Do Not Steal

The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy chapter 5. Please follow along in your bulletin.

Deuteronomy 5 · chapter mention

Verse 1, And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

Then in verse 6,

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God.

On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock,

or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you,

that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder, and you shall not commit adultery,

and you shall not steal,

and you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,

and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

and you shall not desire your neighbor's house,

his field, or his male servant, or his female servant,

his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thanks, Celeste.

Let's just pray for a second and ask God to speak to us from his word.

Heavenly Father, glorious Son, Holy Spirit,

as we come to your word this morning, God, we want you to speak to us.

Jesus, it really is our belief that you lead this church.

You are the leader of Watermark.

We've gathered this morning to hear from you, to hear your word.

Christ is our king and our leader.

Come and speak to us this morning.

God, we're not here to hear or listen to the opinions of man.

We're here to have your words spoken to us,

and your word to resonate in our hearts.

And so I pray, God, once you prepare our hearts,

speak to us this morning, God.

Draw us to yourself.

Open the eyes of our hearts to see your majesty and your glory, God,

and change us, we pray.

We pray these things in your wonderful name.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm not sure how many of us here have been convicted of stealing before.

Maybe some of us.

I remember the first time I tried to steal something.

I was about eight or nine years old,

and my friend and I both lived down the road from a supermarket in Johannesburg in South Africa.

And so after school, we'd jump on our bicycles,

ride to the supermarket and hang out and talk about things that nine-year-old boys talk about.

And one day we decided the supermarket's got this whole counter of sweets.

And we decided, let's see if we can go and grab a few and get away with it.

And so we walked into the supermarket and looking very cool,

grabbed a few sweets and tried to put them in my pocket.

And then I remember I felt very convicted that this wasn't a good thing and tried to put them back.

And in doing so, I caught the attention of the shopkeeper.

She saw what I was trying to do,

and she looked at me and scolded me for stealing the sweets,

which I then denied,

which was twice as bad,

because now I wasn't only a thief, I was also a liar.

And so I was like, no, no, I wasn't.

I promise you.

And I got out of there as quickly as I could

and promised to never try that trick again.

This morning we are looking at the Eighth Commandments.

We're working through the series,

Ten Words of Abundant Life,

commonly known as the Ten Commandments.

And we're looking at the Eighth Commandment,

which is do not steal.

Now, I must admit that when earlier this year

we decided we were going to look at the Ten Commandments,

I had no idea that it was going to be so challenging.

I knew kind of the breadth of Scripture

meant that God calls us not just to obey the technical,

no letter of the law, but the spirit of the law.

But over the last few weeks,

I have found this so challenging and so convicting.

And I'm sure most of us have as well.

But what this means, of course,

is that this is where the hope of the gospel comes in.

Because the gospel is not just good advice,

how to live our lives,

it's good news.

The gospel is not just a self-improvement project,

how to make our lives work.

The gospel is the account of how God has come to rescue us

and to save us,

not only to save us from sin,

but also to change us and to redeem us.

What Chris spoke about,

to make us the kind of people who become more like Him,

who live like Him and behave like Him

and act like Him.

And so I just want to say right up front

that every one of us this morning,

from the sweet-stealing preacher in the front

to those of us right at the back

and everyone in between,

all of us have come this morning

and get to receive

and hopefully be flooded

by the good news of the gospel.

Friends, if you're here this morning

and you're excited to be here

and you're awake

and you're thrilled to be at church,

or if you're here

and you're slightly hungover

or thinking,

what on earth am I doing at a church this morning?

Welcome.

You and I, all of us,

need the gospel together this morning.

So this morning,

we're looking at this eighth commandment,

do not steal.

And what I want to do is,

I wanted to look at this commandment

under three headings.

The first one is types of theft.

There's varieties of what stealing looks like.

Secondly, the heart or the root of theft.

Where does that come from?

And then thirdly,

how Jesus makes us generous.

Okay?

Types of theft,

heart of theft,

how Jesus makes us generous.

