A Balanced Lifestyle & Focus
Series: LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 28th May 2017
Passage: 1 Timothy 6:6-21
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 big week for generosity in our country. Mining magnate Andrew Forrest gathered the media and
00:00:07 --> 00:00:12 politicians and anyone else who would listen and announced that he was going to give away
00:00:12 --> 00:00:21 $400 million of his personal fortune to a variety of charities and needs around the country.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:28 It will be the largest single donation by a living person in Australian history.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:35 Prime Minister Turnbull declared that the donation was an extraordinary act and an example
00:00:35 --> 00:00:43 of love and generosity and leadership. And Forrest went on to say himself that all of us who have done
00:00:43 --> 00:00:50 well in life have been blessed by good fortune and so the generous person, the loving person,
00:00:50 --> 00:00:58 gives back. It's a large amount of money, $400 million, and for some great causes,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:06 and there is a bunch of good reasons, I think, to give thanks for such a large injection of funds.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:13 I'm not sure if the timing was worked out by him or someone else, but three days after the
00:01:13 --> 00:01:21 announcement of his $400 million donation, the Australian Financial Review released its annual
00:01:21 --> 00:01:30 rich list. Andrew Forrest ranks as the sixth wealthiest Australian with a personal fortune of $6.84 billion.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:39 Forrest said that now that he was in a better financial position, he was able to be generous.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:48 That's what I would call an understatement. If he was in that moment, which of course they never do,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:54 it's always pledged to give down the track, but if he in that moment decided to whip out his
00:01:54 --> 00:02:01 checkbook or his Amex, gold, platinum, Amex card, whatever it is he's got, and sign over $400 million,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:13 he would still have $6.44 billion left and he wouldn't slip a ranking in the Australian rich list.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:21 Forrest's statement that he's, now that those who have, that he's financially secure, he can afford now
00:02:21 --> 00:02:30 to give, is how most Australians operate and it's the assumption of Christians as well. The assumption
00:02:30 --> 00:02:38 is that we cannot afford to help. It's in fact one of the largest roadblocks to us doing what we've been
00:02:38 --> 00:02:44 encouraging to do and that is love our neighbour. It's what the Bible calls us to do. In fact,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:54 if you look at research in this country, there are the two top reasons why people only give $200 a year
00:02:54 --> 00:03:02 annually. On average, $200 a year annually to charities in this country. Reason number one,
00:03:02 --> 00:03:08 that they're not sure that the people who are going to be the recipients are actually going to abuse it.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:15 That's number one. We dealt with that a couple of weeks ago. And secondly, the second reason,
00:03:16 --> 00:03:25 can't afford to give. Maybe that's the assumption that you work with. Now I noticed, having looked at
00:03:25 --> 00:03:35 the AFRs and your rich list, that I wasn't on it. Came as no surprise. I am, however, on the global rich list.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:42 That may be a surprise, but so are you on the global rich list. If you go to the website, global rich list,
00:03:42 --> 00:03:53 you can actually type in your income or alternatively your assets and push the button and it will
00:03:53 --> 00:04:00 calculate for you your global financial position. I'd encourage you to do it after service for all
00:04:00 --> 00:04:12 you people reaching for your devices right now. Now Nat and I are ranked as the 5th richest
00:04:12 --> 00:04:22 people in the world in terms of income. That is, Nat and I are in the top 0.09% of the wealthiest people
00:04:22 --> 00:04:31 in the world in terms of the population. That is, there's 7.5 billion people who look up to me and
00:04:31 --> 00:04:40 go, I wish I was Steve. Well, technically, but... And yet a financial advisor on the North Shore
00:04:40 --> 00:04:48 recently said to Nat and I, Steve, you're a pastor. Nat, you're a teacher. You're not giving me much
00:04:48 --> 00:04:58 to work with here. You see, when Jesus speaks about rich people, he's not talking about the
00:04:58 --> 00:05:04 Andrew Forrest of the world. He's certainly including them, but he's talking about people
00:05:04 --> 00:05:12 like me and you. If you're a student, for instance, you know, university student, you're living off
00:05:12 --> 00:05:19 the government. They're paying you, you know, an allowance to be a student. You are in the top 16%
00:05:19 --> 00:05:25 of wealthiest people in the world. He's talking about you as well.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:32 Now the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10, being the foundation text for our mission month for
00:05:32 --> 00:05:37 the last five weeks. The purpose of the parable of the Good Samaritan is to answer the law expert's
00:05:37 --> 00:05:46 question, who is my neighbor? And we are told, well, this is not the only question he was asking.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:52 He was also asking, what must I do to inherit eternal life, you know? And so who is my neighbor?
