. You bear The imprint of God, you are made. After his image and his heart.

And so, in the same way, we should glorify God with our life. Everything that you have. Even if it is a result of hard work, which I'm sure it is, it has been given to you by the Lord. In Haggai 2.8, God says the silver is mine, the gold is mine, declares the Lord. You say, but Greg, wait, it's been through my strategic investments and it's been through my hard labor and all that I've done.

That's true, but God gave you the ability to do all of those things. Proverbs 10, 22 says, the blessing of the Lord makes a person rich and he adds no sorrow with it. He gave you the ability to produce wealth. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, Remember the Lord, He's the one that gave you the ability to produce wealth. It so confirms His covenant.

You say, Well, Greg, you know, you're talking to the wrong person because I'm not a wealthy person, you see. I'm pretty low on the economic ladder.

Well, isn't that somewhat relative? When we say we're not wealthy people, I mean, who are we comparing ourselves to? Are you comparing yourself to someone living in Beverly Hills, swimming pools, movie stars? To quote the Beverly Hillbellies, Well, yeah, maybe compared to them, you're not wealthy. And then maybe someone in Beverly Hill says, Well, I'm not wealthy because they compare themselves to a mega millionaire.

And then a mega millionaire says, Yeah, I'm wealthy, but not that wealthy because look at Bill Gates. And then, you know, on it goes. There's always someone higher, but guess what? There's always someone a lot lower as well. It is my belief that the American on the lowest rung of our economic ladder would be considered rich in comparison to a good portion of humanity living in the rest of the world, especially the third world.

Someone said, and I quote, If you have money in the bank. In your wallet and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. Ah, that changes things.

So now, all of a sudden, when I think of that, I realize that, in a sense, I'm wealthy. Everyone is. If you have possessions, you have a certain degree of wealth. Are there people that have more than you? Of course, there are.

Are there people that have less than you? Absolutely.

So that's not the issue. The issue is you have stuff. You have things given to you by God. In time, maybe you'll even have more stuff. Perhaps you'll have less.

But here's what we need to think about. How am I to live in relationship to all of this? What does the Bible say? 1 Timothy 6.17 says, Tell those who are rich. Not to be proud.

And not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all things we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given to them. Three things are mentioned in this text.

to a person who has resources. Number one. They should not be arrogant. or put their ultimate hope in that wealth. Again, they should not be arrogant or put their ultimate hope in that wealth.

Tell those who are rich. That would pretty much include everyone. Not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. No, you cannot take it with you. one of the wealthiest men who ever lived, Malcolm Forbes.

Said shortly before his death, and I quote: The thing I most dread about death is that I don't think I'll be as comfortable in the next life as I was in this one, end quote. That may be an understatement. I'm not sure where mister Forbes was at spiritually, but there's no question if he didn't know Christ, that was an understatement. I did hear the story of a wealthy man who was very near death. He had worked very hard for his money.

And desperately wanted to take some of it to heaven.

So he prayed and he asked God if he could be the exception to the rule and take some money to heaven. And God said, all right, one suitcase only. This is a true story.

So the man loaded up a suitcase with solid gold bars. After he died, he stood at the gate of heaven and was greeted by Peter, because Peter always greets everyone in heaven, as we know from all the jokes we hear. Peter heard of the arrangement the man made with God and asked to check his suitcase. And someone asked Peter later, what was in that guy's suitcase? Peter says, you know, it's the funniest thing.

I don't get it. He went to all that effort to bring in a suitcase full of pavement. Get it? That's what gold is in heaven. Pavement.

That which is valuable on earth has no value in heaven. And often that which is undervalued on earth has maximum value in heaven.

So number one, don't be arrogant or put your ultimate hope Hope and wealth. Number two, this one might surprise you, but it's here. and the text we just read. Enjoy what God has given you. No, it doesn't say that you should feel guilty.

It says enjoy it. Verse 17: God richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Sometimes people will suggest that there's a virtue in poverty, but the Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible Tells us that God can and will bless a person, and that can include monetary blessing.

Now, of course, we don't subscribe to the teaching of so-called word faith. Advocates that would say God wants every Christian to be healthy and wealthy and of unlimited resources. On the other hand, we do not subscribe to the idea that God wants every believer to be impoverished. We know that God can bless a person materially. If she looked at the pages of the Bible, you'll find that there were people that were believers that had resources, like Abraham, David, Joseph of Armathea, Barnabas, and Mary, all had wealth in varying degrees.

