Speaker 1: 0:14

All right, all right, my name is Lawrence, if you're new with us. I just want to give you real quickly some things that are coming up. Just quick announcements June 1st, which is in just a couple weeks, we're going to do a members meeting here, and it doesn't mean it's just for members, it's called a church meeting. But if you're not a member, we have some ways that you can become a member. Or you're like I don't know if I'm a member, you should ask that question. But if you're not a member, we have some ways that you can become a member. Or you're like I don't know if I'm a member, you should ask that question. On that next steps card you can write that down. We'll get in contact with you. But 1245, we're going to do a meeting, we're going to celebrate the things that have happened just recently, in the past. Look forward to some things that are coming up that you can be praying for the board shares, the budget coming up. Then, the next day, that Monday, a lot of you guys have been asking about community and getting into community and being a part of a community, and so we're kicking off a season and starting a bunch of new community groups. That starts on June 2nd. So if you want to be a part of that, that's out in the lobby. Another thing that's out in the lobby is Serve Day. It's on June 15th, so this is my first. Just letting you know so you can't come at me later. We will not be meeting in this building on June 15th. Write that down now. Put an alarm to it, because you get mad at me when you forget. I know we've done this for enough years. You show up and you're mad at me for some reason because you're like, and what we're doing is we're going out and serving the community. We actually have a bunch of really great projects. We're a regionally located church and we're actually doing a ton of things actually in Benicia specific, all up and down First Street. We're going to give you guys all Serve Day shirts so you guys can look like we just took over and we're just going to unleash compassion. We're going to go crazy for this one day and the church is going to leave the building and go out and be all in for the sake of the community. So that's June 15th, that's Father's Day. Some of you fathers are like sweet, I don't got to go to church. It's cool, cool, but you got to go serve somewhere. Go do it with your family. It's a great example. I would love for you to be a part of that. So those are three things that are coming up. I'll let you guys know about other stuff coming up in the future.

Speaker 1: 2:13

We teach Bible here. We go through the books of the Bible. In fact, we just finished going through three and a half years the gospel according to Matthew, and it ended just a couple weeks ago. With this mission, this very clear statement purpose that actually we've been teasing out as our mission, as our purpose, and it's not only us as individuals, but the church collectively and even more specifically, our church, northgate, where you're sitting or you're watching, joining us with us online. And this specific thing, this last main thing the point was, is that Jesus followers are multipliers and that's literally how the world changed. It's how it's expanded and you and I have been impacted because of that. And he ends with this last statement this is the Great Commission. He I don't know what's going on here, sweet, where did that go? Oh, there it is. So right here. Jesus says these things specifically. He says, therefore, go. This is really important We've been talking about and make disciples that we're actually supposed to do something.

Speaker 1: 3:14

We're supposed to make something and participate, and then we're baptizing people, and baptizing people who, everybody, all nations, everywhere, all people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then teaching them. And then this really powerful word right here is obey. A lot of us don't like it because we just like the word believe, like teaching them to believe. You got to believe this stuff. It's really important. Believe it. And you know, I talked about a couple of weeks ago that, like even the enemy believes, like everybody believed, but it didn't change anything. It wasn't an action. It's that actual surrender to obeying of this verb. So everything that I have commanded you and surely I am with you and it's this promise that he's with us to the very end of the age.

Speaker 1: 3:56

If we do that, and that's what all in for us looks like, and so it's going, it's making, it's baptizing, it's teaching and obeying, and that's what we've been talking about. What does that actually look like? And it's not just been a one-off message, it's a little mini series that we've been doing. So they build on each other and we've been asked another way that Jesus put it is to be fishers of men. Now you have to ask yourself what do fishermen do? Well, fishermen, they cast nets and then they mend nets, and then they fix the nets and then they cast them again, and then they mend them and then they cast them again. This is a constant thing. And then, for us, this analogy is that we've been asked to be fishermen, where we need to do some mending, and then, for us, this analogy is that we've been asked to be fishermen where we need to do some mending and some casting of our nets and ultimately, jesus fills the nets. He's with us to the very end of the age as we do that.