00:05:52 --> 00:05:59 And we are told the man was seeking to justify himself. He wanted Jesus to reduce the command
00:05:59 --> 00:06:06 to love your neighbor down to a attainable limit. Just make it easy for me to do this, Jesus.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:18 Jesus responds with this story that makes the Samaritan, the bitter enemy of the Jews, the hero.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:26 This is a Samaritan. Two senior Jewish people walk past. It's a Samaritan who gives aid. And Jesus'
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 answer is clear. There is no limits to who is your neighbor. There is no limits to mercy.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:44 And we are told to love in word and deed anyone we find in need. That is the standard that the love of God requires.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:53 That's the standard that the law of God requires in terms of our love. It's a standard which is unattainable.
00:06:53 --> 00:07:02 And as I said a couple of weeks ago, you see, Jesus' true goal was to show this law expert that he was in fact a man of deep poverty.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:14 In order for this man to recognize that he needed to seek spiritual riches in the mercy of God.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:21 So what's this mercy that Jesus has prepared this law expert for?
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 Here it is.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 All of humanity. This is what I said two weeks ago. I'm just repeating what I'm saying.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31 All of humanity is like that man beaten on the road, lying in their own blood.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 They are awaiting death.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:38 In fact, the Bible says that we're already spiritually dead.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 We are spiritually bankrupt.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 We are lost.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:44 We've got no power to bargain our way out or to deal out of that situation.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:51 And yet so God comes in and he provides spiritual health and wealth and healing and life.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:55 And the way he does it by putting his son on the road, he swaps places.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:11 He impoverished his son, the Lord Jesus, on a cross so that all of the riches and the health and the righteousness and the life of Jesus is given to those, transferred to those who trust in Jesus.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:17 2 Corinthians 5.21 reveals the merciful transaction really clearly for us.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 It said,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:24 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteous of God.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 God swaps.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:32 A couple of chapters later in 2 Corinthians, Paul puts it in economic terms.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:46 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.
00:08:46 --> 00:09:00 You see, the foundational core element of the Christian faith is that though Paul, spiritually bankrupt, dead, we've been made alive, we've been made rich in the mercy of God through the Lord Jesus.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 It's not something that we've done.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 We haven't earned it for ourselves.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 We have bargained for it.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 God has just graciously given it to us.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:35 God has just graciously given it to us.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 God has just graciously given it to us.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 God has just graciously given it to us.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:50 You see, when a Christian, as we just referred to here in the Grace Ministries, when a Christian sees a prostitute, when they see an alcoholic, when they see the prisoners, when they see the drug addicts, when they see the homeless and the refugees,
00:09:50 --> 00:09:59 when they see the broken, when they see the broken, when they see the destitute, they know in that moment they're looking in the mirror.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 It doesn't care.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 It doesn't matter how well off you are.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 It doesn't, you know, you lived your whole life in upper middle class.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 You know spiritually that's me.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 I am destitute, broken and helpless.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 I need someone to intervene for me.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:22 And the second powerful effect that the gospel of grace has on a person is it creates a life of radical generosity.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 That's my focus tonight.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:31 But the aid that the Samaritan rendered the injured man was expensive.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Luke 10.35 says,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:49 So we know that he clearly ignored his schedule in order to help.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:57 Wherever he was heading on that particular day along the Jericho Road, he didn't get there because he ended up in a hotel looking after this broken bloke.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:02 He also risked his own safety to stop on such a dangerous road.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:03 Who know?
00:11:03 --> 00:11:08 The robbers are waiting for someone to offer some help and they're going to pounce on him as well.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 He took the man to a hotel where he cared for him during the night.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:16 The next day he goes to the hotel manager and says,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 Book the room for as long as the guy needs to recover.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:27 Bring him his breakfast in bed and lunch and dinner and whatever it needed for him to recover.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:34 Basically, what we're seeing here is his mercy was open-handed because it says,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:39 When I return, I'll reverse you for any extra expense you may have.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 Open checkbook.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 Open checkbook.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:50 Open checkbook.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:57 It's a picture of the limitless nature of God's mercy towards us.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:09 Now, the past number of weeks, we have been looking at this issue to love your neighbor.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 What does it mean to love your neighbor?
00:12:12 --> 00:12:18 And far from trying to narrow it, it's actually broadening what it means to love our neighbor.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:25 And there should be one big question for us as we get to week five.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:34 And that is, is it possible for us to actually love our neighbor, to fulfill this biblical mandate without altering our lifestyles?