But the point of it is that God can bless us in this way. And one verse that is often cited is the story of the rich young ruler, and Jesus told him to give up what he had and follow him. And sometimes people will quote that like that is a prerequisite for being a Christian. Jesus only said that to one man one time. And the reason he said it to that one man in particular is that young man was ruled by his possessions.

And when Jesus told him to give it up, he was unwilling. That showed that was the case.

Now, here's what God says: if he's blessed you with things, go ahead and enjoy it. He says, But, Greg, doesn't the Bible say that money is the root of all evil? Actually, the Bible does not say that. And I am surprised how often I hear this quoted. Money is the root of all evil.

It's in the Bible. The Bible doesn't say that. Does it? No, here's what the Bible says: 1 Timothy 6:10. The love of money.

is the root of all evil. Which, while some have coveted after they've erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows, there's a difference. You can have money. And not love it. And then you can have money and love it.

You can have a lot of money and not necessarily love it. You can have very little money and love it a lot. It's not even how much you have, it's your attitude toward it. Money is neutral. It's not moral or immoral.

It's amoral. There's no evil in money. There's no good in it either. The problem in wealth is not in having it, it's when it has you. It's how we get it.

How we guard it. and how we give it. Let me repeat that again. How we get it. How we guard it, and how we give it.

It can be used for good or bad. One final thing that Paul says in relationship to stuff. 1 Timothy 6, 18 again. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and give happily to those in need, and always be ready to share with others.

You can tell a lot about a person's spirituality. by his giving or lack thereof. Because Jesus said where a man's heart is Or where a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also. And if we're true followers of Jesus, we should. Give.

To the work of the kingdom of God. It's been said we should give until it hurts. But Jesus teaches it should hurt when we cease to give. It's a real test of our faithfulness to God because Jesus said. If you have not been faithful in the use and handling of worldly wealth, Who will entrust you with true riches?

And if you've not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

So it's all pulled together now before us in the Sermon on the Mount. Let's read Matthew 6, verses 1 to 4. Jesus is talking about giving. It says take heed. That you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them.

Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, don't sound a trumpet. Before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may have glory for men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. When you do a charitable deed, that is, when you bring an offering or offer a gift.

Don't let your left hand know what your right is doing. Your charitable deed may be in secret, and your father who sees you in secret. will reward you openly.

Now don't forget that the theme Running through the Sermon on the Mount is the heart. Jesus has already dealt with this. He said, You know, you've heard that it has been said, you shall not kill, but if you have hatred, towards someone that's like murdering them in your heart. You've heard that it has been said, you should not commit adultery, but if you lust after a woman, it's very similar, effectively, the same thing. And now he is saying to these Pharisees, That love to make a big show of offering their gifts.

Don't do it in a way. that will cause others to see you. I mean if someone sees you give, fine. But don't do it in a way that draws attention to your giving. Your Father, who sees you in secret, Will reward you openly.

God watches everything we do. He always has his eye on us. You know, when you are around small children, you find yourself doing the same thing. two granddaughters, Stella and Lucy. You have to really keep your eye on them, especially when they start to walk.

You know, little Lucy just started to walk. And she walks like a little sumo wrestler. She just sort of like this, you know, she hasn't quite got the poise down yet. Stella walks in a very ladylike way, but Lucy, she's just getting it worked out. But hey, it was only a couple of weeks ago she was crawling.

She is the fastest crawling baby I've ever seen. I mean, that child could cross the distance of a house. It seemed like a nanosecond, you know?

So you're always watching, watching, because as they're walking, they're grabbing things and pulling themselves up and bumping their heads on things and this sort of thing.

So you have to watch, watch, watch, watch, watch. You can't take your eye off of them. Listen, God is always watching you because we're like little spiritual babies bumping our heads, getting ourselves into trouble. He's watching us. Interesting.

Text. Mark chapter 12. We see that Jesus paid attention to what people did with their money. There, we read that Jesus went over to the collection box in the temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

Then a poor woman came along, a widow actually, and dropped in two. Pennies. He called his disciples and he said, I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the others have given, for they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, as poor as she was, gave everything she had. I find it interesting that that verse says that Jesus went over to the collection box in the temple and watched. It doesn't say that he just happened to notice.

He actually went over with the express purpose of observing how people gave. And he noticed how the wealthy would come and throw in a measure of money. That was a significant amount of money to a normal person, but not to them because they had so much more. And then this woman, with her two pennies, not a lot of money, but it was everything she had. And so he saved his Praise for her.

