Affluence

Affluence

Are you searching for answers about finding affluence in your life? Perhaps you will be surprised at this rewarding perspective. Watch the video or read on to find out more.

 Most of you guys recognize the game that's behind me. It's one of the most beloved games, board games in an American history, monopoly. I'm going to venture to guess most of you have started one of this games, some of you haven't finished one, but you're excited about getting it going, and this is a fun game to get started and I'm going to just kind of also that your childhood might be like mine, because I can remember as being excited about starting the game, and at some point, frustrations setting in.

And then someone may get mad at someone else and disappointment would set in and then somebody will turn over the game, might have been made but you know, you're so mad at the game, you just kind of messed up all of the pieces. Today, I want us to look at the passage in the book of James, that shows us that sometimes money, and the money game can negatively affect our relationships. 

And so Michael, are you telling me that money can negatively affect relationships? 

Yes. As a matter of fact, does anybody want to guess the number one thing that married couples argue about? The number one thing married couples argue about? Anybody want to guess? Money, very good guess. Married couples argue about money more than any other topic. How about this one, does anyone want to guess when people were surveyed last year, who got a divorce last year, the number one reason why divorce happen? Does anybody want to guess the number one reason they gave? 

Money and Divorce

Money, another good guess. 56% of those who got divorced last year said it was because of money. Money doesn't just affect married couples in a negative way, it affects all of us. And we'll see today that really money is the biggest cause of stress in all our relationships and it's because, it's not money, the Bible say money is not good or evil it's neutral, it's because we're taking the culture's view of money instead of God's view of money. 

And because of what culture is teaching us, they are teaching us a different way to look at money and it's affecting our relationships in a negative way. I want you to think about this and I've actually got this on the back of your worship guide but think about the lies that this game tells us. And I'm thinking that most of us we're in trouble in America because we have learned to deal with money from monopoly. 

Lie #1- How to get rich fast

And monopoly has lied to us because, listen it's a fun game, don't get me wrong. I got this game, it was just interesting I don't now if you guys noticed but the new monopoly game actually runs off of a credit card. That's crazy. Just load up with six million and get this game going. That's a whole other sermon, okay. But we have the old fashion, and we have the one with the cash you put under the board and I've got four kids and they are all teenagers now. 

And they are just starting to pick up on this because they are like, "Dad growing up, you've always wanted monopoly, but dad you also were always the banker." Total coincidence. But anyway, hey, this game is fun, alright, but it's one thing to play the game, it's the other thing here's the danger, it's when we take the lies of the game and we actually, here's whats going on America, people are playing monopoly with real money and it's ruining relationships and damaging everything in our lives. 

He's the lies, if you want to take notes you can write them down but just think about this, the first lie that this game tells us is the more money you have, the more happy you're going to be, right? Definitely in the game I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy this game when I have money. Alright, I have a lot of money stacked under the board, it's great. 

Money and Happiness

The more houses I have, the more land I have, the more hotels I have, it is awesome! I love having a lot of stuff in the game, but if we're not careful we take that into life and it's just not true in life. It's a lie that the culture in the game have told us. As a matter of fact CNN did a recent study, now you guys know that CNN is not a conservative theological journal. 

Right? OK. CNN did an article, you can look it up on the web and it's called, How To Win The Lottery and Lose it All. What they did is they interviewed all these people that won the lottery, and we think, well hey, if you win the lottery, you're going to be very happy, you just get all that cash. This is what they found, that 70% of all Americans who've had a major windfall like winning lottery, lost all that money within a few years. And of those 70%, 100% of them said they were more happy before they got all that cash and they are definitely happy now that it is gone. All that pressure of those finances is gone. So the game says the more money you have the more happy you are going to be, but it's just a lie. 

Here's another lie the culture that the game tells us, that the more valuables you have, the more valuable you are. Think about it, you're just valuable if you have stuff, in the game that might be true, we all know we need to be nice to guy that owns boardwalk. And especially if he's got a hotel on it, we want to take him out to lunch. 