00:12:38 --> 00:12:45 Schedules, security, comfort, financial commitments ultimately get in the way of us loving our neighbor.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 Christians are no different than the rest of Australian society.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 Can I actually afford it?
00:12:52 --> 00:13:04 Our lifestyle, I want to suggest, gets in the way and our lifestyles need to change if we are to fulfill the biblical mandate to love our neighbor.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:11 Now, over the years, there have been many proponents of Christians adopting a simple lifestyle.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:18 Proposably the most famous historical model was John Wesley.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:25 When Wesley died, his estate consisted of one coat and two silver spoons.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 One coat and two silver spoons.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:34 The government knew that he had an enormous amount of income coming in.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:46 In fact, the sale of his sermons and his books meant that he earned as much as 1 pounds annually towards the latter stage of his life,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:51 which in today's terms is $331 Australian dollars a year.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 That's how much he was earning.
00:13:54 --> 00:14:08 And so the government knew that and they were kind of concerned that he was squirreling it away somewhere rather than paying taxes on all this stuff or something,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 squirreling it away.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:14 So they ordered him and said, and the order came back, he's got one coat and two silver spoons.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 And they said, that's ridiculous.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 He must have silverware somewhere.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 And they kept pursuing him and discovered he actually had one coat and two silver spoons.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 And that was part of his proposal.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 What he wrote back to the government, I got one in London and one in Bristol.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 One spoon here, one spoon there.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:40 And when his income increased 40-fold over the years, his lifestyle didn't change.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:49 Unlike us, where our ambition is to get to higher and higher levels of lifestyle, greater levels of comfort.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:55 He was able to maintain the cost of his living at 40 pounds a year throughout the course of his life.
00:14:56 --> 00:15:01 That's $10 Australian dollars a year, even when his income was $331 a year.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:09 He gave in excess of, in today's terms, something like $7 away.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 He once wrote,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:18 That's when I'm diet dead and it's in my will.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:26 If I leave behind 10 pounds, you and all of mankind can bear witness against me that I lived and I died a thief and a robber.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:32 In a sermon on Matthew 6, Aad 19-23,
00:15:32 --> 00:16:00 Your silence tells me this message is really important for us to hear.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:06 The idea of a simple lifestyle wasn't just confined to Wesley.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:10 It's the common teaching in the evangelical churches of the 18th and 19th century.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:18 The great hymn writer and pastor John Newton was writing to a young husband who was seeking advice from Newton about,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 How much should I give to the poor?
00:16:21 --> 00:16:31 And Newton firstly expresses his displeasure at the way that Christians and non-Christians handle their money in exactly the same way.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 There's almost no difference in the way they handle their money.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 He wrote,
00:16:35 --> 00:17:05
00:17:05 --> 00:17:16 Newton then went on to urge a simple lifestyle with this young husband.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:46 Number one,
00:17:46 --> 00:18:00 Hebrews 13.5 says,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:14 We cannot be happy if we are not free from the love of money and from covetousness,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:21 which is defined as a continual drive to increase our standard of living.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:26 A continual drive to keep up with the Joneses, whoever they are.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:30 All the forests.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:38 Now Hebrews 13 is not very specific in terms of understanding what a standard of living is.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:42 1 Timothy 6, which Jimmy read out for us, is more specific.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 It says,
00:18:42 --> 00:19:01 Now some would suggest that food and clothing instead of food, sorry, it's more food and shelter instead of food and clothing is a better translation.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 But I think you can roll three of those things in if you like.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:17 Paul is saying here that we need a lifestyle, I think fundamentally, which is sufficient enough to preserve our health in order that we might pursue the good deeds which God has prepared in advance for us to do.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:31 A lifestyle where we don't live beyond our means, which is the standard practice in this country.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:37 We are getting more and more and more in debt to try and keep up with the Joneses.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:46 The average Australian is spending 8% of their income just, just in bank interest.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 Not even reducing the debt.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 Just in bank interest.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:58 So it's not living beyond our means, which is our habit.
00:19:58 --> 00:20:07 And it's not living within our means, which generations older than me used to say, like my parents, you've got to learn to live within your means.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 They've got to learn to live within their means.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 What the Bible is saying, no, no, live below your means.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 Not within your means, below your means.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:23 And with that, it says we can be satisfied, we can be content.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:28 The word content occurs in both Hebrews 13 and 1 Timothy 6.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 It's a word that means genuine soul satisfaction.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 There is no anxiety.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:42 There's no gnawing regret or resentment towards people who have what you don't have.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:48 The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is a trust in God for material provision.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:54 2 Corinthians 9, 6 and 8 and 9 is explicit in this.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 It says,
00:20:54 --> 00:21:23 Now, that doesn't mean that the Christian has got no motivation for making money and increasing their income.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:26 I believe there's good motivation for it.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 There's at least two that I can think of.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:33 Firstly, there is the pursuit of excellence in your work.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 The Bible calls us to be skillful.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:44 It calls us to work hard as his disciples in a way that glorifies him and in a way that loves our neighbor.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:51 And what often happens is that income increases with hard work.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 That doesn't always happen, especially if you work for the government.