If you're looking for a seat,

there's some seats in the front.

You're welcome to come and grab some.

Don't be shy.

Okay?

Great.

So firstly,

types of theft.

In Hong Kong,

we don't get to experience

a lot of common or petty theft

like other countries in the world.

But that doesn't mean

that it doesn't exist, right?

In fact,

the more modern and sophisticated

a society is,

the more sophisticated

and elaborate

are our means

and the systems

that we come up with

how to steal.

And so there are a bunch

of different types of theft.

And I'm going to run through

four of them

and each of them

are more complex

and more nuanced,

more challenging

than the previous.

So the first one is obvious.

It's taking something

that doesn't belong to you.

Okay?

I'm sure we've all

encountered this

in some way.

Maybe you've had something

taken out of your bag

when you're on the airplane

or at the gym

or something that's taken

from you

that belongs to you.

In South Africa,

which is the country

that our family comes from,

crime is quite a big deal.

And in South Africa,

public transport

isn't a big deal.

And so most people

have cars.

And so our family,

we had two cars.

We had a more nicer family car,

which Claire would drive

with the kids.

And that was parked

in our apartment complex

behind a secure gate.

And then we had this

broken down,

paint peeling,

torn seat,

dented,

kind of student car,

which was yours truly,

my car.

And that we parked

outside on the road,

outside of our house.

And every day,

it was a challenge

to see when I walked

out of the apartment

to go to my car

to see if my car

would still be there.

And amazingly,

every day,

it was still there.

You could hijack that thing

with a pair of tweezers,

I'm sure.

But for some reason,

it was still there every day.

Now the irony is

that the nicer family car,

we really took good care of.

And when we knew

that we were going

to move to Hong Kong,

we decided to take

extra care of it,

got all the dents fixed up

so that we could sell it

for a nice good price

to help us move over here.

And that car

is the one that got stolen

just before we left.

And they left

the student dinged,

beaten,

bashed up car

for us to do

something else with.

But we all know

that feeling of having

something taken from you

that belongs to you, right?

It's not just

the inconvenience of it

or the price,

it's the sense

of being violated.

You feel like

somebody's come

into your sacred space

and taken something

and messed with

your sacred space.

There's a sense

of being violated.

But there's actually

many ways

that we can do this.

Some of the less

obvious ways

are like downloading

illegal music

or movies,

downloading software

or computer games.

Things that don't

actually belong to us

but we take them

as if they do.

Kelvin,

many of them

there's some

chairs in the front

you're welcome

to come and grab some.

Fifteen years ago

the most downloaded

and illegally pirated movie

apparently

was Mel Gibson's movie

The Passion of the Christ

which is all about

how Jesus died

for sinners like us, right?

And so even if it's

a Christian movie

it's still stealing.

So the first kind

is taking that

which is not yours.

That's obvious.

Second kind of this

is withholding

from somebody else

what is due to them.

So in Leviticus chapter 6

Leviticus 6 · chapter mention

God says

if somebody loses something

and you find it

and you don't give it

back to them

you keep it for yourself

that's a form of stealing.

The point here

is that withholding

something that is due

to somebody else

is a form of theft.

Now the most obvious

form of this

is tax evasion, right?

Money that is due

to the government

but we hold on

to it ourselves

because we think

that we'll handle it better.

Now interestingly

Jesus

somebody comes to him

and says

Jesus

should we give money

to Caesar or not?

And Jesus says

give to Caesar

the things that belong

to Caesar.

Now you may think

yeah but the government

okay maybe you don't

feel like this

maybe in other countries

you feel like

but the government

is not a very

legitimate government.

They corrupt

they steal our money

they're not going

to use it properly

surely we don't need

to pay taxes

to that kind of government.

But think about it

Caesar

was using the money

that people gave

to one

persecute Christians

and two

set himself up

as a rival deity

rivaling Jesus

and yet still

Jesus says

give to Caesar

the things

that are Caesar's.

Another thing

that would fall

under this

is tithing

right?