OK, he's a lot more valuable in the game than this poor soul who owns Mediterranean Avenue, who wants that? OK, and so in the game we're taught, what stuff you have means more value, but if we're not careful we take that into life, don't we? Think about it, adults we really struggle with this you know, we see someone who has a certain emblem on their car, wow! 

Now that's an emblem, that's a really cool car, that's, I don't even have an emblem, you know? So it's like the people who have a certain emblem all of a sudden that family is more valuable than another family because of the logo. And we're all glad that Jordan Smith won the Masters and everything, 21 years old, great, great fit and everything. 

Under Armour is now selling off the shelves, why? Because now you got to have something that has Under Armor on it, because it makes you more valuable and maybe you'll wear a green jacket one day or something. Did you know teenagers are struggling with this? Now, the stress that's on kids is not even coming from school it's coming from the pressure of what others have at school. 

There was a resent study done and what it determined is, is that the pressure on students is now bold down to two things; shoes and phones. Now think about this, if you walk into school and you've got a $50 pair of shoes on and your friend's got a $200 pair of shoes on, guess who is more valuable? All of a sudden students feel pressure like I need to get more better shoes, more expensive shoes because that makes me more important and then what about phones? 

Phones, you know just think about it, you've got an iPhone 4 and everybody else in your friends circle's got iPhone 5. Guess what that means? That means you are more horrible more than they're, OK? They've all got all 5s and then somebody joins that friend group that's got an iphone 6 and they mess the whole thing up. If somebody shows up and they got one of those iPhone 7s, that's not actually out yet. 

But I can feel the pressure in the room? Can you stress. There's a 7? I got to go to the store after this. Do you see how subtle that is? And I hope you don't miss this today no matter who you are or where you've been, no matter what kind of shoes you walked in here with, no matter what kind of phone that you own, no matter what you drive, or where you live or the color of your skin or where you're going to go home to. 

Your True Value is in Jesus Christ

You are valuable because of Jesus Christ and his blood and sacrifice, and because of the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, period. That's your value. Now we all know that and I hope you hear that if you haven't ever heard that before your value, you're priceless before God. But so many of us are tied up in the game and we're buying in the lies this game has taught us and the cultures pressuring us. 

Lie #2

Here's another lie, if you get stuff and it makes you more secure and you're definitely more satisfied. Now, definitely maybe in the game that's true, I don't know about you but I like playing the game when I've got a lot of stuff and several times in this game, my strategy is is to own land on every side of the board, and when I do that I feel so secure in this game. I am like, "Oh, you're going to get trouble anywhere you land," because I own every side of the board. But when we take that in the life it's very, very dangerous because if we think, "Hey, look I've got great security. Why do you know that? Well, because I've got money in the bank. Because look, I've got a security system at my apartment or at my house. Hey, look at this car, I live in a gated community. I drive the safest car in a consumer reports but there's something wrong with any of those things by the way it's just when we think those things make us secure and definitely when we think those things really brings true satisfaction, that's the danger of the game. And that's why James we're about to see is really fired up about getting us away from the the game. Here's one more lie though, whoever has the most stuff wins the game, that's definitely true in the game right, I mean, it's like, Hey, that's how you win, you read the instruction. 

That's why most of us don't get to the end of the game, because we didn't win. But it's like if you can just get more stuff, you get more land, more houses, more hotels, more stuff, then you win. But in life, that's just not true, is it? Think about it, fast forward to the very end of your life, is it really the winner? The person who has the most stuff? Does it really matter at the end of your life, all of the money, all the houses, all the hotels, whatever you owned, it's like an old preacher that I grew up under would say, you never seen a hearse pulling a U-haul. Think about it, you can't take it with you so therefore, the winner of the game is not necessary the one who has the most stuff at the end. 