00:21:54 --> 00:22:00 But income increases with hard work.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 But it's a consequence.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 It's not the motive.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 It's the consequence.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 Proverbs 23, 4 says,
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 Do not wear yourself out to get rich.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 In other words, don't work hard to get rich.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 Work hard to glorify God and love your neighbor and riches may follow.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:29 The second motive to increase income is to be fruitful in good works.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:36 Paul was referring to the thieves who had become Christians when he wrote in Ephesians 4,
00:22:36 --> 00:22:51 So what he's saying there is work and money,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:59 and it's accumulated strictly for doing good works of mercy and spreading the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:05 Matthew 6 makes it clear that wealth is not to be stored up for ourselves.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 And so some of us may be sitting here and go,
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 Well, what then?
00:23:14 --> 00:23:18 You know, if I just go home now and disperse it all?
00:23:18 --> 00:23:24 And for those who don't have any disperse,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 maybe looking at those who do, or you suspect they do,
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 and you're thinking,
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 Well, there's a wicked person.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 There's a lack of love and mercy.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 I don't think the Bible supports either idea.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:45 The Bible tells us several things about wealth.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:50 Firstly, 1 Timothy 6.9 says that those who want to get rich fall into a trap.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 And yet, in the same chapter,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 it says,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant,
00:23:57 --> 00:24:00 nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 but to put their hope in God,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:06 who richly provides us with everything good for our enjoyment.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 and to be generous and willing to share.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:16 In this way, they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 What Paul doesn't do in 1 Timothy,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 he doesn't say,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 You rich people, stop being rich.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 Stop it.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 He doesn't say that.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:36 He does, however, want them to think biblically about their wealth.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 He tells them that God gives the wealth,
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 and so the rich should not become arrogant.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 I think that's difficult for us to do.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 We often think that we get rich because I've been really smart,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 made some really wise investments,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 I've worked really hard,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 and so I've got here and I've deserved it.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:57 The biblical perspective is that hard work and those efforts,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 those abilities,
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 have been provided by God,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 and are the means by which wealth is accumulated.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:06 And then in verse 18,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:11 he tells the rich people to use their money so as to be rich in good deeds.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 Now, this is not mere tokenism here.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:20 This directly echoes Jesus from Luke 12.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 He says,
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 Sell all your possessions and give to the poor.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 a treasure in heaven that will never fail,
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 And again, in Matthew 13,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 he issues a very strong warning.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 He said,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:58 So my prayer for you right now,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 in the depths of my heart,
00:26:00 --> 00:26:06 is that Satan will not steal that word that's being planted right now
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 because of the deceitfulness of wealth.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:14 Disposable wealth not put to use in God's work
00:26:14 --> 00:26:19 will threaten the very roots of a person's spiritual life.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 That's how strong the warning is from Jesus.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:27 What we must conclude from both Jesus and Paul
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 is that while there may be rich Christians,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:34 there's no argument against rich Christians.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 While there might be rich,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 there should, in fact, I think, be rich Christians,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:43 there should not be rich living Christians.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 Middle and upper income Christians are not required to give away
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 all of their money and their assets,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:54 but they must invest in good deeds
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 rather than in their own comfort.
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 You see, a good steward of the Lord knows that wealth,
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 if it is held and managed properly,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:07 will produce more good deeds over a long period of time
00:27:07 --> 00:27:11 than someone who has a pang of guilt and signs it all away.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 They know that that's the impact.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 But be careful.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 Be careful when you hang on to it.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 You're hanging on to hot coals
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 and they burn.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:29 Matthew 6, 19 says that wealth is wrong
00:27:29 --> 00:27:32 if it's spent on comfort and security.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 It's wrong and it's destructive if we build it up
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 so that we can say,
00:27:37 --> 00:27:40 as the man in Luke 12, 19 says,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:45 you've got plenty of grain laid up for many years.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:48 Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 And that very night, his life was demanded of him
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 and God said to him,
00:27:52 --> 00:27:55 you fool, you idiot.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:04 Notice though that the call here to be content,
00:28:04 --> 00:28:07 to live a moderate lifestyle
00:28:07 --> 00:28:10 is written to both the affluent
00:28:10 --> 00:28:13 and those who have little in 1 Timothy 6.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 It's written to both of them.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 1 Timothy 6, 6-8 instructs the poor
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 not to resent their lack of riches,
00:28:23 --> 00:28:28 but in fact to be content in their modest economic state.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:32 And his appeal instructs the rich
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 not to be proud,
00:28:35 --> 00:28:38 but to voluntarily be satisfied
00:28:38 --> 00:28:42 with a more modest standard of living.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 It's to both.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 So let's try and get some balance.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:56 Two principles on a balanced lifestyle.