Speaker 1: 4:45

So for us, three important words really stand out of what that looks like, of this mending and casting situation. The first is transformation. We want to be a place where transformation takes place. We want to create excellent environments for transformation, where we're going to see lives transformed, the space that you're sitting in the campus, that you experience right now. The other part of those casting nets and making space for transformation is we have to sometimes mend the nets. Where transformation takes place, we've got to clean it up. We need to make it an excellent environment where nothing is in the way, with someone encountering the love of Jesus Christ because of how it looks or how it felt, and so that's always been something that we've been focused on and, frankly, what happens is is just like for you, things get older. They only have a life so long, and so you have to mend it. You have to do it, and that takes resources in which to do that. So that's constantly.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Something that we're investing into is spaces for transformation. The next is expansion. We want to create more space for transformation. We do almost like 50 memorial services a year. If you guys didn't know that, it's a huge outreach for us. Many of you guys have experienced Northgate through one of those things we do large events for the community. There's just so many things that we get to do. This campus is used literally seven days a week, all day, not all night, except when we're doing these prayer experiences, but we want to be able to expand. Some of you guys don't know that, as we have grown and will continue to grow, that we want to make more space for this. When this building was built, it was actually built with the intentions that these two back walls that are behind you are actually temporary, with the intentions, that these two back walls that are behind you are actually temporary. That's the way it was created and then it creates some stadium seating and a mezzanine, so we have a larger capacity for larger events, to continue to create spaces for transformation.

Speaker 1: 6:26

Another thing that we feel like God's just calling us and asking us to be prepared for for those of you guys who don't live locally potentially in the next three years, we're going to see something change just in our neighborhood. So right now, we're a regional church, we're right here. This is the freeway, this is Lake Herman Road. That's going this way, and so if you're looking this way, you have like Cowtown and all of that stuff. Well, in the next three years or so, this is supposed to be a whole new community that's coming in and directly across from us is about, I think it's like 160 apartments and then commercial, and then there's a couple thousand houses coming into this space. So, although we're regional, we want to continue to be regional.

Speaker 1: 7:04

What do we need to do and be prepared when it comes to expansion? And I think that's innovation that's your third word, innovation that we need to continue to be innovative in the way that we care for and invite people into these spaces so they can experience the things that we need to continue to be innovative in the way that we care for and invite people into these spaces so they can experience the things that we've experienced and they can hear the good news, and we want to be innovative with that. One of the ways is preparing ahead of time and not just playing defensive like oh, something happened, now we should do something. But we can see ahead of time that something's about to take place. And next week you're going to hear a ton of stories about that, as Pastor Ken, who's the founding pastor here, is going to share pictures and stories of the last 35 years of his own journey, of going all in and the miracles God has provided and done in and through this place. And so one of those is what's next is we'll have big dreams and what that looks like, of potentially putting over here on our property a large gymnasium type of thing that's like a YMCA or a Boys and Girls Club, something that would draw the community and create a resource into the community and the surrounding communities as essentially a bridge, someone's first experience to then come and participate in these transformative environments. And here's what I've been saying and I'm going to keep saying this because I just believe this all the way to the bottom of my heart Whoever wins the kids wins the future. We have an opportunity right here that we have been invited into, which is a privilege, but we're also let's just be honest we're in a bit of a war right now, too, because everyone's trying to win the kids. So we have big vision for that, and that, frankly, is messy. Being a fisherman is messy, it's messy, but it begs us to ask the question I've said this the last couple of weeks and it just is so profound to me Are we willing to be messy fishers of men mending and casting nets, or are we just going to be keepers of the aquarium? And that's a big challenge to me, and I hope that is to you too. And going all in looks like being called to high levels of sacrifice. And here's the thing this is what I want you to hear. This is more than a sermon series. This is a new season. It's really part of this movement For many of you, a part of this movement that have been here for many years, and here's how personal this is for you If you've been attending this faith community for a year or more, especially more.

