Financial Pressure — The Theology of Money — Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Mark chapter 10 if you're there say I'm there if you're not say hold up we ain't got that much time y'all if you're not turned there check out the screens it should come up on the screen Mark 10:1 17 if you know your Bible you will know this to be a very challenging story that I want to read today but my prayer today is as God's word challenges us that simultaneously it's going to encourage us how many believe that God can challenge you and encourage you at the same time that's what good coaches do they

Challenge and they encourage verse 17 says as Jesus started on his way a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him good teacher he asked what must I do to inherit eternal life why do you call me good Jesus answered no one is good except God alone you know the Commandments you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not give false testimony you shall not defraud honor your father and mother well teacher he declared all these I have kept since I was a boy Jesus

looked at him and loved him if you have a Bible maybe underline that I think that's a powerful powerful statement that Jesus looks and loves simultaneously one thing you lack he said go sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven then come follow me at this the man's face fell he went away sad because he had great wealth Jesus looked around and said to his disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God the disciples were amazed at his words but Jesus

said again children how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is Rich to enter the kingdom of God the disciples were even more amazed and said to each other who then can be saved Jesus looked at them and said with man this is impossible but With God all things someone say all things all things all things are possible with God then Peter spoke up we've left everything to follow you truly I tell you Jesus replied no

one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a 100 times as much in this present age homes brothers sisters mother children and Fields along with persecution and in this age to come eternal life but many who are first will be last and the last first it's challenging but how many believe today it's also encouraging come on if you believe this is a word from God go ahead and clap your hands and resend it uh today we are in

part three of a collection of talks entitled The Theology of money and I want to preach to you from the subject Financial pressure anyone out there uh dealing with some Financial pressure where are you where are you five of us my God y'all y'all too blessed for me um anyone out there dealing with a little bit of financial pressure come on wave at me wave at me come on other locations wave at me okay now we got some honest people in church that's a good way to start a sermon with honesty uh we are in

part three of this collection Theology of money and it's funny because um I have discovered in my life of being in Ministry that you can talk about almost anything in church as long as you don't talk about money for some reason just the very word makes people kind of get tight in church we feel a little awkward we feel a little uncomfortable and I think there's a lot of reasons for that I think there's been a lot of manipulation uh a lot of coercion a lot of corruption in the body of Christ when it comes

to this idea of money uh let me just try to set everybody at ease um there's not going to be like an offering at the end of this sermon you ever go to that church where it's like they they kind of prime you it's like and now give you're like ah the word of God says that you're not to give under compulsion let me just put you at ease this collection is not about trying to get something from you but rather we are trying to get something to you in fact if you've been paying attention

all throughout this collection we're not collecting money we're giving money away have you noticed that we started this 3 weeks ago was our team conference weekend and on that weekend alone we gave away $54,000 to people in need come on let's thank God you're a part of a generous church last Sunday in response to the hurricane we gave away $20,000 to Convoy of hope this week we gave away another $20,000 to a local church in Tennessee it now totals $49,000 in Hurricane Relief funds so in the last 3 weeks we haven't been collecting more money

we've been giving more money away in fact in 3 weeks I know we're not all accountants just do the math we've given away $103,000 on your behalf give yourself a big round of applause but it's not just money in fact tomorrow we have two different teams that are going out as boots on the ground one team of 15 going to Port Charlotte the other team is going to Perry Florida because they're going to go and be generous not just with their money but with their time you see this collection is so very very important because

if you're going to be a part of Vu Church you need to understand that while the world kind of gets stiff talking about money we at Vu church we have a value generosity is our privilege that we don't see generosity as an obligation we see generosity as an opportunity watch this we don't have to give we get to give there was no cover charge at the door when you walked in today no somebody already made a way by being generous to turn the lights on to open the facilities come on can we thank God that