00:28:56 --> 00:29:00 Firstly, in terms of loving our neighbour,
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 what does it look like to love our neighbour?
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 I'm convinced that loving your neighbour
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06 requires us to give
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 until we feel the burden of our neighbour.
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 The 17th century American pastor
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16 and theologian Jonathan Edwards
00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 gave a very vivid illustration on this issue.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 Because interesting, back in those days,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 he was confronted with a bunch of people
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 saying the exact same thing,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 they can't afford to give.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 He says,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:30 a poor man's walking along with a burden
00:29:30 --> 00:29:34 and it's a burden of discomfort and inconvenience.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:37 And when a Christian comes along
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 and says to that poor man,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 I can't afford to help you, poor man.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 They're actually saying,
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 in that moment to that poor man,
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 if I was to help you, poor man,
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 I would have to take some of your burden
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 off your back
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 and put your burden on my back.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:56 I'd have to carry some of your burden for you.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 And I can't afford to do that.
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 And Edward says,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 Christian,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 is that not the point?
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 That's exactly what you're called to do.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 Is that not what Jesus has done?
00:30:10 --> 00:30:14 Didn't he come into this world,
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 take the burden of our sin upon himself,
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 take it to the cross?
00:30:18 --> 00:30:26 What he's saying there is that
00:30:26 --> 00:30:30 if I was to help you, poor man,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 it would require me to come into my lifestyle.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 And Edward says,
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 that's exactly the point.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:40 That's exactly what the Christian's called to do.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 In other words,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 some of the poor man's burden
00:30:44 --> 00:30:47 is going to slither over onto me, the helper.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:50 This means the helper would not be able to
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 take the vacation that they want
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 by the car that they desire.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 And Edward would say,
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 that's exactly the point.
00:30:59 --> 00:31:02 That's exactly what the Bible's calling us to live out.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 If you're giving to the needy,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 does not burden you
00:31:05 --> 00:31:07 or cut into your lifestyle in any way,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 Edward says,
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 you just got to give more.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 You got to give more.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 That's why he says
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 there should be no poor Christians in the church.
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 I think what Edwards would say
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 is you can give away $400 million
00:31:24 --> 00:31:28 and it will do a great deal of good.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 But if it hasn't done a dent in your life,
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34 or made any sort of dent in your lifestyle,
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 if you don't in any way
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 take on the burden of those
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 who are giving the money to,
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 then you can call it big,
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 you can call it kindness,
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 but you cannot call it radical generosity,
00:31:47 --> 00:31:54 which is a value that we have in this church.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:59 You cannot call it biblical generosity.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 This is the biblical principle
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05 that has ramifications for every one of us.
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 Edwards would say to the family
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 that can give away 10% of their income
00:32:09 --> 00:32:12 without denting any of their lifestyle at all,
00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 must in fact give more.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 This is a word, I think,
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 to those who suggest
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 that all they need to do
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 is give 10% of their income,
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 they don't need to give any more than that.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:26 Bearing in mind that research shows
00:32:26 --> 00:32:29 that only 5% of us can ever claim that
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 because only 5% of Christians
00:32:31 --> 00:32:33 actually give 10%.
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 It's interesting,
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 in the United States
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 where the tithing is big,
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 really, really big,
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 90% of Christians,
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 evangelical Christians in the United States,
00:32:41 --> 00:32:43 say that they believe
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 in the biblical principle of tithing.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:48 5% of them actually do it,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 which means 5% of them
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 actually believe
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 in the biblical principle of tithing.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:57 The principle is this,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 how can a person
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 who makes 500 grand a year
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01 spend $450 on their home,
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 their wardrobe,
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 their holidays,
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 their possessions
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 in light of 1 Timothy 6,
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 Hebrews 13,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 and Galatians 6.2.
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 That's the argument
00:33:09 --> 00:33:11 of John Piper in America.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 He wrote this,
00:33:12 --> 00:33:14 It is a biblical truth
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 beyond all dispute.
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 All of your money is God's.