Giving to God's kingdom

and as scary

as it is

God says

that when the people

of Israel

were withholding

from him

their financial worship

Jesus says

as ludicrous

as it is

that's a form

of stealing

he says

you're robbing

God

because what

God is saying

is that the money

I give you

says God

is actually

his money

it's not mine

it's his money

he's asking us

to steward it

to take care of it

and so when he says

I want you to set aside

a portion of that

a small portion

for something else

for my purposes

and we say

no it's mine

he says actually

you're taking something

that belongs

to me

here's another way

that we can

not give

to people

those that are due

we can

by not paying

fair or adequate

wages

withholding wages

from those

who work from us

and even if it's

legally right

God says in James

he says

the wages

of those

that are being

taken advantage of

cry out to me

they reach my ears

and I will defend

their cause

but the same goes

the other way

right

if we are working

for a company

or organization

and we are

taking a salary

and yet we're

using company

time or company

resources

for our own

means or our

own agenda

enriching ourselves

it's a form

of theft

okay so firstly

taking something

that doesn't belong

to us

secondly withholding

something that is

due to someone else

third thing

is dishonest

or deceitful

dealings

transactions

in the Hebrew

Bible

the word for

stealing

is sometimes

used

for the word

deceit

for being

dishonest

and the idea

here is that

one of the ways

that people

can steal

is not by

taking something

physical

but in their

transactions

and their dealings

being less than

honest or fair

so in the Bible

God

he has this

phrase that he

often uses

how God hates

or detests

dishonest scales

or weights

and it's this

beautiful picture

how in the

marketplace

someone would go

to the marketplace

and the shopkeeper

would sell

something

but be dishonest

in their dealings

so what would

happen is

you'd have

some scales

someone would

say look

I want a

kilogram of

rice

and they'd

put a

kilogram

scale

weight

on the

one scale

and then

put rice

on the

other one

and when

those two

balanced out

you knew

you had

a kilogram

of rice

but what

shopkeepers

would sometimes

do is

they'd bore

out the

middle

or they

would change

it

and put

say a

900 gram

weight

there

and mark

it one

kilogram

so they're

only putting

900 grams

of rice

but they're

selling you

you're paying

for one kilogram

right

it's a way

of cheating

or stealing

from you

by being

dishonest

and there are

many ways

that we've

all experienced

this

how many of us

have bought

something

and you get

home and you

realize it's

defective or

broken

when we first

arrived in

Hong Kong

we didn't

bring a whole

lot of things

from South

Africa

and so we

hit carousel

with a force

and I remember

one day

we just

moved to Hong Kong

and we heard

you've got to

buy these

things called

dehumidifiers

we didn't know

what they were

okay

South Africa

there's no such

thing as

dehumidifier

so I hit

carousel

I find this

guy

he's selling

a good one

for a good

price

I meet him

at an

MTR station

miles up

north somewhere

and I'm very

chuffed with

myself that I've

got such a

good deal

come home

plug it in

and it turns

on but that's

about all that

it does

right

completely

ripped off

how many of

us have

booked an

apartment on

Airbnb and

they say

king size bed

jacuzzi

everything you

could want

and you get

your holiday

destination and

it's nothing like

what they've

described

that sense of

being cheated

of having

been stolen

what about

lying on our

CVs or our

resume

it's a form of

stealing of

taking because

it's being less

than honest

it's taking

advantage of

someone

now the

challenge is

that sometimes

these things

aren't technically

illegal

no one's going

to prosecute you

or put you in

jail for it

but it is

morally dubious

I remember when I

was 12 years old

my family went on

our first overseas

holiday and we

went to Europe

and we were very

excited and we

land in Italy

and my dad goes

to change money

do you remember

the days of

traveler's checks

if you're under

30 you don't

know what that

means

we used to have

these things

called traveler's

checks and he

went to go change

some traveler's

checks and he

came back

fuming

mad

so what's

wrong

this is

got completely

ripped off

this is the

lady charged

me like 20%

interest or

commission or

something

and he says

to you can't

do that

you can't

charge me 20%

and she says

yes sir I can

legally the

law says I'm

allowed to charge

