Comfortable Selfishness

We're going to be in in James 5 again or we're going to be in

James again in chapter 5. And I am yes, pray for me.

I am really trying to get to finish James next week.

So then we're just Christmas studies after that till

Christmas is the goal. And then we'll start a new book

in the but I only made it through 6 verses.

So I'm not confident I'm finishing next week.

The so my my funny, funny title today is comfortable

selfishness. And I think we can all kind of

reflect on that title. And I know I can.

And just loving to be having that life at ease that we have

here. So Lord, I just lift up this

time and I lift up everybody here.

Or that you would speak to us, that you'd speak to me, or that

you'd work on our hearts, Lord, that you'd guide and direct us,

that you'd fill us with your spirit, that we'd be able to go

out and just share you with people of our community and our

families, especially this time of year, Lord.

Or that you just put put those that are in need of you in our

path and Lord, that you would give us a heart to share with

them and pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

So first 3 verses Come now you rich weep and howl for the

miseries that are coming upon you.

You rich have rotted and your riches have rotted, and your

garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have

corroded and their corrosion will be evidenced against you,

and you will eat your flesh and will eat your flesh like fire.

You have laid up treasures in the last days.

So Jesus has another conversation with a lukewarm

church. We've all I'm sure heard about

it. I know Ben, last year went

through all the revelation and I'm sure you spent some time on

the lukewarm church in Laodicea. And chapter 3, verse 17 says,

for you say I am rich, I have prosperity, I need nothing, not

realizing that you are wretched, pitable, poor, blind and naked.

And and that's just we'll, we'll beat on this quite a bit, but

it's when we get comfortable and being comfortable is something

that we then want to defend and that becomes selfishness, right?

Proverbs says it like this. Whoever trusts in his riches

will fall. The righteous will flourish like

a green leaf. And the thing there is is it

doesn't doesn't say that whoever trusts in riches may fall or

possibly will fall. It says will fall.

So if we don't trust in God and we trust in riches, we're lost,

right? But Paul then goes on in another

in another book, Timothy, he tells him it that isn't the only

snare about riches. Coveting being rich is a snare.

And and in Uganda, you can see that on a on a different level.

But you'll find that whether you have money or you want money,

they, they both can be that snare.

And Timothy, we've all heard these verses, chapter 6, verse 9

and 10. But those who desire to be rich

fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and

harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and

destruction. For the love of money is the

root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that

some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves

with many pangs. So this is not money.

A lot of times people we'll quote and say that money is the

root of all evil and it's not it's the love of money, right?

It's when we, when we get money out in front of like money is

what's going to make me happy. But when we look at money, it is

a great heart check. It's a good way for us to look

at our lives and our our spending habits and see where my

heart is. But a lot of times it's what,

what things do I worry about? You know, what is my, what is my

stress and worry isn't money. Is that what I'm worried about?

Because I will tell you that I came back from Uganda in 2019

and I had no bills to speak of and I had no money to speak of

either, right? I always, when I we paid

everything off in 2018, that was the Dave Ramsey thing.

We're debt free. We owe nothing.

Like, I mean, there are a lot of people out there, they can, they

can actually claim that, right? They're debt free.

They don't own anything. And but with that there is a,

there is a piece that comes along with that.

I, that was something I didn't, I didn't worry about money

because I didn't have any. And when we, when we recognize

that all that we have was given to us by the Lord and, and

there's a blessing there, But in money, there is a burden.

And very often we, we lose track of that burden because we are

focused on the blessing and we, it is a blessing.

But when we when we lose track of the burden of the fact that

God has given us resources, when God has used the resources of

his rich richness to bless the lost and dying, right.

But those with riches should walk carefully because rich

riches can get comfortable, then we have something to lose.

And there is a quote by a guy that I don't, I don't know the

guy. I just remembered the quote, so

I looked it up. Michael G.

Michael Hoth says hard times create strong men and strong men

create good times and good times create weak men and weak times.

Weak men create hard times. And that is so the cycle of of

America and and over the over the centuries, but it's really

the the cycle of the world, right?

If you watch every, every civilization that has ever lived

or it's ever been here went through that cycle, right?

They, they, they built themselves up and then they got

to where I mean, you look at Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar and

then his his son or grandson that with a, with an army at the

gates was having a party in his house or in the in the palace,

right? And and lost Babylon without,

without a shot being fired because they just walked in

under the wall. And that is that that cycle of

getting comfortable with our, our riches.

But our riches are our riches are of course, multiple fold

right? We in the western world, we, we

are very focused on the financial side of it, in the

comfortableness of that, but we have more comfort than that,

right? I have comfort in my

relationship with the Lord. But do I want to do I just do I

do I get to that comfortable point where my life is, is good

and my marriage is good and my kids are good and I just tie a

knot and say, Hey, I'm good right here.