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 Psalm 24.1
00:33:18 --> 00:33:20 And has been loaned to you,
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 to me,
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 as a steward
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 to use in ways
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 that maximize
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 the glorification
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 of God's mercy
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 in this world.
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 That's Matthew 25,
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 14 to 30.
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 And it is irrational
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 to think
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 that giving 10%
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 of that money
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 to church
00:33:38 --> 00:33:40 settles the issue
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 on good stewardship.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 in a world
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 of such immense need
00:33:44 --> 00:33:46 and in a country
00:33:46 --> 00:33:48 of such immense luxury
00:33:48 --> 00:33:50 and under the commission
00:33:50 --> 00:33:52 of such a powerful Lord,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:56 the issue of Christian stewardship
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 is not,
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 should I tithe
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 or should I not tithe?
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 But rather,
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 how much
00:34:03 --> 00:34:05 of God's trust fund
00:34:05 --> 00:34:07 dare I use
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 to surround myself
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 in comforts?
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 That's the issue.
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 That's the first thing.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 We need to give
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 until we feel
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 the burden
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 of the needy.
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 Secondly,
00:34:23 --> 00:34:25 this is the other side
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 of the equation.
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 We must not be
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 so unwise
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 that we
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 or our families
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 become liabilities
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 to others.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 This, I think,
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 is one of the most
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 difficult balances
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 to strike.
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 On the one hand,
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 we hear John Newton
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 say you're not
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 to save a lot of money.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 On the other hand,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 1 Timothy 5,
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 8 says anyone
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 who does not
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 provide for their relatives
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 and especially
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 their own household
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 is in either faith
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 and is worse
00:34:50 --> 00:34:52 than even an unbeliever.
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 And so,
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 wisdom tells us
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 that we
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 must not
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 give away
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 our income
00:34:58 --> 00:35:00 so that
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 our children
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 become,
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 and even ourselves,
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04 become financial
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 burdens for others.
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07 It's no good
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07 for me
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 to hand away
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 everything,
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 write tonight,
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 sign everything away,
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 I own nothing,
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 you know,
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 give my coat
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 and, you know,
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 walk out of here
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 with my jocks on
00:35:15 --> 00:35:17 and everything's gone
00:35:17 --> 00:35:19 and then I'm calling
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 you up tomorrow
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 saying,
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 have you got anything
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 for breakfast?
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 That's not wisdom.
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 That's not wisdom
00:35:27 --> 00:35:29 because I'm becoming
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 a burden to you.
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 Roles have just been swapped.
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 I would suggest
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 that that, however,
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 is a problem
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 for very few of us.
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 I think
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 we have this
00:35:43 --> 00:35:47 self-deceiving way
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 of rationalising,
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 a tendency
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 to rationalise
00:35:51 --> 00:35:53 too much investment
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 in our family
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 rather than
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 in the poor.
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 We tend to turn
00:35:57 --> 00:35:59 comforts and conveniences
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 into necessities.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 They become,
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 over time,
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 necessities.
00:36:03 --> 00:36:05 For 10 years,
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 I was a gold
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 frequent flyer
00:36:07 --> 00:36:10 and I hated it
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 but one of the benefits
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 of a gold frequent flyer
00:36:13 --> 00:36:15 was you got free membership
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 to the Qantas Club.
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 So, I mean,
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 I'd go to the airport,
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 all the plebs are out there
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 and I'd go in the Qantas Club
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 and I realised
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 that I was one of many plebs
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 in the Qantas Club.
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 Nothing particular special
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 about it at all
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 over time.
00:36:27 --> 00:36:29 When I took a step down
00:36:29 --> 00:36:31 and I became
00:36:31 --> 00:36:34 a silver frequent flyer,
00:36:34 --> 00:36:36 I lost membership
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 to the Qantas Club.
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 I walked past
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 and all of a sudden
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 I was one of those plebs again
00:36:41 --> 00:36:43 and the massive temptation
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 for me
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 and I succumbed to it
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 for a couple of years
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 was to pay
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 for Qantas Club membership.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 Just something
00:36:50 --> 00:36:52 that was a luxury
00:36:52 --> 00:36:54 became some reason
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 a necessity
00:36:54 --> 00:36:56 and I've now discovered
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 it's quite possible
00:36:57 --> 00:36:59 to fly Jetstar
00:36:59 --> 00:37:03 and not be a member
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 of the Qantas Club
00:37:03 --> 00:37:05 and still get to my destination.
00:37:05 --> 00:37:07 Haven't quite made it to Tiger
00:37:07 --> 00:37:11 but let me tell you,
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 our children are well provided for
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 if they are clothed,
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 they are fed,
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 they are schooled,
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 they have a roof over their head
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 and they have access
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20 to medical attention.