He gave her more praise. He didn't condemn the others. He just praised her. They gave much, much more, and they had much, much more, but she gave everything. It was not a performance.

She didn't go and do it in a way. Look at what I'm about to do. Check this out, everybody. She just went in there and said, Well, this is what I'm going to give to God. Jesus watched.

And Jesus watches when we give as well.

Now, for those that do it for the applause of men, for those that do it for the attention, for those that tell everyone how much they've done for the kingdom, and I'm not just talking about money now, I'm talking about anything. They boast of all their great accomplishments. They make sure you know of all the great sacrifices they've made. Jesus said they've received the reward, verse 2. And by the way, that word reward means paid in full and receipted.

These guys have already been paid.

So, if you give up your time or your finances or do something in a way to draw attention to yourself, you have already received your reward.

So Jesus says, here's the way to give. Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Now, what does that mean? Because obviously my left hand is pretty aware of what this hand is doing. In fact, they often work together and do things, you know.

Well, actually, in this culture, and we talked about this when Jesus talked about cutting off your right hand or plucking out your right eye. The right hand was considered the primary hand of action. You know, you have a hand, you. A favor, like if you shake hands with someone, it's usually. you know, your right hand that you extend to a person.

Maybe even to stop something, you put that hand up. You have a hand you favor, unless you're a southpaw, a left-hander. But regardless, you have a hand that you favor over another.

So, Jesus is saying, the right hand being the hand of action, when you do something, Do it in a way that does not draw attention to yourself and do it for the glory of God. Why? Verse 4. That your charitable deed may be in secret, and your father who sees in secret. Will himself reward you openly.

Listen. God will not be your debtor. And whatever you have given up for the kingdom of God is duly noted by the Lord Himself. If we remember, God will forget. But if we forget God will remember.

Let me repeat that. If we remember, God will forget, but if we forget, God will remember. In other words, if we remember, oh, I did this for God, I did that for God, Lord, saying, I think you already were paid for that. You got your reward by telling everyone how much you did. But if you do this thing for God, And never tell anyone, you just do it, it's done.

You even forget about it, and someone has to remind you of this thing you did five years ago or ten years ago. I really don't remember that. Hey, God will remember.

Now, there's another passage of scripture that gives us the biblical worldview on the believer in things, and it's 2 Corinthians. And you can turn over there if you like. 2 Corinthians 9. And I'm going to read to you from the New Living Translation. If you don't know where 2 Corinthians is, it's right after 1 Corinthians, that's right.

2 Corinthians 9. Again, I'm reading this from the New Living Translation. Paul says, remember this, a farmer. Who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

You must each make up your mind how much you're going to give. Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God will generously provide all of your needs, and you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scripture says, God gives generously to the poor. Their deeds will not be forgotten.

or godly people give generously to the poor. For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and bread to eat in the same way He will give you many opportunities to do good, and He will produce a great harvest of generosity In you.

So, what do we learn from this? Number one, God loves cheerful giving. You know the Bible has Quite a bit to say about things God hates. I don't know about you, but I I do have an interest in knowing what God hates. I certainly don't want to do something.

That causes God to say, I hate that. And God hates Ly lying. Evil, slander, discord.

So, I don't want to do what God hates, but I also am interested in what God loves. All right. God hates lying, God hates slander, God hates evil. What does God love? You want to know what God loves?

He loves a cheerful Giver. The word cheerful could be translated hilarious. I love that. He loves a hilarious giver. Because that is a person that has discovered the joy of giving.

Remember, Jesus said in Acts 20:35: it is more blessed to give than to receive. Have you discovered that to be true yet?

Now when you're a child you don't believe that. As a child, you believe it is more blessed to receive than to give, right? And it's all about what are you getting for Christmas? And you leave detailed Maps to your favorite toy store in the aisle where the thing is that you want that new Barbie doll, the sad thing is you're a guy, but whatever. No.

Or, you know, you have a URL link that they can click and order it on Amazon.com or whatever it is. But you make sure that your parents or your husband or your wife or whoever are going to get you this thing that you want. You know, but as you get older, you start learning the joy of giving. You start to enjoy the look of delight on a child's face when they open that thing that you got for them. It's more blessed to give than to receive.

See, kids don't like to give, kids don't like to share. It's amazing, you can have two very small children who have not even really learned how to talk yet, they just know a few words, but if one child grabs a toy, the other child was completely disinterested in, suddenly it's a battle for the toy. And they learned probably what is the first word for many children today. Not dada or mama, but rather mine. Mine, and they start pulling back and forth.