That will go badly, right? It will, it will, it will lead

to darkness coming into my life because I, I get to a point

where I think that I have something to lose and then I

want to close my hand around it and hold it something.

Of course, you guys have heard me and Faye talk about it, but

it's, it's about everything in my life is in my hand open,

right? And that is complete trust that

Jesus has everything that's in my hand and not not spending

time worried about the stuff. I mean, but that isn't, that

isn't human nature. Can you, this is a, this is a

saying that if I said half of it, you guys would finish it.

But it's, the more I have, the more I, it doesn't say, the more

I have, the less I want, right? It's, and, and that is human

nature. The more I have, the more I

want. And that goes.

So the more, the more Jesus I have, the more I should want of

him, right? But the more riches I have, the

more rest I should have. And, and that is, you know,

something that as believers and I, and I don't think that, I

mean, I want to stone somebody. I James really just beats people

up because he's he's correcting things, right?

I don't believe that that our congregation is, is selfish and

and rich and and horrible, right?

That isn't. But that's where we're at in the

book. And and it's a time.

It's a time for us just to reflect and say, Lord, is there

any of that creeping in in my life?

Right. It's and that says I'm going

through it. I I'll tell you as the teacher,

a lot of times I want to, I want to give myself an out.

I want to, I want to give you guys a yeah butt or a qualifier,

something that says this. Well, it doesn't.

It doesn't, it isn't that bad, but but it is right.

If we get our eyes, if we get our eyes on stuff at any point,

we we line up with weeping and howling and miseries.

If we're not, if we don't have our eyes on the Lord and what

he's doing with the things he gave us.

Now, does God want to bless us? Absolutely.

Does he love his children and want to take care of them?

Absolutely. In first Corinthians 29, Paul,

Paul says but it but as it is written, what no eye has seen,

no ears heard, nor heart of a man.

Imagine what God has prepared for those who love him and he

wants to take care of his children, but he wants his

children just to trust that he'll take care of them, right?

Which is which is Lord, you've got this.

I don't, I don't have to worry about it.

He doesn't want to make us brats, right?

And I mean, as parents in this room, we understand what that

is, right? We understand when you when you

spoil your children, then you end up with brats.

Well, God wants to to lavish gifts on us, but he doesn't want

to ruin us while doing it. We get selfish desires in the

way of his ability to use his resources to not only care for

others, but also we miss out on his best plan for my life.

You miss out for the best plan in your life because you want

what you see and you want it now, right?

And you, you can't see and I, I can't see the future.

I would say God's calculator works better because he knows

what to put in it. I don't know what to put in it,

but I can see today, right? And I'm like, Oh Lord, but I'll

take that now. And he goes, but if you just

leave it there, if you just leave it there, it's going to

grow. And that's that's where we we

start trying to hold on to things and we miss out on his

best plan. Matthew 619 and 20 says do not

lay up for yourselves treasures on earth or moths and rust

destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where

neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break

in and steal. So I have a have a story of my

my little brother James, some boy, you guys will meet him

probably 10-15 years ago. He was a single dad and his, him

and his daughter came over for Christmas and they're, they live

in Walla Walla and it's hour away, hour and a half away.

And we lived at, we, we had a pretty nice house.

You know, we had, we had stuff, we had stuff and things and we

had, we made enough money that we should have had money in

savings and we really didn't. And he came over and he had a

77-F-250 four wheel drive, nice truck, bald tires, not kind of

bald like bald tires. And I didn't have the money to

put tires on his truck. He didn't ask me to put tires on

his truck, but I don't have the money to do it even if I wanted

to. And as his Big Brother, he's 10

years younger than me as his Big Brother.

It I told, I told my wife that I said, said I never want to be in

that position again, right? That, that I can't that win the

opportunity is put before me that I can't do what's on my

heart because we don't have the money to do it.

And it wasn't because it wasn't because God had not given us the

money. It was just the priorities we

had, right? And it wasn't that we were out

wasting everything. It was just that we didn't have

that priority to have that that kind of money set aside for the,

for the ability to bless others. And when, when God puts it on my

heart to do that right. And so that would, that was like

a a moment in my life that that changed the way I looked at

money. It wasn't it wasn't that I, I

concern myself on. I don't worry about money.

I do worry about whether I'm doing what I'm supposed to be

doing with it, if that makes sense.

It's, it's M because like I said, God loves to, loves to

take care of his kids, right? I mean, do you, does everybody

here like taking their kids to Disneyland, if that's a thing

for you, or like spoiling their kids and doing fun things,

right. So it's not that God does not

want us doing fun things, but to be about his business and and

having that making sure that you're, you're spending his

resources because the this isn't in my notes.

So the whole tithing thing, when we look at tithing, tithing is,

is an Old Testament principle that's given 10% and the

Pharisees were over the top about it, right?

They tithe their, they tithe their spices, right?

They tithe everything tithing is, is just an opportunity.

And, and it doesn't have to be 10%.