you know 25%

or something like

that and he

says young lady

it may be

legally right

but it's

morally wicked

that line

became a joke

in our

family

you can do

things that

are legally

right but

morally it's

questionable

right

throughout the

bible God

is often on

this thing about

interest rates

he says that

when somebody in

the church

family in the

church community

is going through

a hard time and

they need to

borrow money

don't charge

them interest

in the old

testament it was

against God's

law to charge

one of your

spiritual family

members interest

because it's

taking advantage

of them when

they fall in

rough times

they're out of

money they have

a medical

condition they

need to go to

the doctor they

need to borrow

money don't take

advantage of them

and enrich yourself

in their state of

poverty

John Kelvin who

was a pastor in

Geneva Switzerland

500 years ago he

was also a kind of

statesman and he

lobbied to say that

the church should

look after the

interest rates in

the city of

Geneva because for

him it was a

justice issue there's

a theological

issue not a

monetary policy

issue and so

this issue of

honest dealings is

really challenging

for those of us who

work in advertising

how do we advertise

something honestly

not overstate it or

hide something that

doesn't work so well

someone once said

that in advertising

I'm sorry if you

work in advertising

this is not a slight

on you but someone

once said advertising

robs you of your

self-contentment and

then sells it back to

you in the form of a

product

very clever how do

we advertise

honorably fairly

honestly lastly what

about corporate

sabotage how many of

us have been tempted

to sabotage a

competitor's deal or

maybe steal a client

from a colleague in an

underhanded way all of

this is dishonest

dealings okay so

taking something that

doesn't belong to you

withholding something

that does belong to

someone else

dishonest dealings and

and then fourthly this

is the most complex

and nuance and we'll

just touch it briefly

is social injustice

and this is when

society is structured

in such a way where

the system is ordered

that it enriches a

certain group of

people at the expense

of another group of

people and one of the

most obvious examples

of this is apartheid

in South Africa where

a certain group society

was ordered or

structured legislation

was put in place that

one group would be

enriched at the expense

of another group and

God says in Micah he

says this woe to those

who devised wickedness

who lie in their beds

at night thinking of

wicked schemes they

execute it because it

is in their power to do

so the system is set up

that they can enrich

themselves and they

take advantage of the

system okay so four

different types of

theft taking that that

doesn't belong to you

withholding that which

belongs to another

dishonest dealings and

social injustice

participating in social

injustice secondly the

heart of theft so what's

behind this my guess is

that many of us here

aren't stealing sweets

from the supermarket or

robbing a bank or

defrauding the

government I hope but

but sometimes we may be

tempted with the more

dishonest dealings maybe

we tempted to just hold

back or not be completely

honest in our CVs or

tax returns what's going

on behind here and the

heart of this is putting

profit or personal

possessions or personal

gain before people it's

looking at a situation

say how can I enrich

myself at the expense of

someone else and behind

that is there's two ways

that this or two things

that's going on in our

hearts the first is just

old-fashioned greed the

excessive desire for more

and more stuff or

possessions taking back

what's not ours keeping

what belongs to someone

else deceitful schemes

comes because of an

excessive lust for more

and more stuff now of

course the problem with

greed is that none of us

think that we're greedy

right we just think of

ourselves as good stewards

or taking care of our

family members but Jesus

is actually very careful

about warning us about our

relationship with money

Jesus never says that

money itself is wicked or

inherently wrong it's not

wrong to be wealthy to

even have a lot of money

but he warns us about the

danger of money because it

does something to our

hearts and the first thing

that Jesus says is there's

this unshakable break

unbreakable bond between

what our treasure is what we

hope and trust in and love

and adore and what owns our

hearts what captures our

hearts Jesus says that the

thing that we love and

trust supremely actually owns

our hearts and our hearts is

the control center of our

lives and that's why Jesus