That's why James is so fired up because in James chapter five, I hope you look at it with me. In James five, he's going to say, step away from the game. And it's a game changer because James has fired up and said, we need to move away from the game and get it on God's way to handle money. He's saying step away from the game because what was happening to James, it's what's happening today. Remember James was the half brother of Jesus, and he just didn't become a follower of Jesus, he became the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. This letter is to his church and all the Christians of his day and all of us today and what was happening in James' day is what is happening today. 

People were putting money ahead of God and they were saying that their relationship with money was more important than their relationship with God and definitely more important than their relationship with others. And James is so fired up and says step away from the game, step away from culture, and get it on the God's way. 

Let me show you how fired up he is look at James chapter five and he just telling, hey, go God's way on this. Step aback away from the game. Look at verse one. Look here you rich people. Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Like, wow, Mike, you weren't kidding, he really is fired up here, he's really getting on with this rich people. Listen, he's just getting started, we'll get the rest of these verses here but I hope you don't miss this and here's the big idea, I've got it in your notes but I want to put it on the screen for you, this is not James getting on to rich people. 

Generosity

Here's the big idea. God is not opposed to wealth. God is opposed to misuse of it. And that's a big, big difference. God's not opposed to people who have money, he's opposed to us when we don't put him first and we handle it the world's way, we don't step away from the game. So I know what you're thinking, you're like well, in verse one he says he's talking to rich people, I'm so glad I came today because I'm not rich. 

This message is not for me, this passage isn't for me. Well, most of you don't know that our fourth child, my wife and I we actually adopted from Africa, and six years ago it changed everything in our lives because we went over to West Africa up to the Northern part of Ghana, and we saw the village where our son grew up, where his dad died when he was two years old, where his mom abandoned him, we saw the village where he had malaria several times and struggled with bouts of starvation. 

We got to go to a village where there was no running water, no electricity, one doctor for every 183, 000 people. My son's has taught me a lot because I just, we brought him to America. I'll never forget when we landed in London on the way to America, he rode his first airplane and in London they have those elevators that are glassed in, and he looked up and he said, "Dad, what are all those people doing in that box? " The elevator's going up and down just, he's processing everything. We got him home and went to the refrigerator in our small house, three bedroom house and I got a glass and I put it to the door of the refrigerator and that water start coming out and he watched us, so this how we get water, and I'll never forget his next question, "Dad, how often can I do that?"" 

"How many times a day can I do that? " He's taught us so much, because all over sudden I realized that in his village people make less than a dollar. Since we adopted him, I've to come learn that 80% of everyone on this planet makes less than $1 a day. So that means that we, here in America no matter what we make even if we're on welfare or loaded. 

How to Get Rich

So I want you to turn to your friend right now, this will be fun, turn to your neighbor and say, you are rich. Just tell them, you are rich. That's fun, wasn't it? Yeah, you are, you're rich. So that means James is speaking to all of us, welcome back to the message, OK? But being rich isn't the problem, being rich isn't the problem, it's how we deal with this. So, let's not do the games way, let's, don't follow the rules or culture, let's get on God's way. 

Look at verse two. Your wealth is rotting away, he says. Your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags, your gold and silver are corroded. Watch this, The very wealth you were counting on, you've been counting on wealth, don't do that, don't count on money and stuff. It's just going to eat your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure, watch this, you've hoarded it, it's going to testify against you on the day of judgment. It says step away from the game because the game says, get it! Get more of it! Get the stuff, and that's how you win! So you step away from the game, that's not how you win at life at all. 

He's saying don't hoard the stuff. Speaking of hoarding, has anybody seen that show Hoarders? Wow, it's just, my family is all into it, I can't even make it through an episode. It's just so sad, you know? Some person just gets an Armor with certain things and they start loading it their house up with stuff their rooms get filled and their garage is filled, everything in their house gets gets filled until this little pathway going through their house, and we all know it's like, hey, hoarding isn't the way to go. Don't hold on to the stuff, stop hoarding it. 