we're a part of a generous community it's generosity it's love that pays the bills around here it's people that see generosity as a privilege to say I want to go further and I want to accelerate the vision that's happening around here um I'm a parent I've got three children a lot of you know our story we've got a fourth on the way I don't even know what we're talking about are you ready I was never ready uh this week D Tre was traveling and I was left with two of my kids Wild and whan and

when my wife goes out away the the uh out of town the kids tend to get my bed at night which is cool uh I love them jumping in my bed and everything's pretty good but the parents out here know every once in a while this will happen to you I was asleep in the middle of the night when all of a sudden there was a smell the smell started to hit my nostrils and it woke me up and my daughter whan who's three she's a princess but yo she can pee this girl's got a

bladder she wet the bed no now how many y'all know that once she does this I have to now get up in the middle of the night this is uncomfortable this is inconvenient I have to take the sheets off the bed I have to go and put them in the wash I own the house I own the bed and that's my daughter watch this no one else is coming I'm the owner of the house and I got to take care of my stuff now isn't it fascinating imagine if I went over to your house and

we slept in your guest room and my daughter wet the bed and I didn't tell you about it something tells me you want to invite me back over again what we learned last week is that God is the owner of everything the Earth is the Lord the world is his you and I are not the owner in this story you and I are the steward in this story we're the manager in this story and if you love God's house what you have to recognize is this isn't my house this is God's house and if God

has requirements in his house I want to learn what his requirements are because it's a privilege Life's a gift do you treat God's house like you're a guest or do you treat it like it's a hotel because we cannot pay for God's favor we cannot earn God's grace but rather we simply receive and then we Steward what I want you to catch today and this is the heart of the message is that generosity is a privilege when greed is not your master generosity is a privilege when greed is not your master because maybe you're here

you're going man you guys always talking about generosity is our privilege it doesn't feel that way to me maybe it's because something else is controlling you Mark chapter 10 is a very interesting story this story in Mark chapter 10 shows up in three of the four Gospels so I think anything in the Bible is worth preaching but when it shows up three times in the Bible I want to pay attention to it in Mark's gospel we discover the man is wealthy in Matthew's gospel we discover he's young and in Luke's gospel we discover he's a

ruler so with these Powers combined some of youall know the reference you get the Rich Young Ruler and the Rich Young Ruler is what we know him as as he gets his definition and his title from three of the different gospels and the text says that one day the Rich Young Ruler he approached Jesus and he sees Jesus and he falls on his knees and he says good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life now right on the surface it appears like the question is fine in nature but as you dig a little

bit deeper what you're going to notice is that the question is defining his perception of Jesus you see the way we approach someone is determined by the way that we perceive them how many of y'all know you approach your wife differently than you approach your gym buddy right yeah if you don't do that you're an idiot let me just help you right now I can save you marriage counseling dollars they're different but you got to perceive them differently and so therefore you approach them differently so he goes up to Jesus and he says good teacher

what must I do to inherit eternal life apparently the Rich Young Ruler simply sees Jesus as a mere teacher notice what Jesus says Jesus responds back to he says why do you call me good don't you know only God is good now some who are unfamiliar with the Bible might use this text and say Obviously Jesus is saying that he's not God but you'd have to actually look at it and realize no it's actually the opposite Jesus is saying if you see that I'm good don't you know only God is good and if I'm good

it must be because I am God and if I'm God I'm owner of everything I'm savior of everyone I'm sustainer of all that you see but because you only see me as a teacher I'll give you a teacher answer wow you know the laww remember the law those Ten Commandments that Moses came and brought to you do more of that be more honest don't defraud do not commit adultery how don't you dare murder honor your mother and father watch this here's the Rich Young Ruler H Jesus I've been doing all of that since I was

a young boy and right away what we catch is this man is seduced by success and when you're seduced by success you start to believe that somehow you can achieve Heaven you can achieve God see people who are seduced by success become self-righteous and when you're self-righteous you see everything but your sin and you think that somehow you could do something to earn or inherit eternal life I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven woke up and spent that on a necklace one philosopher said so what does Jesus do Jesus says oh