Speaker 1: 9:23

My hunch is that you have a story that right now, wherever you are, that if you're watching online right now or if you're in person, that you could stand up or you could turn to the person next to you and say let me tell you a story about how this local church has impacted me or impacted a family member or a friend. Maybe one of your kids was baptized here, your grandchild was baptized here. Maybe you were baptized here. Maybe it was the first time you came to church and understood the Bible. Maybe it was the first time you came back to church. It was the first church your husband or your wife would attend. Or maybe you bought a friend. Maybe you experienced this through a celebration of life service for a loved one and saw the way we wanted to treat them and unleash compassion.

Speaker 1: 10:07

We all have a story we do about how this church has impacted our life personally because of what you do here. It's what the people before us that have gone all in and said, and it's stories like yours, friends, that are being created now and in the future, that future people, hundreds or even thousands of people, will come into this space and have a story, because this group rose their hand and says you know what I'm going? All in, I'm going to do it. Rose their hand and says you know what I'm going? All in, I'm going to do it. And, as I said last time, I'm not asking you to give because your church needs your money. This is about the community needing you and your influence.

Speaker 1: 10:48

Our county, the Bay Area, needs churches like your church, so that everybody, every child, every senior, every college student, every young adult, everybody, every child, every senior, every college student, every young adult, every single adult, middle schooler, high schooler, everyone that they could experience the love of Christ Jesus in a transformative space. And to do that, we're going to have to be generous. We need to be generous, we need to be all in on the same page, all on the same page of what generosity is. All in on the same page, all on the same page of what generosity is. And the last time we discovered that true generosity is actually rooted and fueled by the paradigm shifting acknowledgement, this one big idea that, ultimately, god, he owns everything, he owns it all, that if you're a theist of any type, at the end of the day, your belief system leads you back to believe this, that God created it all and God owns it all and that we actually have been a role to play. We are simply managers. God owns it and we manage it. And this one idea, I'm telling you it, changes everything, not just how you give, not just how we give, but literally, even more so, how it changes how we live and participate as a human. Because if you will embrace this one big idea, you will live better and you will give better, and you will never be possessed by your possessions, because you will begin to view everything that you own, everything that comes like into your hands, as a potential tool to further the kingdom of your Savior. So, building on the last two weeks, today, because we're talking about generosity, I want to give you a working definition of generosity and, specifically, new Testament definition of generosity, the Jesus version, if you will, of generosity. And the Jesus version of generosity is different than the average American generosity. And here's the good news, and you should all pat yourself on the back for this.

Speaker 1: 12:50

Probably all of you, probably all of you, I would guess, are at least average American generous. All of you, I would guess, are at least average American generous, because if you grew up in our culture you consider generosity and compassion a virtue. That when you see somebody being generous, you're like that's a good thing, good for you. I like that. When you see somebody being compassionate, you think that's a really good thing Somebody sacrificing what they have for the sake of someone else. There's something that literally rises up in you and I and says that's a good thing. I wish I could be more like that. That's really great. I want to do that. Now.

Speaker 1: 13:28

The reason that we feel that way and we think that it's intuitive that if you're human you would feel that way. And that's not true Ancient Greeks, ancient Romans, most ancient civilizations. And there are cultures in the world today that don't consider generosity and compassion a virtue. They actually consider it a weakness. Because the mindset is why should I give up something that belongs to me and give it to you when you can't return the favor? And the idea is that you only do for those who can, in turn, do for you.

Speaker 1: 14:07

And Jesus he introduced a completely different kind of compassion and generosity that literally it swept around the world and literally had this massive influence specifically on our Western culture. So even if you're not a Christian person or not a religious person or this is new to the year an atheist, or you're agnostic and you feel like compassion and generosity are actually good things. Here's the good news and here's the bad news. You have been indirectly or directly influenced by the teachings of Jesus, but here's where we kind of like miss it. Average American generosity does not reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It represents or reflects a sentiment or a shadow that shed across Western culture that Jesus cast, but it doesn't specifically reflect the teachings and the obeying of Jesus. And here's what I mean by that.