That's what James is saying here to all of us, stuff and holding on to it is a dead end road. Look at verse four, it says, listen!, exclamation point, hear the cries of the field workers whom you've cheated out of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven's Armies. 

So Mike, finally, I'm off the hook. This verse has nothing to do with me. First of all, I don't own any fields and I don't have any field workers. Now, I made my seventh grader mow the lawn this week, but that is it. So surely this verse isn't for me. I want you to notice that word cheated, it really means to cut corners. And just ask yourself, it's only God to reveal it, where I'm I cutting corners and not putting things where they are ought? 

And we all just did our taxes just saying, OK? So, where are my cutting corners? I'm I not being quite as honest maybe I should? I read this week that one out of 11 Americans last year shop lifted something from their office or a store that wasn't theirs, which cost 33 billion dollars to industry. He's saying don't cut corners, don't cheat. 

Look at else what he says in verse 5, he says you've spit your years, don't miss this, you get a limited amount of resources and you're spending that time and that money on you. You've spent your years all of them on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You've fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 

What's he saying here? St. James is saying listen, don't get to the end of your life and go, wow. I listened to the culture and listened to the game, and I got all this stuff and now I realize that isn't what life was all about. That isn't what I was supposed to be doing. That isn't as he says, is all about you and your every desire. Don't get to the end of your life, James says, and say, you know what? It was all about me. All my time was about me. Look at where I went. Look at what I did. Look at what I drove. Look at where I lived. Look at how much money I had. Look at all my financial success. And now I get to the end of my life and realize, you know what? I was playing the wrong game. He's saying step away from the game. 

Go God's way. Look at what he says in verse six, he says, you've condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you. Finally, I've found a verse that has nothing to do with me, I've not killed anybody at least in the last 10 years. I have not done that, OK? But notice this word condemned, in the original language that word literally means to walk by a need that you know you can meet and God prompts you to be generous toward and you don't meet it. It's really walking by something that you feel prompted to do but you withhold from it. And that would just almost apply to any of us. It's like being at Lake Point, hearing about all the mission efforts you guys are involved in, hearing about churches in Africa that are helping orphans in villages and saying you know what I'm hearing about that need, but I'm not going to give to missions. 

Not just internationally or overseas, what about right here? Did you know that Lake Pointe has over 1000 teenagers every weekend gathering at one of the campuses of Lake Pointe. Last year Lake Point took over 1600 teenagers at camp, and it's hearing that and saying, well listen to that kind of impact on the culture of reaching the next generation. 

It's not the church of tomorrow but the church of today. And say you know what? I'm not going to give to the general of fund of Lake Pointe, why? Because middle schoolers can't resist you. Orphans in Africa can't resist you. James is saying there's a different way. Step away from from the game. Make it a game, change your day and say, you know what, I'm going to follow God's way. There's a different plan, there's a different approach, there's a different way and James is so fired up because he says, Step away from this game and see what God will do. You see what happens to this game after you play it, what do you do with this game? 

After this game, what happens? Somebody walks by and just puts it all back in the box, don't they? Somebody puts it all back in the box, and James is saying, listen, because it's all going to go back in the box, you can do things a different way and approach money God's way. So Michael, are you telling that the Bible says stuff about money? 

Did you know that the Bible talks more about money than any other topic? It's because money, it can be the root of all evil because it can affect all things in a negative way, but it also when it's in the right priority can be a way to honor God and honor others in a way that's unbelievably exponential and fine. 

For the rest of our time that we have left, I just want to share with you four things the Bible says about how to handle money and step away from the game. I believe some of you are doing maybe many of these, but I believe one of these is really going to stick out to you. Hold on to that one. We need to do all four but hold on to that one. 

Here's the good news. Of the things the Bible tells us to do with money, we can all them. Young or old, doesn't matter. As a matter of fact the younger you are in this room, the better off you are to get started. No matter how much money you have. This isn't about that. Everyone can do something. 