you think you're good you think you measure up you think you've obeyed all of the law let me just give you more of the law one thing you lack go sell everything you have give it to the poor then come follow me the Bible says that the man turned away from Jesus because he had great wealth and he walked the other way now notice the scripture says that Jesus looked at the man and he loved the man he looked at the man and he loved the man that one of the most merciful things God can

do is either you come to him with humility or he gives you more demands that will drive you to your knees that you'll cry out in humility you decide how you want to come to to Jesus but understand there is no measuring up there is no paying it forward enough there is no being good enough there is no success or status enough that can get you to heaven all God has to do is keep throwing the law at you because no man without the spirit of God and without Grace could ever measure up the law

is full of Demands but Grace is full of Supply is there any Grace kids in the room that are grateful that you know I don't measure you're up but thank God for his grace and thank God for his Mercy I have been humbled I am a sinner there is nothing I could do to inherit eternal life if you're drowning and don't know how to swim asking for a book on how to swim isn't going to do you any good no you need a savior the Bible says that this man walks away from Jesus because he

great wealth he is not able to approach Jesus as Savior therefore he never gets salvation he walks away because he has great wealth meaning he's got money in his wallet but his heart is in his pocket his heart is somewhere else and I do not believe that the heart of the story is merely that money is bad I don't think that's exactly why Jesus tells us the story or allows it to show up in the go goel I do not believe that money is bad I believe that greed is bad and if I can get

really biblical with you today and I think you can handle it because we're maturing as a church I think that we are living in a time that we are controlled by a spirit of Mammon now maybe you've never heard that term before that's okay uh Mammon comes from the Aramaic word mamona which means riches or wealth but as you begin to study it it's more than just this definition it really is a false idol or a counterfeit God it's a corrupt influence that lies to you time and time again it's called Mamon and many of

us today we're controlled by it whether you're a follower of Jesus or not maybe this is your first time de Vu church and maybe a friend brought you and the friend's going I just wish I wouldn't have brought them today because they never talk about money but today my man's talking about money and I just don't think they ever come back maybe just maybe this is the message you need to hear [Music] because whether you believe in God or follow Jesus something tells me that you can agree that something else is going on in American

culture that people are controlled and influenced by a lie in the book The Day America told the truth it's a book where people are asked questions anonymously and they're able to answer without anybody knowing they wrote the answer what would you be willing to do for $10 million well 25% said they would abandon their entire [Music] family what would you be willing to do for $10 million 23% said they would become a prostitute for a week 16% said they would give up their American citizenship giving up your citizenship for Earthly riches I could preach that

but I ain't got the time go 10% would withhold testimony letting a murderer Go free 7% said they would kill a stranger 3% said they would put their children up for adoption if that's not evil I don't know what evil is you see Mammon is more than money Mamon is more than the cash in your wallet it's more than the digits in your bank account it's more than the credit on your card Mammon is a spirit it's a corrupt spirit that wants to take the Throne of your life and it wants to whisper its little

lies into your ear time and time again how many know youever heard that expression Money Talks it's true it's just when Money Talks it lies right oh what's that what what's that Mr Benjamin if you get more of me okay if you get more of me you'll be happier oh I will so so you control my happiness yeah the voice has been changing all day what's that Mr Benjamin yeah yeah yeah if you get more of me you'll be more secure if you get more of me then you you'll be valuable cuz you're only as

valuable as the car that you drive the house that you live in the clothes that you wear watch this money is always saying to you things that only God can say to you let's be really clear money and Mammon in particular isn't just an evil spirit it's a satanic spirit because Here Comes money and it lies it promises us stuff only God himself can promise I'll make a way for you I'll open the door for you I'll bring you security I'll bring you value no no no no no there's only one who can do [Applause]

that come on I'm preaching something that all of Miami needs to hear today we will not be controlled by a spirit of manmon this is the very Temptation that Jesus himself went through in the wilderness right there was three different Temptations the last one was a spirit of Mammon remember the devil's like look out out there see all those buildings and all that Kingdom see all that power if you'll only bow down to me some of y'all got to be careful because you think blessing is an indication that God is for you no the devil