Speaker 1: 15:08

Average American generosity, which I'm a fan of. It can actually be described in these three different words. Three different words spontaneous, sporadic and sparing. That's generally how Americans give no-transcript. Yeah, spontaneous is it's emotional, like when you see a need, right, You're like I want to help. Like you hear someone that has this need or something going on, you're like I'm in. Somebody tells you what's going on in their life or in their family, and there's something in you that's like what can I do? Can I like bring over some food? Can I pick up the kids? You need me to like take out your garbage, you need me to do the lawn.

Speaker 1: 15:47

There's something in us, emotionally, that responds when we see a need that we can meet, and that's a good thing. It's a really good thing, and Jesus taught us to do that. That's the story of the Good Samaritan. Somebody saw a need that they could meet and Jesus said that's a good thing. You should all be, we should all be like that.

Speaker 1: 16:03

But the problem is, of course, if that's the only kind of giving we do, it limits us because by definition, that approach is then sporadic. That's sporadic and that means that we only give on the occasion or when the occasion arises. Like I see a need, I met it. But if I don't see a need, then I'm hanging on to my stuff until somebody comes along and they need somebody Like. So, essentially, there's no plan, it's a wait and see.

Speaker 1: 16:35

And when I've talked to people about being generous in the local church, I've heard this so many times over my years. Well, lawrence, we just give as the Spirit leads. And I'm like do you do that with your mortgage? Do you do that with your cell phone Bill? In other words, do you value mortgage company more than you value God's doing this work through a local church and in the world? It's like come on, ask, the Spirit leads and you don't have to wait for the Spirit to lead. I know this sounds a little preachy for a second, but you don't have to wait for the Spirit to leave. Jesus has already spoken. It's done Like. You don't have to wait. You have already been given permission to go all in and be as methodical and thoughtful with your giving as you are the bills you pay, because here's the deal the Spirit has already led. It's already happened.

Speaker 1: 17:26

The other problem with just limiting your generosity to the average American generosity is that it's sparing. It's sparing by that we get what we feel like we can afford at the time, like it's affordable, and so we see a need. Somebody asks for money, or we're at this fundraiser doing this thing, and we're like, ah, what's my balance? What can I do? What can I afford right now? What's coming up in the future? What's coming up in the future? What's going on with me financially? And so it's spontaneous, so it's emotional, and when the opportunity and that's not a bad thing, it's not a bad thing. And then it's sporadic, it's just occasional. When the opportunity comes along and it's sparing, what can I afford? And the problem is if this is the only way that you give. What this amounts to is me first living with some leftover giving, and if there's any leftover, if there's any margin, maybe I'll give.

Speaker 1: 18:20

But New Testament generosity, and generosity as taught and modeled by Jesus, is different. It's more than just random acts of giving, and don't get this wrong Random acts of giving are fantastic. I want to make sure I'm clear you should continue to do random acts of giving. It's just that that's not enough, and Jesus taught us not only how to give, but he taught us why it's so important for us to get this right as Jesus followers. In fact, there's a sense in which Jesus actually reversed the whole system.

Speaker 1: 18:52

You've heard us talking about this a lot, potentially of this upside-down kingdom that many of us grew up on in terms of what it's meant to be as a generous person, that our tendency, my tendency, is to put my trust in riches, for you to put your trust in riches, rather in the one who richly provides, and that my tendency is to think that my security, that somehow my self-esteem, my peace of mind, and I could keep going. I could list like 20 more things here that we all of us we tend to trust in wealth and the accumulation of wealth, stored resources and income to provide us for the things that, in the end, only our heavenly father can provide. So it's a trust issue. And here's how I know this because you know people, you know people. You know people who have a lot more money than you do and they still worry. Lot more money than you do and they still worry. Right, and you're like, well, if they still worry and they have all of these resources, then I'm toast, like because I'm never going to be in place where they are.

Speaker 1: 20:01

Like you've met insecure, wealthy people. You've met again people who just don't seem to have any peace. They just can't get enough. They're so driven by their appetites. And here's the thing about an appetite Appetites for stuff is never fully and finally satisfied. You can never satisfy it.