And listen, no matter how many mistakes you've made, this isn't about that. Today, starting today I'm going to handle money God's way. So here's four things.

Top Four Ways to Handle Your Money

1.  SAVE

The first one is, I'm going to start saving. The Bible says to save our money and put money aside. You say, Michael I already know that, but did you know that statistics tell us that 1/3 of all Americans didn't save anything last year? 

Very dangerous place for our country to be. As a matter of fact the same article said 35% of Americans spent more last year than they actually made. That's a whole another sermon. Just so you know what? I'm going to start saving. I'm looking forward to the Proverbs series that you guys are starting this summer but let me show you a few Proverbs as we walk through this. Proverbs 21 says this, the wise man saves for the future. 

But watch this, the foolish man spends whatever he gets. So if you're going to take notes or just think in your mind, I would actually write down this number, 10%. 10% is a great goal to say I'm going to start saving something. I'm going to make it a goal to save 10% of what God brings to me. So Michael, there's no way I could get to 10% right now. Save something, start somewhere. 

I want to encourage you just to save $20 a week. Did you know if you save $20 a week and put it in some kind of very conservative interest rate fund, did know in 40 years you'll have over $ 400, 000? $ 20 a week. The Scripture says save some of what God gives you, let it grow. Here's another one, maybe yours is going to be, I'm going to make it honestly. 

2. Be Honest

James over and over again in this passage says, we need to stop cutting corners. This means different things to different people, but basically I'm going to work hard at whatever God's called me to do. Look at what Proverbs 28 says. Work hard and you'll have a lot of food. Waste time, and you'll have a lot of trouble, sums it up, doesn't it? 

There's our options, work hard or waste time. And what's going to happen in a moment is we're going to dismiss this service and we're going to unleash the church which is you, out into the community. And what you do for a living is no less important than what I do. All of us have a calling and whatever your calling is, go do it for God's glory and work hard at it. 

Be the best student you can be. Be the best mum you can be, and for the glory of God walk into your office and into your work place and say, I'm going to work hard and I'm not going to cut corners, and I'm going to honor God with what I do. Maybe that's going to be your choice today. Here's another. I'm going to spend it wisely. 

3. Spend Wisely

You can start today and say, I'm going to start spending wisely. But I want you to write this number down somewhere were 80%. So you've got 10% to save, 80% is, I'm going try to live on 80% and I'm going to honor God with that. I grew up up in church so I heard about the tide and that really wasn't a problem for me because I started so young, but it took a lot to understand that God is actually concerned about all the rest of it too. 

Did you know that Jesus wants to go to Walmart with you? He does, your spouse may not want to, but He'd love to. Jesus would love to go to Costco with you, because when you go there, you can say, you know what Jesus, should we really buy 16 rolls of paper towels right now? What do you think Jesus? Do you know if Jesus wants to go to the car lot with you, you sit down and go, what kind of car Jesus could I, what will really make sense here? 

Because when you start doing that, did you know that Jesus wants to download iTunes music with you? It only costs 99 cents, but should I really hit download, Jesus? What do you, how should I spend this dollar? When you start looking at it that way, life gets really fun. Look at proverbs 10:16, it says the earnings of the godly enhance their lives. 

What you have has been given by God and he says I want you to enjoy it because evil people, they just squander their stuff and their money on sin. God wants you to enjoy life and what you have has been given to you to enjoy it but let me tell you, when you enjoy it is when you get God involved in all of it because that's what James is saying we need to be. Here's one final choice that maybe needs to be yours today and that is, I'm going to give freely. 

4. Be Generous

Starting today I'm going to be a generous person. I think this is the ones that we really struggle with the most because it goes again't the game, doesn't it? The game says to get, the game doesn't say to give. I need to get, get, get, get. But God says no, give, give, give and here's one more number to write down and that's just 10%. God wants us to save 10%, that's a great goal to live on 80% and to at least give 10% back to the storehouse which is the church. 