can bless you too some of us sold our soul for what man calls a blessing he says you got to bow down to me but it's a lie and many of us in this room we keep buying into the LIE Mammon says I'll buy you community but then come to find out you didn't bring me any Community you brought me more competition mmon says I'll give you peace you didn't bring me peace you brought me more anxiety I think I heard it said once the more money I come across it's like the more problems I

see yeah Mamon can buy you a house but baby it can't buy you a home Mamon can buy you a bed but it has never bought anybody more rest it's a [Applause] [Music] lie it's a lie and what do you do with a lie you got to do what Jesus did away from me Satan I know what God's word says it says I shall only worship Him and bow down to one you can't bow down to Mammon and God at the same time Mamon is unrelenting so you better get a resolve in your spirit I

got to learn to rebuke it and I got to learn to resist it is there anybody in the house today who hears what I'm talking about come on all throughout the Bible God is prescribing to us financial principles one of Jesus's favorite favorite illustrations Within in his Parables is talking about money he uses it time and time again because here's what's going on is that a spirit of Mammon comes for everyone someone's here it's like oh this is not my sermon um I don't have any money therefore I don't deal with this beard of mmon

I think you're here today on assignment because greed comes for everyone you can be rich and greedy you can be broke and in fact some of the greediest people I know are broke it's one of the reasons why you're broke [Applause] yeah so Jesus doesn't demonize money no that's not what the scripture says the scripture says it's the love of money that is the root to all evil it's not having money it's when money has me very good very good and so those of us that do have something we need to be even more aware

of what God's word says because if we're not careful the thing that was meant to serve us we become a slave to it look what the Apostle Paul writes to his Young Apprentice Timothy and now let me shout at you what Timothy says to all of us 1 Timothy chap 6:1 17 command those this is the word command those who are rich in this present world not to become arrogant not to be seduced with success not to miss out the fact that they're a sinner not to put their hope in wealth not to listen to

the money lies which is so uncertain but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way they will lay up Treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life now the reason why the Bible addresses this topic so strongly in the way that it does is because what was true then is still true now

yeah that people don't know how to act when they're rich in fact if you study America and its what you'll find out is that the more you have the less you give well why would that be true Rich it's kind of simple it's because nobody thinks that they're rich no one thinks they're a rich person that's why we read the story and go this is for someone else not for me it's interesting though because Gallup did a poll and asked the question how much money do you need to make to be considered rich and the

answer came back $150,000 a year what's funny is go ask somebody who makes $150,000 a year are you rich no God no God no so then they ask people that make anywhere from $35,000 to $40,000 how much money do you have to have to be rich they said $75,000 but you go ask somebody who makes $75,000 a year are you rich no no no no no no I'm just trying to get by I'm under Financial pressure so Money Magazine designed for entrepreneurs and the very wealthy did a survey how much liquid assets do you have

to have to be considered rich they came back with an answer you need $5 million liquid assets not 4.5 not 4.8 if you have 4.9 you are not rich it's $5 million so which what's the point of the exercise the point of the exercise is that nobody's rich but everybody knows somebody who's rich so we hear the message we go the message is for someone else but not for me but it would be fitting for you to know that if you make $44,000 to $45,000 a year you are in the top 1% of earners on

the planet [Music] today maybe you missed it you're rich no one said praise God um but I told you this sermon was going to be challenging and encouraging and someone needs to get in their Spirit today you are rich you're rich so the sermon is not for someone else if you live in America if you're here in Miami Florida but Rich you don't know about the housing market if you live in Miami Florida this should be called the Rich Young church because that's who we are and we're either going to be led by Mammon or