Speaker 1: 20:22

And the other way you know it's true is many of you, many of you, have actually been in other countries. There's many of you actually getting ready to travel in just two months, over to Uganda, where we've gotten the opportunity to drill these deep water wells, and you've met some of the poorest people in the world, like I have, and you see people with nothing, but you see people with a lot more peace, a lot more joy and a lot more hope. And then you fly home. You're like what's going on, like what's so different about that? Well, you've just met some people who have no hope of ever having wealth, and you've run into some people where their only option is to put their faith in God. And they have what we scramble for, what we try to leverage, what we try to purchase, and God's like watching this and going like who told you that you could somehow save enough money to deal with your insecurity and your issues, your lack of peace? Who told you this? And so this is what Jesus says. He's so smart, I'm actually just going to let him tell you.

Speaker 1: 21:30

He says no one can serve two masters. And immediately the audience right here. We have no idea what he's talking about, because we didn't live in their world at this time, in this first century era, where a person could literally be so poor that they sell themselves into slavery in order not to starve. Like that's the world that they live in right now. So we can just put ourselves in that framework. And so when he talks about masters, this is not theoretical. This is a world of slavery and not slaves that sometimes that we've been exposed to.

Speaker 1: 22:03

When we think about what happened in colonial America, the whole world back then in the first century, and following the whole world economically was dependent on slavery. Like there were slaves everywhere. This was real. This was a literal thing. This was if I'm starving or I think one of my kids is going to starve, then I sell myself into slavery to keep my child safe. This was the world that they lived in. There was no middle class, and, with that in mind, now listen to the words that he says.

Speaker 1: 22:37

He says you can't have but one master, one owner. No one can serve two masters, and the listeners then are like well, yeah, no, that's true, we get that. You either hate one and you love the other, which is hyperbole. It's very extreme. Then he brings it into something that we can relate to, or let it say a different way we're going to be devoted to one, or we're going to despise one, or you're going to ignore the other, because when you're owned by a master, what the master said is then what you did. And masters of other slaves? They could talk to you all day, right, and you only, though, did what your master said, not what their master told you or said to you. You ignored them or you despised their instructions.

Speaker 1: 23:21

And here's what he's getting at. Let me just modernize it. Here's the takeaway and this is true actually of all of us, this isn't just a Christian or religion thing that who or what we trust to provide what's most important to us actually becomes the boss of us. Let me say that one more time that who or what we trust to provide what's most important to us eventually and becomes the boss of us and becomes the boss of us. That's what he's getting at, that this is who you take instructions from, who or what you lean into for what you need the most. And then look at this. He says you will be devoted. You will be devoted Right here, this word You'll be devoted to a person or a thing that you're convinced provides for you.

Speaker 1: 24:13

And then, after this general observation that's true he applies it to men, women, students, whoever wants to be his followers. He says the bottom line is this you cannot. There's actually no option. He says you cannot serve both God talking about his heavenly father, and the other way you could have said it is this you cannot put your trust in. You cannot. You can go back. You cannot put your hope in. You cannot place your trust in both God and now, if you haven't been paying attention, if you're online, wake up real quick. Just look here, just come with me Now he points. This is the thing he's now pointing to the number one competitor it's our devotion to God. This is his number one competitor. He says there are just two options that you can only be owned by one master devoted to trusting in God. The option is we cannot serve both God and and this is the Greek term right here, called mammona or mammon, and we don't understand that really well. We're not really familiar with this word.

Speaker 1: 25:27

This was a catch-all term specifically for money, possessions and wealth, saying, hey, you can't do this and Jesus' audience. At that moment they're like stunned. They're like that is not what I was expecting. I didn't have that on the bingo card, right? They think you're going to say something like you can't serve God and the devil. That on the bingo card, right? They think you're going to say something like you can't serve God and the devil and he's like no, no, no, no. Let's just get practical. No one here is depending on the devil to take care of them or provide for them.