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 Gymnastics,
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 music lessons,
00:37:23 --> 00:37:23 overseas holidays,
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 designer clothes,
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 I think birthday parties,
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 holiday homes,
00:37:26 --> 00:37:28 iPods and that add-on TV,
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 60 square metres of backyard
00:37:30 --> 00:37:33 are not necessities.
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 They're not necessities.
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 We teach our children
00:37:39 --> 00:37:41 a magnificent lesson
00:37:41 --> 00:37:43 when with them,
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 as a family,
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 we help them
00:37:45 --> 00:37:47 to surrender conveniences
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 and comforts
00:37:48 --> 00:37:50 for the sake
00:37:50 --> 00:37:51 of helping someone else.
00:37:52 --> 00:37:54 We collectively make
00:37:54 --> 00:37:54 that decision
00:37:54 --> 00:37:56 that we're going to surrender
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56 this,
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 ribs and burgers,
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 we're going to surrender that
00:38:00 --> 00:38:00 in order to help
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 those people there.
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 So perhaps it's best
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 not to call this
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 simple living
00:38:07 --> 00:38:08 but in fact
00:38:08 --> 00:38:09 to call it
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 justice living.
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 Simple living
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 is a helpful term
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 but it carries the idea
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 that it's an option
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 for us.
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 What the Bible
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 is calling us to
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 is not an abstract
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 exercise in self-denial
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 but rather to a means
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 to an end
00:38:22 --> 00:38:24 in direct ministry
00:38:24 --> 00:38:25 to our neighbours.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:29 how then do we determine
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 what we are to give away?
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 Simply,
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 radical generosity
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 cuts into our lifestyle
00:38:36 --> 00:38:37 in such a way
00:38:37 --> 00:38:38 that we feel the burden
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 of our neighbour.
00:38:41 --> 00:38:41 And this is a calling
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 for every person
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 and family
00:38:43 --> 00:38:44 and church in Christ
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 to live below
00:38:45 --> 00:38:47 their means
00:38:47 --> 00:38:49 in order to love
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 our neighbour.
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51 To live below
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 our means
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 in order to love
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 our neighbour.
00:38:53 --> 00:38:56 So let me point to you
00:38:56 --> 00:38:56 why I think
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 this is so crucial
00:38:57 --> 00:38:58 for us as a church
00:38:58 --> 00:39:00 and why we need
00:39:00 --> 00:39:00 to get this
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 and why we need
00:39:01 --> 00:39:01 to work
00:39:01 --> 00:39:02 to work below
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 our means.
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 Number one,
00:39:06 --> 00:39:07 our own parish income
00:39:07 --> 00:39:09 is behind
00:39:09 --> 00:39:11 by $10
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 and we're not even
00:39:12 --> 00:39:12 halfway through
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 the year yet.
00:39:15 --> 00:39:16 Our mission giving
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 is $10
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 behind
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 what it was
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 this time
00:39:18 --> 00:39:19 last year.
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 As of the middle
00:39:21 --> 00:39:23 of this past week
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 we've only raised
00:39:24 --> 00:39:24 $6
00:39:24 --> 00:39:26 of our $15
00:39:26 --> 00:39:26 target
00:39:26 --> 00:39:27 ironically
00:39:27 --> 00:39:28 to love
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 our neighbour.
00:39:31 --> 00:39:32 Only $6
00:39:32 --> 00:39:32 of that.
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 $4
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 of it
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 has come
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 from three sources.
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 In the last
00:39:43 --> 00:39:43 couple of weeks
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 we've been hearing
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 from
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 Darian
00:39:45 --> 00:39:46 and Vanessa
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 Clintos
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48 about their
00:39:48 --> 00:39:49 work in Africa.
00:39:49 --> 00:39:52 we are one
00:39:52 --> 00:39:53 of three
00:39:53 --> 00:39:54 supporting churches.
00:39:54 --> 00:39:54 That's a big
00:39:54 --> 00:39:55 responsibility
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 that we have.
00:39:56 --> 00:39:56 One of three
00:39:56 --> 00:39:57 supporting churches.
00:39:59 --> 00:39:59 Their monthly
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 expenses
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 are $4.
00:40:02 --> 00:40:02 I don't know
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 many families
00:40:03 --> 00:40:04 who operate
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 with that level
00:40:05 --> 00:40:05 of expenses.
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07 Certainly not
00:40:07 --> 00:40:07 in this area.
00:40:08 --> 00:40:09 $4
00:40:09 --> 00:40:10 a month.