we're going to be led by the spirit of God I don't know about you but I want to be set free I don't want my m in charge of my [Applause] life someone said it say I'm already say I'm already I'm already rich rich that's hard for some of y'all but you don't know about my bills Pastor you don't know about my financial pressure I don't know if you find this amazing but I do the only God that Jesus ever compared himself to was Mammon and it's important that you notice that because comparison requires context

for instance nobody has ever said um who's better LeBron James or Rich Wilkerson Jr it's an easy answer me of course no no one makes the comparison because there's no context for it he's the the greatest in the world he's one of the greatest in the world I don't want to split our church on this tough topic Sunday he's one of the greatest in the world and you know I'm I'm Pretty Fly for a White Guy but it's not you know wow there's no there's no comparison cuz it requires context and so when Jesus decides

to compare himself to something out of all the vices that are out there out of all the distractions that are out there the one he lands on is in Matthew chapter 6 no one can serve two masters either you'll hate the one and love the other or you'll be devoted to the one or despise the other you cannot serve both God and Mammon God and money he's giving you a picture he's saying the chief distraction is this lie of money that if you get more money can somehow do for you what I can't do for

you you can't serve both right next week I want to be much more systematic and I want to try to give you real handles but today I'm just trying to get to Your Heart a little bit and I was thinking all week long how could I illustrate this how could I show this to you because if I could open up your eyes on this you would catch the heart of this house which is not trying to get something from you it's trying to get something to you so I thought how could I illustrate this and

so um I thought I would invite uh Jesus to City Church uh right here at the city location Jesus to church Make some noise for uh Jesus Christ from Nazareth everyone come make some noise come on here he comes come on come on good to see you come on King of Kings Lord of Lord Make Some Noise come on thanks for coming to service today Jesus we hope you would always come but this is not actually Jesus um this is my friend Josh who serves at the South Miami location a legend I do think it's

interesting and providential Josh if you don't know Joshua is the Hebrew name for savior or deliverer and Jesus is the Greek name uh from the Hebrew named Joshua so in many ways Jesus actually is here Mak some noise for Josh everybody he's [Applause] here and so Here Comes This Rich Young Ruler the Rich Young Church good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life the focus is on me not on him but you can't save yourself only he can it's more blessed to give than it is to receive that the blessing is Jesus to

lay down his life and we can only receive the Gospel we can't achieve the gospel but his approach indicates that he just sees him as a good teacher now this is important that you see this CS Lewis the great apologist he spoke about it this way he says Jesus is one of three things but he can't be all of them he's either a liar he's either a lunatic or he's Lord what do you mean he's a liar well you you can't be good and tell people that you are God and then they would go out

and actually lay their life down that's not good if that's not true what you said about yourself then you're a liar why I don't think he's a liar okay then he's crazy because millions and millions of people for thousands of years have sacrificially laid their life down many in this church and those online give financially not to keep the lights on in a building not to take care of just the needs of the house but because they want to fulfill the Great Commission that they're saying right here in this moment this temporary moment I believe

that he was the greatest teacher ever and I want his words to go forth not just to my generation but for the generations to come it's why I give but if it's not true he's not a teacher he's a crazy man well I don't think he's a liar I don't think he he's a lunatic then you think he's Lord and if he's Lord you should approach him with fear and trembling and you ought to say whatever you require out of me whatever you want I'll give it to you because if you're not Lord of all

then you're not Lord at all can I get a witness out there if you believe Jesus is who he said that he is you can't get away from this Tim Keller he said it this way if Jesus Is God we owe him much more than a morally decent life I'm preaching to the heart of our church today cuz some of us we're on The Spectator Journey let me get at The Best Is Yet To Come Along get the grham and then it's mimosas after the 12:30 and it's just a check off Christianity no friends if

he really I got to just keep if he really is God yeah you owe him much more than 10% you owe him much more than 20% you owe him much more than a Sunday once a month you owe him everything come on somebody give him praise in this place and so I join hands with Jesus and I say Lord you commanded that rich man to give up everything to follow you so Lord I want to follow you and then you start the Journey of Faith and the Journey of Faith is walk that's why we call