says that what we treasure

actually is what we worship

the New Testament is

constantly warning us not

about the inherent wrongness

of having money or even

being wealthy but the danger

of what money can do to our

hearts it can lead us astray

from what's true and noble

and honest and good and right

and beautiful it can lead us

astray from God himself

but here's the other danger

the New Testament says that

the desire to get wealthy

quickly or easily

okay

often blinds us to reality

and walking around blind is a

dangerous endeavor right

so the New Testament the

Apostle Paul writes this to this

young pastor Timothy says

Timothy

tell those that are in the

congregation

warn them that the desire to get

rich quickly or easily

they're going to fall into all

kinds of temptation

maybe the temptation to fudge

the books

temptation to be less than

completely honest

maybe the temptation to do

what's legally right but

morally questionable

and he says these temptations

cause us to fall into a

senseless trap

into a harmful trap that leads

to ruin and destruction

and I love how he describes that

this desire to get rich quickly

or easily leads to senseless

behavior

and just think about that

how many times have we heard a

story of somebody

who wanted to try and steal

something

and they got caught

and you hear the story and you

think how stupid are you

how do you think you could

possibly get away with that

I mean like that's just the most

ridiculous thing

I remember watching a YouTube

video years ago

some guy goes to rob a store

and he's maybe slightly

intoxicated

and he sees the CCTV camera

and he thinks this is his

moment to shine right

America's got talent

or whatever it is

so he sees this camera

and he starts dancing to the

camera and

dancing to the camera

and then he realizes

oh yeah actually I'm on a

mission and he goes and

robs the store

and obviously his face is on

the camera and they catch him

pretty quickly

and you think how stupid are

you I mean like

obviously you're going to get

caught right

but but what's happening

there

the desire to get rich

quickly or easily leads us

to do senseless

stupid things

it blinds us to

to the reality

of what's going on in life

it blinds us not only to

good sense

but also to our own

hearts

and so the one problem is

just this greed right

this desire to get more

but the other reason why

we are maybe tempted

in this way

is because

we don't

really

while we may know in our

heads what God says about

his faithfulness

God's faithfulness

may not really resonate

with our hearts

friends why is it that

we are tempted to steal

clients from a colleague

it's because we believe

that the life that we can

secure for ourselves

is better than the life

that God is going to

give us

why are we tempted to

exaggerate or lie on our

CVs or resumes

it's because we don't

trust that God

really is able to

provide for us

and take care for us

and so Paul writes to

Timothy and he says

this

tell those who are

financially well off

not to set their hopes

on the uncertainty

of riches

he's not saying that

wealth is a bad thing

he's not saying that

you mustn't be wealthy

he's not saying it's wrong

to be a wealthy person

but he's saying

don't set your hope

your confidence

your trust

in the uncertainty

of wealth

that wealth

is like a

it's like quicksand

if you try and build

your life on it

it's not going to build

and be a solid foundation

for your life

he says

rather

remind these people

of the faithfulness

of God

who richly provides us

with everything we need

to enjoy

he says

Timothy

remind these people

of the faithfulness

of God

remind them that

God is sovereign

remind them that

their hope

is not in their

bank account

or their job

or their bonus

their hope

is in who God is

that he's the sovereign

Lord of all creation

remember earlier

we said God's name

is Yahweh

I am

he has no limitations

he's not the God

of the wealthy

or the God

of the poor

he's not the God

of Israel

the God of America

he is the supreme being

Yahweh

I am who I am

he's the God

who rules and reigns

over all creation

friends

he's the God

who can take

who can take care

of your every need

friends

the God that we worship

in Revelation 4

is the God

before whom

one day

every knee

will fall down

and say

all glory to you

friends

the God of the Bible

is the God

before whom

all angels

all angelic beings

fall down

on their knees

and say

worthy

worthy

worthy

holy

holy

holy

are you

to receive

glory

and honor

and might

and majesty

and praise

friends

the God

that we worship

is the God

who tomorrow

can drop a million

dollars in your lap

or the God