Speaker 1: 26:00

It's a matter of who are you going to trust your heavenly father? Are you going to trust your heavenly father for what he can provide or are you going to deceive yourself and trust in wealth for the things that wealth ultimately cannot provide? And here's the thing for Jesus followers, this is important. This isn't an issue of are we giving? That's not the issue. This is an issue of, actually, who am I trusting on a daily basis? Who am I leaning on? Who am I leaning on for the things that only the heavenly Father can give? And if I deceive myself into thinking that there is enough income and enough money to provide for what only my heavenly Father can provide? Because this is our natural inclination is to put our trust in money even though money tells us not to. Did you know that Money actually tells us not to? Look at this? This 20 right here says hey, I know I look good, but you should not trust in me. So I had to put it on there and say you should trust in God. Here's the you should trust in him, who actually richly provides. And so here's the point of that actually richly provides. And so here's the point of that. Here's the point of that.

Speaker 1: 27:12

Embracing this, embracing this New Testament definition of generosity, this Jesus version of generosity, just simply embracing and applying this one idea it addresses all of that. It will empower you, as it has empowered many of you. It will empower you to transfer your trust our trust to his agenda first and our agenda second, and in doing something. In doing so, what we're beginning to say is that, even though I'm giving a portion of my wealth, my stored resources, my income, even though I'm giving a portion of that to you first resources, my income even though I'm giving a portion of that to you first, not knowing actually what the future holds, I'm trusting that the one I believe in holds the future more. And here's the difference. This is why it's a trust issue and not a money issue. So take into account the New Testament authors, what they say about money, but, more importantly here, take into account what Jesus said about money.

Speaker 1: 28:17

So here's New Testament generosity. This is New Testament generosity, and this is a clunky definition. You ready? It's the premeditated, calculated, designated emancipation of assets. So first premeditated, calculated, designated emancipation of assets. So first premeditated. What does that mean? It means New Testament generosity requires pre-deciding. You've literally already decided that. I don't know about the bills, I don't know how much college is going to be. I don't know about the future, but I have already decided I am going to engage financially in the kingdom of my Savior.

Speaker 1: 28:52

And spontaneous is fine in an emergency and you should be a spontaneous giver, but it can't actually end there. Generous people they plan ahead and planned giving is responsible giving. This is a fun thing to do at home or with your kids, and it's really a question Do you have a giving plan? I mean, because I know most all of you you have a spending plan. It's called a budget, right, we hate that. You have some sort of spending plan, but hopefully and hopefully you also have a savings plan. But why wouldn't you have a giving plan? If you don't have a giving plan, I'm telling you you're not having fun with giving. And when you have a giving plan, if you don't have a giving plan, I'm telling you you're not having fun with giving.

Speaker 1: 29:33

And when you have a giving plan, when you have already pre-decided, when you've decided where we're going to give and how much of this we're giving away, and now it's just a matter of where are you going to give it? That's number one. It's premeditated. You decide ahead of time. Number two, how much money are we going to give away? It's calculated. It's calculated. Here's a tip you should just choose a percentage. That way you're giving it ebbs and flows with your income, your tips, your commissions, your bonuses, hours you work, your salary, whatever it might be. And this is why this is a big deal.

Speaker 1: 30:08

Jesus in Luke, chapter 21, is this cool little story. Jesus makes it clear that he is far more impressed with percentages than amounts. If you're a Christian, if you're a follower of Jesus, you should give. You should just decide that you're going to give at least 10% off the top. And here's why I say that, not only because the Bible says it, not only just stop real quick, parenthetically.

Speaker 1: 30:30

There's some that say well, actually we're New Testament people and it doesn't talk about tithing. This word tithing and 10%, you're right, it actually raises the level. There was no reason to address it, just so you know, because everybody was already doing it. It was never in question. It was never like hey, can we stop doing that thing now? It was always like no, you're already doing it and I'm not impressed with what you're doing.