it a journey by the way cuz you're walking with Jesus you're you're hand inand with Jesus where he goes I will follow and what you find out when you follow Jesus is that he doesn't always lead you to Safe places he doesn't always lead you to convenient places at times he'll lead you to do inconvenient uncomfortable scary stuff stuff like start a church in Dade County start a church in your living room trust me in this see if I will not lead you oh he's led me to mountain tops but friends he's led me through

the valley and I land there on the word through because every Valley he's taken me to he's always led me through it can I get a witness in the house today if he's taking you through he'll lead you through and it sounds poetic it almost sounds romantic it sounds easy and it sounds simple and it sounds beautiful and get the keys up here and close the service and it would be simple and it would be easy if there wasn't this thing called life right and distractions in a world that's corrupted by sin in a world

that's full of small gods and counterfeit Gods small tiny little Idols that come into our heart and promise US things that they cannot deliver and when Jesus surveys the land the one he decides to compare himself to the one he says distracts you the most is the word money not in of itself but the love that it can do for me what he can't do for me good so I know it's not children's church but just go with me I want to try to illustrate this would you please welcome to the stage Mamon man come

on put your hands together this is M and [Applause] [Music] man it's the Monopoly man that come on make some noise for the Monopoly man as he comes it's not really the Monopoly man it's my friend Chris he serves right here at the city location Make Some Noise [Applause] City and uh uh can I buy Boardwalk or how's Parkplace looking you know I want to put some rental hotels over there I don't want to go to jail if you know what I'm talking about anyone ever the who who I want to know in the crow

who's who's the thimble anyone online the thimble who picks the thimble up no one you picked the thimble you're a rare child of God right there where where where's all the race cars where's all the race yeah yeah Jesus loves my jokes um you want to make God laugh tell them your plans but this is Matthew 6 this is Jesus's words in a visual illustration that is slightly cringy definitely cheesy I've got Jesus and the Monopoly man on stage I know let the haters come online it'll be okay because here we go and oh okay

we we start to feel the pole and the tug of trying to serve both and I'm caught in this tension do you feel the pressure do you feel stretched do you feel the strain of trying to serve both I'm just wondering today could it be that your financial pressure is not that you don't have enough could it be that your financial pressure is the spirit of man in lying to you that you always need more because Jesus says you can't serve both you'll either love one and hate the other or you'll be devoted to one

and despise the other like um you can't have a wife and a girlfriend at the same time you can't have a cell phone and a burner phone at the same time you you're never going to get a sixpack and keep sneaking in the fudge rounds at night you already get the principal which one are you going to serve because here we are and we're caught in the middle and we're feeling the tension and they both are pulling and even right now Jesus polling man like I Think Jesus is a gentleman I think he gives you

free will and so often I don't know if he's pulling that hard I think he's going do you want to come follow me cuz the Rich Young Ruler he let him leave right he let him walk right yeah yeah because the Rich Young Ruler and the Rich Young church and me at times we don't follow Jesus instead we say Jesus follow us wow and here's where it gets tricky just because you're holding in your hand today doesn't mean you're in control of it wow cuz many of us we're not led by Jesus we're led by

Mammon come on Jesus Come into my life yay Vu is so cool Vu I love Pastor Rich he just like totally he just likes the Good Vibes man I can go anywhere that I want do anything that I want and uh every decision I make I make it I don't go you I so that job um what are the benefits what's the 401K I know I know I know trust you um what's what's what's the benefits oh man Miami is a hard town to live in but two years ago I feel like the Lord called

me here to to put roots in the ground and to help build a church and to help be a part of a mission but man I don't know if everyone's seen all the inflation that's going on it's really difficult and Jesus I know you told me to stay and wait on you but uh let's go ahead and move to Atlanta let's go ahead and move to Nashville let's go ahead and find the place that's easier and more comfortable because you're leading my life you're [Applause] not what many of us don't realize is anything that you