who can allow

some calamity

some disaster

to come

and wipe out

all your financial

savings

friends

the God

of the Bible

is a sure

and steady

foundation

and so Paul

writes and says

do not put your hope

in the uncertainty

of riches

in the uncertainty

of your bank account

in the uncertainty

of the stock market

because it's a lousy

foundation to build

your life on

set your hope

on God

set your hope

on who God is

his nature

his character

his faithfulness

his steadfast love

his unfailing

and unshakable

love

friends

banking our life

on our bank

accounts

is like

taking refuge

in a straw hut

during a T10

typhoon

it's not going

to save you

and so Paul

writes and he says

remind us

not to put our hope

in riches

but in the faithfulness

of God

and so what happens

when we hope

and trust

in the uncertainty

of riches

first our hearts

tend to drift away

but secondly

in order to feel

safe and secure

in order to feel

successful

we find it easier

and easier

to make decisions

that 10 years ago

we thought

we'd never make

to take endeavors

that we thought

we would never do

to maybe just

be not 100% honest

on our tax returns

to maybe just

slightly exaggerate

our current salary

on our resume

or CV

when applying

for a job

we do things

that are not illegal

but it's

maybe quite

slightly cutting

corners

and we find

ourselves

being the kind

of people

that we never

thought we would be

friends we find

ourselves putting

profits and possessions

personal gain

ahead of people

so how do we change

how does Jesus

make us generous

friends the good news

of the gospel

is that in the gospel

we discover

that abundant life

fruitful life

meaningful life

the life that we

long for

is not found

in profit

it's not found

in possessions

it's not found

in personal gain

it's found

in a person

friends in the gospel

we discover

that a person's

life and identity

and self worth

are not found

in their net worth

or the abundance

of their possessions

but found

in relationship

friends in the gospel

we discover

the one person

who though he had

all the power

all the privilege

all the prestige

of the world

came to us

in poverty

allowed himself

to be sold

for 30 silver coins

allowed himself

to be sold

so that someone else

could be enriched

so that he could

not only save us

but has set us free

from the slavery

of our heart's desires

friends in Jesus

we see

that God

who is infinitely rich

became unfathomably poor

so that we can become

eternally rich

in him

friends in Jesus

we find

that the king

of all creation

became a servant

so that we

who are slaves

to our desires

can be set free

friends in the gospel

we come to face to face

with the problem

of our sin

and the problem

of our heart

but we also come

face to face

with the extravagant

generosity

and the riches

of God's grace

in Jesus

and do you know

what happens

when we encounter

Jesus and his grace

when that penny drops

when the extravagant

generosity of Christ

to us

when that penny drops

from our heads

to our hearts

it changes us

and it makes us

the kind of people

that don't need

a grasp for more

but instead

love to be generous

towards others

in fact we see this

throughout the New Testament

in the book of Ephesians

the book of Ephesians

is this incredible book

about the riches

of the gospel

and Paul writes

and he says

once we were dead

in our sins

but because of Jesus

we are alive

in Christ

once we were

slaves to our desires

but because of Jesus

we now live lives

of purity and grace

and Paul writes

about the incredible

riches of the gospel

and then in chapter 4

he shows

how the riches

of the gospel

actually change

the way that we

live our lives

and so this is

what he says

he says

because of who Jesus is

because of what you

have in him

put away falsehood

and speak truthfully

to one another

put away anger

and reconcile

with your neighbor

and then he says this

tell the thief

to no longer steal

but rather let him

work hard

doing honest work

with his hands

so that he may have

something to share

with those in need

you see that

see the gospel

doesn't just come

and say

stop stealing

work hard

you lazy bum

the gospel comes

and says

work hard

stop stealing

so that you may have

an abundance

that you may have

something to share

with those

that are in need

and isn't this what we see

with the story of Zacchaeus

remember Zacchaeus

in Luke 19

he's a Roman tax collector

which meant

that he's legally

authorized

by the Roman government

to overcharge

his own citizens

in taxes

and then he can pocket

the difference

so Rome says

listen we want to

collect a thousand