Speaker 1: 30:53

Jesus was like baffled and blown back by the widow's might, where he was watching everyone else do the tithe thing. He said, yeah, good, good, good, good, we're all doing the tithe thing, but he's like no, no, no, new Testament generosity or challenge you to true generosity. So if that's been like a thought of yours, like I'm telling you right now, you're using that as an excuse and you're using it completely out of context. And if you're not a tither, if you don't give 10% or more, I'm telling you one of the good reasons to give 10% and I've experienced this personally is because when you do, you're gonna feel it Like you feel that and you may have to say no to you or you may have to say wait to you.

Speaker 1: 31:32

And when you say no to you and wait to you on behalf of funding what God is up to in the world, you have now put his kingdom first and you have put your money where your mouth is, your money where your faith is, and you're saying I'm trusting you to take care of me. I'm not going to save up and I cannot save up for every single eventuality and, by the way, you can't do that. Anyway, this is why super poor people are more generous oftentimes and have more joy oftentimes than people who have money. They have no hope of saving enough money for every eventuality, and so they don't waste the emotion trying to, and those of us with extra, we get caught up on it. So when I say 10%, here's a little exercise at home you can do with your family or yourself, and I want to challenge you to do this, literally. Here it is Go home this week and get 10 bills or 10 coins, I don't care. Get 10 nuts you know beans, whatever it is. Lay 10 out on the counter, just the 10 of them, and lay them all out there and look at them and then take the one on the far left and push it forward and say, look, god, I love you so much, I am so grateful for you and what you've done for me and what you're doing in me and through me. I'm going to give you one. But you know what our problem is and I've been doing this for a long time and I feel everything that you feel.

Speaker 1: 32:59

We get confused by zeros. If you're doing this with dimes, 10 cents out of $1, we're like yo, you get that, no problem, I got you right. $1 out of $10, I'm in, it's a buck. $10 out of $100, you know, adding a zero there, we're like, yeah, I can do 10 bucks, $10 out of 100. $100 out of $1,000,. We're like, huh, that's $100. That's harder to push out. There, right Now, you're feeling it Now, $1,000 out of $10,000? You know what we think, you know what I could do with $1,000? Right, we're confused by zeros. A thousand dollars right, we're confused by zeros. Your heavenly father is not confused by zeros. You lay out 10 bills, any amount, and say, god, I'm going to give you just one and you're going to let me keep nine. Thank you, wow, don't get confused by zeros. You're serving the God who created the universe.

Speaker 1: 34:08

Number three designated, designated this is that you decide ahead of time where you're going to give. This is important, especially, please, those of you who are wealthy, or even marginally, for those of you who are upper middle class. Please, please, please, don't wait to be asked. Decide. You get to decide.

Speaker 1: 34:33

Listen, the problem with waiting to be asked is like why would you give people you don't know in organizations, you don't know anything about control over where you give, when you're just waiting to be asked? You should decide, you should pre-decide. And that doesn't mean that you don't go to fundraisers and you don't listen when people ask. It just means that if God has entrusted you with extra, you're responsible for where it is the extra that you give. So you don't have to wait to be asked because, as I've encouraged you before, always give from a grateful heart and a broken heart. Let that lead the way. You give from a grateful heart and you give from a broken heart.

Speaker 1: 35:15

So the first thing is what are you grateful for? What are you grateful for? Find an organization that supports what you're grateful for and that has literally impacted you, and this is why you should give to your local church, your local church. This church is providing for you and your family, and this is why you should give to your local church, your local church. This church is providing for you and your family. And so you get to ask am I grateful for that?

Speaker 1: 35:34

It should be the number one, and especially if you're a part of an outward-facing church like ours that does things continuously to impact the community. You're in an outward-facing church that is committed community. You're in an outward-facing church that is committed to impacting as much of the Bay Area and the world as we can for the sake of the kingdom of God. And if you're in that type of church or you're joining us some other state online. If you're in that type of church, of course you want to commit there, because you're a good steward of the money that you've been given and God has loaned it to you. And then you need to give something to something that breaks your heart. You need to commit to an organization that addresses something that actually has a piece of your heart. Again, this is why Christians should support their local church and then, as well as why, like my wife and I, we love to give to organizations that's outside as well that cares for kids. That's one of the things that breaks our heart, and we're very interested in caring for those who are caring for kids or fostering kids, because we were foster parents ourselves and God just got a hold of our hearts and just broke our hearts over the plight of some children. And then the last thing is the emancipation of assets. This is the best part. This is how I want you to view generosity, how we should all view it.