00:40:11 --> 00:40:11 It's not very much.
00:40:13 --> 00:40:13 Their support
00:40:13 --> 00:40:14 account
00:40:14 --> 00:40:15 currently has
00:40:15 --> 00:40:16 $2
00:40:16 --> 00:40:16 in it.
00:40:16 --> 00:40:20 less than
00:40:20 --> 00:40:20 two weeks
00:40:20 --> 00:40:21 support for
00:40:21 --> 00:40:21 them.
00:40:23 --> 00:40:24 And if it's
00:40:24 --> 00:40:25 not there
00:40:25 --> 00:40:26 they're home
00:40:26 --> 00:40:26 here at the
00:40:26 --> 00:40:26 moment.
00:40:26 --> 00:40:27 If they're in
00:40:27 --> 00:40:27 Africa
00:40:27 --> 00:40:28 it means
00:40:28 --> 00:40:29 they come
00:40:29 --> 00:40:29 home.
00:40:32 --> 00:40:33 So friends
00:40:33 --> 00:40:36 we've got
00:40:36 --> 00:40:36 some work
00:40:36 --> 00:40:36 to do.
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 I want
00:40:39 --> 00:40:39 you to go
00:40:39 --> 00:40:40 away
00:40:40 --> 00:40:41 and so
00:40:41 --> 00:40:42 dwell
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43 on the
00:40:43 --> 00:40:43 grace
00:40:43 --> 00:40:44 and the
00:40:44 --> 00:40:44 mercy
00:40:44 --> 00:40:44 of God
00:40:44 --> 00:40:46 that it
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47 results in
00:40:47 --> 00:40:49 you moving
00:40:49 --> 00:40:49 your lifestyle
00:40:49 --> 00:40:50 downwards in
00:40:50 --> 00:40:51 order that you
00:40:51 --> 00:40:51 can give
00:40:51 --> 00:40:52 more and more
00:40:52 --> 00:40:53 for the glory
00:40:53 --> 00:40:53 of God
00:40:53 --> 00:40:54 and for the
00:40:54 --> 00:40:54 love of your
00:40:54 --> 00:40:54 neighbour.
00:40:55 --> 00:40:56 Jesus and
00:40:56 --> 00:40:56 the apostles
00:40:56 --> 00:40:58 considered money
00:40:58 --> 00:40:58 hazardous
00:40:58 --> 00:41:01 and helpful
00:41:01 --> 00:41:02 at the same
00:41:02 --> 00:41:03 time.
00:41:03 --> 00:41:03 It's hazardous
00:41:03 --> 00:41:04 and therefore
00:41:04 --> 00:41:05 I encourage you
00:41:05 --> 00:41:06 to put limits.
00:41:07 --> 00:41:08 Put limits
00:41:08 --> 00:41:08 on how much
00:41:08 --> 00:41:09 you keep
00:41:09 --> 00:41:09 for yourselves.
00:41:10 --> 00:41:11 Don't ever
00:41:11 --> 00:41:12 put limits
00:41:12 --> 00:41:12 on how much
00:41:12 --> 00:41:13 you make.
00:41:13 --> 00:41:13 I want to
00:41:13 --> 00:41:14 encourage that.
00:41:14 --> 00:41:14 Pursue that.
00:41:14 --> 00:41:16 But put limits
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 on how much
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 you keep
00:41:16 --> 00:41:17 for yourself.
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 But it's
00:41:19 --> 00:41:19 also helpful
00:41:19 --> 00:41:21 which means
00:41:21 --> 00:41:22 you get the
00:41:22 --> 00:41:23 incredible joy
00:41:23 --> 00:41:24 of giving
00:41:24 --> 00:41:24 more and
00:41:24 --> 00:41:25 more to
00:41:25 --> 00:41:26 loving your
00:41:26 --> 00:41:26 neighbours
00:41:26 --> 00:41:26 and bringing
00:41:26 --> 00:41:27 glory to
00:41:27 --> 00:41:27 God.
00:41:27 --> 00:41:28 Let me
00:41:28 --> 00:41:28 tell you
00:41:28 --> 00:41:29 that that
00:41:29 --> 00:41:29 will be
00:41:29 --> 00:41:30 a decision
00:41:30 --> 00:41:31 that you
00:41:31 --> 00:41:32 will never
00:41:32 --> 00:41:32 regret
00:41:32 --> 00:41:33 for all
00:41:33 --> 00:41:34 of eternity
00:41:34 --> 00:41:34 as you
00:41:34 --> 00:41:35 build up
00:41:35 --> 00:41:35 treasures in
00:41:35 --> 00:41:35 heaven.