denarii this year

you can charge

150,000

and the difference

is for your pocket

and so Zacchaeus

as a tax collector

is ripping off

his own countrymen

his own nation

in order to get rich

and he's a social

outcast because of it

but he doesn't mind

because he's got rich

in the process

who cares if you don't

have friends

as long as you're rich

right

and so Zacchaeus

is a tax collector

but one day

Jesus comes to him

and Jesus

showers him

with the grace

and the mercy

of God

and at the end

of their lunch

Zacchaeus is a changed man

and this is what

Zacchaeus says

he says

Jesus

I'm going to give away

half of my possessions

to the poor

and if I have stolen

from anybody

I will pay back

to them four times

what I've taken

friends

when we encounter

the grace of God

and Jesus

do you know

what happens

the grace of God

so hits our hearts

it will transform us

from being the kind

of people who think

what can I accumulate

to being the kind

of people who think

how can I give away

how can I bless others

and that's actually

what Paul says

to Timothy

straight after

in that passage

where he says

tell those that are wealthy

not to trust

the uncertainty of riches

but to trust

in the faithfulness

of God

he goes on

to say this

tell those who are

economically empowered

that they are to do good

to be rich in good deeds

and to be generous

and ready to share

with everyone

friends

imagine living

that kind of life

imagine going to work

tomorrow

and

with the attitude

of how you can share

a potential client

with somebody

who's new

or starting out

at the firm

friends

imagine going to work

and asking the question

how can I be

100% honest

about the potential dangers

of this investment

to these potential clients

friends

imagine going to work

and at promotion time

putting in a good word

with your boss

about your colleague

telling your boss

what an asset they are

to the company

knowing that they may get

promoted ahead of you

friends

imagine going to work

and asking the question

what's not just

not just what's legally right

but how can we be

absolutely honest

and fair

in all our transactions

and our dealings

friends

imagine going to work

and walking away

from a deal

that's going to make you

a ton of money

and get you a massive bonus

because you know

that downstream

somebody else in society

may suffer

even though you can

enrich yourself

our friends

the question is this

why would you do

such a thing

who would do

such a thing

and the answer

is those

that have encountered

the unfathomably

wonderful

gracious

incredible

generosity

of Christ

it's those

who have encountered

the God

who became

unfathomably

rich

poor

so that we can

become eternally

rich in him

friends

it's those

who have had

our worlds

turned around

because the

magnificent

faithfulness

and the

awesomeness of God

has not just

hid our minds

but penetrated

our hearts

and turned our lives

around

friends

it's those

who once

lived for themselves

but as a result

of his infinite beauty

have now

decided to live for him

and live for others

and so friends

I want to ask us

this question

as we close

do you know him

like that

do you know him

like that

friends

has your world

been turned around

like that

like Zacchaeus

friends

maybe you've been

a Christian

for many years

maybe you've been

part of this church

for a long time

do you know him

like that

has he turned

your world

upside down

friends

do you know

the one

who though rich

for your sake

became poor

on the cross

so that you

could become rich

and become a

different kind

of person

friends

do you know him

let's pray together

heavenly father

thank you

for

not just

god thank you

for the way

that the gospel

is not just

good advice

you don't just

come to us

and say

stop stealing

be a better

person

pull your

socks up

and sort

your life

out

you come

to us

for the

extravagant

good news

that you

Jesus

came to us

in poverty

that we

might be

enriched

at your

expense

Jesus

thank you

that you

didn't put

your own

personal gain

before us

but you

put us

before your

personal gain

Jesus

won't you

come and

change our

hearts

won't you

come and

write the

gospel

not just

in our

heads

but in our

hearts

Jesus

won't you

come and

transform us

I pray

Christ

come and

make us

a different

kind of

people

make us

the kind

of people

Lord

that walk

to a

different

drumbeat

that have

a different

ethos

and motive

in life

those who

live for a

different cause

because we've

encountered

the magnificent

and sovereign

God

oh God

come and

do that

in our

hearts

we pray

amen

down

to

time