Speaker 1: 36:56

You are freeing your money, which demonstrates that you are free from your money. See, there, money, you're not the boss of me. See, you don't control me. It demonstrates that you're not controlled. By that. Your money is not your master.

Speaker 1: 37:16

And you know what else it demonstrates. It demonstrates that you aren't controlled by worry. You know, but yeah, but what if I don't have enough? I'm not worried about that. I'm not trusting in money for my future. I'm trusting in God for my future, so I'm investing. Worried about that, I'm not trusting in money for my future. I'm trusting in God for my future, so I'm investing in God's kingdom now and he's going to take care of me. You're not controlled by fear and you're not controlled by greed. And aside, just as aside, you know what greed is it's the consumption assumption that if it comes my way, it's for my consumption assumption, that if it comes my way, it's for my consumption. And Jesus addressed that directly in one of his most powerful parables in the New Testament.

Speaker 1: 37:55

And when you free your assets, you know what you're doing. It's evidence that you're seeking first God's kingdom, not yours. It's evidence that you're not trusting in your riches, that you're trusting in him who richly provides, and it is already, for most of you, richly provided. So, wrapping this up, I imagine I'm assuming that you are already good at being average American, generous. But, friends, the question is are you ready to be Jesus follower, generous for the sake of the kingdom, to go and make, to teach and to obey so we can see transformation and expansion and innovation.

Speaker 1: 38:38

And if you're not a Christian, if you claim to be a follower and again, this isn't about your money, but this is what following Jesus looks like, what following Jesus actually acts like or reacts like, and you have nothing to lose because it wasn't yours to begin with. You're not giving God anything, and 100% of the people I know and I've known a lot of people through the years that have done this 100% of the people that I know who took what Jesus taught about money and possessions seriously and let it go from their head to their heart, 100% of them would tell you it resulted in greater generosity and ultimately created greater prosperity. It resulted in more financial discipline, because doing this giving first coming up with a giving plan it requires discipline and for many and most Americans and I want to be really careful with this, but I want to say this in the most loving way I can For many Americans who are experiencing financial trouble and financial pressure, it's not the result of the amount that they have, it's how they manage the amount that they have. And when you create. This is a forced discipline. When you create a giving plan, you give first. It's a keystone habit that then eventually will trickle down to every other area of your finances, especially when you begin to view everything that comes my way as a gift and a potential tool to further the kingdom of God. So create a giving plan, allow it to be a keystone habit that impacts every other area, and we're going to pick it up right there next week.

Speaker 1: 40:22

Next week, pastor Ken, who's a founding pastor, is going to share just a ton of stories from his own life, and many of you maybe that were in here that were part of this going all in from the beginning. So you're not going to miss it. He's going to show photos when he has hair. It's going to be great. You know the dues that we wore back then. But this isn't. You're here because somebody was here before you. You're here because somebody was here before you and raised their hand and said I'm going all in. I'm going all in. And that has trickled down over and over and over and over again.

Speaker 1: 41:00

And then next week starting next week, just so you guys know heads up starting next week and then the three weeks following that, I've been asking you to pray about this and just being prepared. It's been a lot of a thought exercise. Next week, and then the weeks following, we're going to be giving you an opportunity to pick up a commitment card an all-in commitment card to be able to take it home to pray about it and then, starting the following week, you can return it as you're ready to make an early commitment. We're all going to do this together and the goal is 100% participation. 100% participation so we can be prepared and see where God's leading us and how to cast nets, mid-nets and then cast wider nets so Jesus can ultimately fill the nets. On that note, I think we should worship and be thankful for what the Lord has done and what the Lord's doing. So would you stand with me as we respond in worship?