can't let go of has got a hold on [Music] you good some of you already understand this picture you don't want to drink but you can't let go of it it's got to hold on you you're so tired of looking at pornography but you can't let go of it's got to hold on you and Mammon will not let go of you you're going to have to let go of it you've got to release it you got to let it go someone say Let It Go I'm trying to preach to someone today that their heart is

chained to their wallet I'm trying to preach to someone today that is so bound with the spirit of Mamon that you constantly believe that you've got to keep up with the Joneses you've got to project your value oh let me preach to you today your value does not come from the stock market your value comes from what Jesus did for you on Calvary Hill baby you are valuable in his sight you got to let it go because it will not let go of [Music] you it will not let go of you it's interesting because Jesus

has all this counterculture stuff he doesn't demonize money he's saying don't be led by money he says seek me first seek me first I'm going to preach about it next week but seek me first and all these things someone say all these things all these things what are all these things well Matthew chapter 6 all the things are food food clothing shelter he's not saying that these things don't matter he's not saying you don't need these things he's just saying if you seek me first if you'll get your life in order your life will stop

being out of order some of you been living on this Earth for 15 years and your finances have always been out of order I wonder could it be possible that the financial pressure you have is not that you don't have enough but it's because your life is not in order seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you you can't out give God someone say Let it go you got to let it go cuz it's not going to let go of you and if you're unable to release it it's

because it's got a stronghold in your life even right now some of you kind of cringing going oh I don't like this message it's not because I'm not preaching the truth could it be that something's got a hold of your heart could it be that something's Whispering into your ear right now trying to confuse you and lie to you and stop you and vent you listen to me the only way we can break free from Mammon is through the word generosity generosity breaks the grip of greed let me say it again generosity breaks the grip

of greed I don't have to give it I get to give it I don't have to release it he gives me free will choice but it just so happens when I release it I continue to receive re from him that's why Jesus said give and it will come back to you press down shaking together and running over I want to remind you that your help does not come from your pocketbook but rather your help comes from the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills his name is Jesus Christ and he is the owner

and he is in control someone needs to hear today you're more than your money someone say say I'm more than my money more than my money say I'm more than my money I'm more than my money your value has never been determined by your bank account your value is determined by what he says about you notice what Jesus says here because this is wild to me Jesus actually says in Mark chapter 10 and it's often times missed he makes a great promise cuz the disciples say Jesus Peter actually Lord we follow you every we've given

up everything to follow you notice the promise that Jesus makes Jesus says oh I hear that I see that anyone who gives up mother father sister brother home field for me in the sake of the Gospel you will receive a hundredfold return in he says this way I'm not I'm not being manipulative he says in this present age and with the gift of eternal life those that are first will be last and those that are last will be first he's saying the order is wrong Jesus is the one who makes the promise that you'll receive

a reward even in this present age but I think it's so important on topics like this that you hear my heart and you understand our Doctrine and our Theology of money here at Fu church is that we don't give to get at Vu we're not laying down Mamon to get more Mammon we're not laying down one Paradigm to take on a paradigm cuz that's where it gets manipulative if you give $100 there's a hundred blessings coming your way can I get $70 there's a Psalm 70 promise over your life no friends if you're anything like

me you land on that eternal life part I'm not giving for I'm giving from I don't know about you but if he doesn't do one more thing for me if he doesn't give me one more Earthly blessing this side of Eternity all I know is I might not be exactly where I want to be but I'm so grateful I'm not where I used to be I used to be lost in my sin I was lost in my depravity and my shame oh but whom the sun sets free is free indeed I was deaf but now

I can hear I was blinded but now I see the light I was dead but now I am alive I've gotten more than what I came for in Jesus Jesus says all right it's not that you can't have money you just can't have money have you it's not that money's bad it's that money is a tool and if you love The Tool the Tool's going to use you instead of you using it but when you recognize it's a tool you go wow everything I got I received it from the owner he's letting me stay in

his house I make some mistakes from time to time I wet the bed sometimes but I'm not going to hide that I'm not going to cover that up I'm going to recognize that everything I have was given to me from him so I received it because of him so now I follow him and as I've received it when he speaks to me and he calls me because I walk in generosity I say oh now I can release it see you and I keep following Jesus and Jesus is so good that as I'm walking right now