Mine, mine, he says, silly children, learn to share. But then you go to the store that's having the big sale. And there's an item you're looking at, and you're thinking, I might buy that. It's a good deal, but then again, I don't know that I really need it. No, I don't think I'm going to buy it.

And as you walk away, some other lady reaches and grabs the item. All of a sudden, you say, wait, wait, wait. I was looking at that first. She says, no, I want it. No, I want it.

Mine, mine. The salesperson has to separate the two of you. See, sometimes things don't change. all that much. And we can look at all the things that God has blessed us with, and we can effectively say, mine.

But again, coming back to what we said earlier, you are not the owner, you are the steward. It belongs to God because you belong to God. Hello, is that true?

Okay, so What should I do? I should lay up for myself treasures in heaven, Jesus says later in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6. Where moth and rust cannot corrupt, nor can thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Have you ever been ripped off?

Have you ever had anyone break in your house? or in your car or steal your wallet. I had my wallet stolen recently. That's a lot of fun. I was up in LA with Steve.

We're checking out his new facility. I go to a Starbucks. I'm waiting for him to come over across the street. and someone swiped my wallet. And you know, that's a major production.

And so we immediately I called my credit card company and I found out like three minutes after I lost sight of it, charges were being made on my card. which i had to shut down but there you know that's a you think oh man you can't steal that Mine. Guess what? When I lay up treasures in heaven, no one can steal them. No one can steal them.

And they don't rust. They don't get mold on them. They don't wear out. They actually are waiting for you. No, you can't take it with you like the fool with a suitcase full of gold.

But you can send it on ahead. How do I send it on ahead? Every sacrifice I make for the kingdom. Every gift I invest, every prayer that I pray, every time I share the gospel, everything that I do for the glory of God results in treasures in heaven.

So, number one, God loves a churchful giver. Number two, it's a blessing to give. It's a blessing to give. And a lot of believers have not discovered this blessing in their life yet. Paul was speaking in 2 Corinthians about the believers there who loved to give, and he said in 2 Corinthians 8:4, they begged us again and again for the gracious privilege of sharing in the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem.

They were begging to give. What can we give to now? That was great, but now we want another project. Who's in need? How can we help people?

That's the Spirit. And number three. As we give to God, God will give even more to us. Again, as we give to God, God will give even more to us. Verse 8: God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more.

So that you'll not only have enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others. Every farmer knows If you're so old, it'll see. you're going to get a little crop. The greater the amount The crop is in seed form, the greater the amount that will appear in the form of grain later.

Well, some people say, no, I'm not going to give. I'm going to give very little, the least possible.

Okay, that's your choice. Give a lot, give a little, whatever you want to do. It's up to you. But God says, you know what, I really like generosity. How many of you know a cheapskate?

Raise up your hand. You know a cheapskate.

Okay. How many of you are married to a cheapskate raising?

Okay. How many of you are a cheapskate raising guy? You pride yourself on that, don't you? I'm a cheapskate. Yes, sir.

I hold on to that stuff.

Okay, you know what? Cheapskates are a drag. It's a good thing to be careful. And it's a good thing to be a good steward. But a cheap skate, they don't want to give to anything, even when they ought to be giving, like when you go out to dinner with them.

We all know these people. They somehow have paralysis of the hand when it comes to reaching for the wallet when the check comes. I know people, literally, the check comes, they're gone. Where do they go? They come back 40 minutes later, I was in the bathroom.

Oh, the checking, really? I really wanted to give. Did you? We'll see about that.

Next time, it's something else. They're just distracted when the check, what's going on? Look over there. What is that? Oh, you picked up the check.

Thank you so much. But then you know, people that, oh, let me get that, let me help you. And you even happen to know that some of these people don't have a lot of disposable income, yet they're known for their generosity. I found often that people that have the most give the least. And those that have the least give the most.

Person who has the most says, How do you think I got it? By keeping it. Yeah, that may be true. Keep it, you... Cheepscape.

Or then again, you can be generous. And you know what God says? I'll bless you for that.

Now, it doesn't mean that as you give, God is required to give to you and all this crazy stuff that prosperity teachers give us, but it does mean that God says, I'll take care of you. And there are many promises in the Bible that clearly state that if we will faithfully give to the work of the kingdom of God, you will always have more than enough resources for yourself. We need to know that. Proverbs 3, 9 to 10, honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of your produce, and your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. You say, hey, I can't afford to give.