You're like, oh Michael, I don't know if I can give 10% right now with my financial situation. Start somewhere today. Did you know that if you give $20 a week to your church, you know what will happen over 40 years? You'll have ended up giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to your church! Can you imagine that conversation 40 years from now? 

40 years from now you can have somebody coach you and say, hey have you been generous to Lake Pointe? Well, yes I have. I've given hundreds of thousands of dollars to this church. Really? Write a big check? No, $20 a week, decided that 40 years ago. I'm going to do something. Look what the scripture says about how God blesses you. 

Proverbs 11, give freely and become more wealthy. That goes totally against the game. Give and you'll get. But be stingy, just make it about getting, hey, you'll lose the game and you'll lose everything else. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. You see people who give actually get more. 

And I believe this, one of the reasons why we struggle with this, we listen to the game and we get so narrow focused on this that we forget what it's all about. It's really all about eternity. We get narrow focus and say I'm going to win this week, I'm going to win this year, the next 20 years I'm going to win. 

And we forget we can't take it with us. Went to the hospital room just a few weeks ago, one of the people that come into Real Life Austin, their dad was really struggling in the hospital going in for knee surgery, but he ended up having stroke and then six hours later having a heart attack, happens in less than 1% of people. 

I went to that hospital room at 2 O'clock in the morning, packed full of family, and did you know that as I ministered with them for over an hour, I still don't know what that guy did for a living. That was never discussed. I've no idea what he had in the bank. Nobody even said, hey, let me tell you what kind of car he just drove up to the hospital in. Nobody talked about where he lives. 

It was all about more important things and we know that, don't we? In those moments that it's really not about the stuff. That's why we really connect to James and go, oh yeah, I really was listening to the game and yeah, I could be generous because I have a picture of eternity and I can't take it with me but I can send it on ahead of me. 

Today, I want to close two questions that all of us can ask no matter what your age or how much you have or don't have and here's the two questions. First of all ask yourself, what do I have? What do you have? Let God show you what you have in your talents and time and treasure. And then ask this question, what I'm I supposed to do it? 

And if you really wrestle with that this week and even today before you go to bed, you say, what do I have? What does God want me to do with it? I believe God is going to show you some incredible things. I believe maybe some of you are going to say, you know what, I'm going to start saving. Today's going to be that day I start doing that. 

I'm going to start working hard wherever I go to work and being a good parent, whatever I do, being a good student. Maybe for you it's like, you know what? I'm going to spend the money that I have left over after giving and saving in a God honoring way. Just get God in on that so I can enjoy more and those relationships are growing. 

Maybe you're going to decide, you know what I'm going to start being generous and let me just say to you Lake Pointe, you are a generous church. Real Life is one of so many recipients of that generosity that you have. But I also want to say in a room this size, there are some of you, and you haven't gotten in on the generosity of your own church. 

You are living vicariously through the generosity of the church and celebrating that, but you've been coming here for years and never leaned in and said, "I'm going to do something radical for God, and I going to give a big blessing of what God has blessed me with." See some of us need that refreshing even though we've heard the story so many times. 

It's one of the refreshing things about being in Austin. Just think about it. We have over 1,500 people coming just in the Austin campus, half of them have received Christ in the last two years. It is a fun group to be with, OK? Because they have heard no stories. So a few weeks ago I was talking about Zacchaeus, they were like, this short man, what's, they are like, wow! 

Wealthy

This is great. And I was talking about Zacchaeus. Now Zacchaeus, remember the story? He was loaded, he had a lot of money, and if he'd get into the crowd he didn't have any friends, you know why? Because he won the game. That's one thing this game does tell us the truth, right? Think about this, does anybody like the person who wins this game? 

 If you win this game your family will not talk to you for hours. Maybe days, it depends on how mean you were at the game. Zacchaeus, that was Zacchaeus, I was like Zacchaeus won the game, get your own shoulders to stand on Zacchaeus. That tree over there, you can go over there I don't care about you. 