I'm trusting in Him he's so rich in Mercy he's so providential that what he does is he leads me right back in to finances sometimes and now I've received the again but this time I'm not controlled by it anymore now I'm using it as a tool oh yep I can be generous I can help out right there oh there's hurricane that needs help right there we'll release that that's easy that thing does not determine my worth does not determine my value he is I'm following him I I believe everything I have comes from him so

everything I got I received it and then what I got it again now all of a sudden I've received it again and I'm still following Jesus I'm still following him and everywhere I go I can just release it right here I'm trying to get a picture into your mind of the Divine generous Supernatural flow of God that you are never going to come in second putting God first God will take care of you he is Jehovah Gyra he is your provider he will meet your need he's The God Who saids if you'll give me your

little I can do a lot with it I've never seen the righteous forsaken I've never seen their children begging for bread what we're doing is not just for us it's for the generations to come he promises that if I can release it I can receive it if he can get it through me he'll keep getting it to me maybe just maybe my financial pressure isn't that I don't have enough maybe my financial pressure is simply that I'm not listening to the one who's in control if you believe that they put your hands together thank these

guys for helping me out today thank you guys than you Jesus as we come to a close Jesus says something that's so massive this man he walks away cuz he has great wealth and many of us today will walk away we'll walk away with our head down that was for someone else I didn't like that that was too hard too heavy and Jesus says see how hard it is for rich people well you're rich and I'm rich I'm double rich that's my name if you're new to church and he says see how hard it is

for rich people it's so hard for rich people it's easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle the disciples are kind of probably wondering what you're wondering what I'm wondering well Jesus who then can make it to Heaven notice they don't say how do rich people make it to Heaven they say who who like who because they understood that he was speaking to them Jesus is not suggesting us that rich people can't get to heaven he's suggesting that rich people and poor people and all people alike that the only way they

can get to heaven is through him and he is the narrow road he is the small gate he is the only way to the father in fact he says it this way with man it's impossible but with God someone said all things all things all things all things all things are [Music] possible I don't believe as an interpreter of the text that the point of the story is for us to apply that you should walk out today and empty your bank account and give it all to the poor however if the Lord speaks that to

you you should do it you should do that I don't don't believe that he's commanding all of us to give up all of our money to follow him I think what he's commanding us is don't let your money steal you away from him and it just so happens the more that you get the more you become prideful the more you stop seeing your sin you start you stop seeing the gospel and you think oh man the solution to my problems is more money the solution to what I'm going through is I need more I need

more I need more that's not God that's a spirit of Mammon trying to get you to put your trust into it rather than to him don't let your wealth don't let your success don't let your status don't let your IG account don't let this stuff steal you away from God for I firmly believe that if this man would have come and fallen on his knees and said I don't measure up I struggle with greed I got a lust problem I care what other people think about me too much I'm not in control of my life

and I need help I need a savior I need Mercy I need Grace I do not believe that Jesus would have thrown the law at him I think he would have said come to me all you who are weary and heavy burden and I will give you rest your money can't buy you rest [Music] but I am the one who will give you peace I am the one that will deliver everything your soul is looking for but it's a narrow road and without me it's impossible there's not lots of ways there's not lots of Roads

right there's [Music] one because that's what Jesus said and he's either liar lunatic or he's Lord and I've decided to say that he's Lord and I don't think he can be Lord and lie and spread lies I think that if he's Lord everything he says is truth and he said I am the way the truth and the life and no one rich people poor people educated people uneducated people famous people nameless people no one gets to eternal life without coming through me it's kind of like a camel going through the eye of a needle it

sounds so difficult and so impossible but I am the god who makes impossible things possible if you believe that all of our locations can you just go ahead and give God some praise