Listen, I can't afford not to give. You know It all belongs to the Lord.

So give back to Him. One person will say, Well, you know, if I had more, I would give. If I had a million dollars I would give more to the Lord. That's not necessarily true. Because for the person that is a million, they say, yeah, but you know, if I had 10 million.

Then I would give to the Lord. It's all fine when it's theoretical. Heard the story of a preacher who asked a farmer in his congregation, Farmer? If you had $200, would you give $100 of it to the Lord? He said, Yes, I would, preacher.

Preacher said, If you had two cows, would you give one of them to the Lord? Farmer said, Yes, I would, preacher. If I had two cows, I'd give one to the Lord. Preacher said, if you had two pigs, Would you give one of those to the Lord for me? He said, Now, you know, that's not fair because they do have two pits.

Get it? It's like, well, it's great when it's theoretical. If I had this, I would do that, and so.

Well, what about? What do you have now?

Well, it's something. God's not going to hold you responsible for what you don't have. He will hold you responsible for what you do have and what you do with it. Why is this important? Because one day, guess what?

We're going to leave everything. Yeah. No matter how much you've accumulated. How true is Proverbs 23, 5 that says, Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone. But it's like they sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Is that not true? Where did my money go? Oh, there's been a change in the stock market. Oh, that bank folded. Oh, that investment went south.

Or sometimes. You just spent more than you thought you had spent. Jesus is not saying wealth might be lost. He is saying wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live or we leave it when we die.

There are no exceptions. And that which was so valuable on earth means nothing in heaven. I haven't played Monopoly in a long time. But uh It's fun to win at Monopoly, isn't it? And you know, I don't think I've ever won Monopoly, come to think of it.

But I like to play it. And you know, you you get those hotels. on boardwalk. in Park Place. I'm not talking the purple properties, I'm talking the blue.

You know, and maybe you put some money. I don't know how you play Monopoly, but maybe you put, like, when you pay taxes and so forth, you put the money in the middle, and if you hit free parking, you get the money.

So maybe you're almost bankrupt, and you land on free parking, you get the money, and you're in the game again, and the game is over, and you have all that money laying there, thousands of dollars, and hotels made out of plastic. $500 bills that are orange. I can't even get A burger at McDonald's with one of those things. That's life. Oh, it's so great on this side, but then we get to the other side.

And we have nothing left. You leave all of it. When John Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men who ever lived, died, Someone asks his accountant, how much did Mr. Rockefeller leave? The accountant said, He left all of it.

That's right, you leave all of it. Here's what it comes down to. Going to leave this earth. All this stuff That's so important to us. It's going to go bye-bye.

It's going to be given to someone else. Maybe not even the person you want to get it. But it's going to be left behind. And then you're going to stand before God.

So listen, every moment of your life make it count for the kingdom. Every time you share the gospel, as I said earlier, every dollar you invest in spiritual things, every prayer you pray, everything you do and service for God will result in treasure in heaven. You won't regret it here, and you definitely will not regret it there. Again, as Jesus said in closing. A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth.

and not have a rich relationship with God. He summed it all up when he said, real life. is not measured. by how much we own. Real life.

is measured. By what we do with what God has given us. I mean everything, I mean your money. I mean your gifts. I mean Your time.

I mean everything. You Me? Us We belong to God. We are not our own. We've been bought with a price.

So let's glorify God. That's the marching orders. From the pages of the Bible. Let's pray. Father, now help us to do that.

This is very easy to say, it's not so easy to do. We can be like that farmer who liked to talk about this in theory, but we don't like it so much in practice. Lord, help us to not be hearers of the word only, but. Doers And thus, we will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. He's the man.

For it's the woman who hears these sayings of yours and does them. But the fool Hears these sayings and does not do them. They go in one ear and out the other. Help us to know, Lord, how this applies in our own life. That we will be faithful stewards over the things you've given to us.

We commit ourselves to you now. We commit all that we have to you now. We commit our lives to you now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Hey, everybody, thanks for listening to my podcast. Before you go, I wanted to let you know about the important work we're doing here at Harvest. You know, we've had the same goal these last 50 years, which is simply this. We want to know God and we want to make Him known. And we do that in a lot of ways.

Documentary films, animation, radio, television, large-scale evangelistic events, and more. If you want to be a part of what we're doing to fulfill the great commission, you can support us with whatever you can give. At harvest.org slash donate. Again, that's harvest.org slash donate, and thanks so much.