You won the game. Zacchaeus is in the tree, Jesus comes by, and Jesus connects with him and goes home with him. Remember what happened, don't you? Zacchaeus didn't sit down and say, OK now, explain to me 10, 80, 10. 10% saved, 10% give. I'm going to get in on that Jesus, what did he do? Radical life change. He stood up in front of Jesus and everybody else and says Jesus today, I want you and everyone to know, I'm going to give away 50% of everything I own. Wow! 

Remember what Jesus told him, today salvation has come to your house. Today you found what salvation really means. It means to get in on this radical expression of generosity to God because it's not about the culture and the game. So much bigger than that. Michael, that's a nice story but that only happens in the Bible, I tell you what I see that all the time but I want to tell you one story I got permission to tell. 

Because after I told that story about Zacchaeus, a guy who'd been coming coming a few weeks, but hadn't been to church 17 years walks up to me, says, "Pastor, I need to give you something." And he handed me the title to his car. You say well, Michael, I can hand you the title of my car too. I've got a 1970 truck that don't even run, I'll give you titles, it's not very impressive. 

I know you say that, that's why I want to show you a picture of it. It's actually a 911 Porsche and its a vintage one and we found out later there is only five cars in the country with less mileage than his in this model year, and when he gave that, he said, "Here's what I want to do, will you help those churches in Africa, you've been telling about, some of those kids there?" 

But really, the main part of it, I just want to help teenagers because we meet in a high school and we're been trying to reach that high school for Christ and when I was a teenager nobody told me God loved me. What if I found that earlier? So would you use this to help them? Listen, there was everything in me not to get into this car. 

Especially when he told me that it will go to 0 to 60 and 3.6 seconds, alright. I wanted to see that for myself, spiritually. I just knew that if I got in it, there was somebody who was going to see me driving through Austin be like, there goes our church planner, squandering God's money. So I didn't do that, we sold it, real quick. Real quick. 

And I want you to know that, Friday night, two days ago we were standing in Bowie[sp?] High School where we meet and we had a youth event that was largely put on because of his generosity. Hundreds of students packed this gym and 31 teenagers got saved for Friday night. Said we want Jesus in our lives. Awesome, powerful. I wish you have been there because he was standing right next to me in the back of the room. 

I leaned over is a Chad, was it worth it? Oh yeah, even worth it for one, because that would have been me. Because nobody told me this but 31 kids have the chance that I didn't have because now at my age I'm finally learning, to step away from the game. And this is what he literally told me, word for word, I quote, 'Michael, I'm so tired of storing up treasures on Earth." 

I'm ready to really store treasures in Heaven. I know what you maybe thinking, you say Michael I don't have a Porsche to give. Well, here's a good news for you, if you don't have a Porsche? God's not going to ask you to give one. You're welcome. Let's go back to the questions, what do you have and what are you supposed to do with it? 

Forgiveness

And just think about what would happen if everybody listening to me in this room saw Jesus Christ not as just the savior of their sin and forgiver of their souls, saw Jesus not as just the way to heaven that we're trusting our eternity in, but what if everyone listening to me said, Jesus, you're also going to be the King and Lord of my finances, exponential things can happen. 

And I can't wait to see what God will do through you, would you pray with me. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word and how relevant it is, and I pray right now for everyone listening to me, I ask God if there's anyone in this room that is far from you, that they would know it is not about what they can give but what has been given for them. 

Affluence

And I ask that today they would give the most valuable thing they own, their heart to you. And I pray that they would trust you to be their savior of their sins and also God, the one who is the way to Heaven. But for those of us who know you today, I ask that we would be honest with ourselves, we would reflect on our lives and that today you will give us wisdom and courage to step out in a greater way towards generosity. And Father thank you for what you're going to do in the days ahead, through this generous church called Lake Pointe, as more and more people get in on that generosity. 

May you bless everyone here with your grace and mercy and peace and we thank you for the greatest gift who is Jesus Christ. Amen.