It can be whatever the gut, whatever the Lord puts on your

heart. But it's the point of it is when

I give, when I give to the Lord, I'm giving, I'm giving 10%.

If that's what I'm giving, I'm given 10%, recognizing that he

owns 100%. You know, when I first started

tithing, and I would imagine many in this room are there,

when I got saved at 30 years old, there was no month left at

the end of the money, right? Or there was no money left at

the end of the month. And then I got to, I was reading

and it wasn't even something the pastor was teaching on.

I'm reading and I'm like, oh Lord, that ain't going to

happen. There is no way I can.

Well, I will tell you that he has always done more with 90%

that that is left than I could do with 100% to begin with.

And it was, but it was 100% recognizing that may I'm trying

to to explain it in a way that that.

So when I give 10%, it's like fasting.

When I give 10% or whatever that number is, when I give that,

what it does is it makes me go, OK, so all of it's his and I

need him to show up and spend it, right?

I don't want to be in charge of it.

I mean, I, I still have bills to pay and stuff, but I need to

make sure it's, it's a way to recognize every day that hey,

Lord, this is yours and you need to use it the way you want to

use it. And maybe he wants to use it and

buy me a new car. You don't, I mean, I'm not not

all that is, is stuff that God does because he does take care

of his children, but it's it's putting that before him as as

part of the plan. But the rest of that tithing

plan is you have time in your life, right?

And and time and effort and all that is stuff that you need to

be putting in front of the Lord, right?

Like Lord, how am I using my time?

Am I using it? Am I giving to you first?

Right. It's and like when, when we look

at riches, and especially here in in America, we look at

riches. We are, as I get into a little

deeper farther in, but we are the most blessed country that

has ever existed on the planet. The I mean no other country has

ever had people ruling it the under.

I mean that the way we were founded by the people is

something that the rest of the world had never heard of.

It wasn't like, it wasn't like America went, well, we're going

to do it like them. It was something completely

different. And with that, we have a middle

class that didn't used to exist, right?

It's not. I mean, there was there was the

ultra rich and the ultra poor. There wasn't a group of people

that had leisure time like we have leisure time.

And so with that, there was a level of blessing that we get

to, we get to give others that isn't, isn't from our financial

right. We're rich in time, which is

something that that like you go to Uganda, they're not they,

it's kind of hard to they're, they're rich in time in a

different way. They don't have clocks.

So it changes everything they do now, but it's but we are we are

rich in our ability to spend time on people and and Satan and

the enemy has been very good at finding ways for us to fill that

time with busyness and and being busy with it.

So just that was completely off my notes.

But that is time is as important as money, right?

It's we have lots of time here in America to spend on people

and and God has that has that for us and in Acts 20 verse 35,

Acts 20:35

it says in all things. I have shown you that by working

hard in this way, you must help the weak and remember the words

of the Lord Jesus, who he himself said it is.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

So I always tell people that and let me try to fix everything

that I say a lot because I hear it.

And then I'm like. Sound like a broken record, but

it's when I when I went to Uganda and when we were doing

short term mission trips and then we lived there.

I will guarantee you that I was more blessed by being able to be

there and pour into people than I was ever able to bless anybody

while there, right? So when Jesus says it is better

to give than to receive, he knew what he was talking about.

One beyond, beyond, beyond measure.

And I and I, I asked the dads in the rooms and probably the moms,

but I'm a dad. So I'm going to ask the dads in

the room, what is funner? Is it funner to get the gift

that you want? Or is it a Christmas?

Or is it funner to see your your wife and children light up

because they got that you got them the gift they want, right,

way better to get. I mean, I would much rather find

the perfect gift to give someone than to get the perfect gift

right? And and that's that's Jesus's

heart, right? He I mean, obviously he gave

more than anybody, but his heart for us used to be out giving and

having having that be our our default, right.

The pastor Steven in the tri-cities says that his default

answer is yes. Now there might be a reason that

he has to say no, but his default answer is yes.

So it isn't no and then talk me into yes.

It's when you ask him his, his desire is to say yes.

Now there might be reasons. You know, somebody comes up to

me and says I need $1000. It might be no, I ain't got

$1000, right? In Uganda, there's a point where

I was teaching in the Sermon of the Mount and there is a .1 of

those times. I'm trying to find wiggle room.

There's a point where I'm teaching Sermon of the Mount and

Jesus says if someone asks you for a loan, give it to him.

And there's all kinds of qualifiers I could put with

that. The, and I'm the, when I'm

teaching in Uganda, I'm the guy with white skin.

I may not be the richest guy in the room, but I look like the

richest guy in the room. So if I'm going to stand up

front and say, if someone asks you for a loan, give it to him.

I very well could have a line of people that come up afterwards.

And I really like to find a qualifier that says, but you

know, you got to look at stewardship and that except when

you look at that section and Sermon on the Mount, it's right

after he gets done talking about blessing your enemies.

So it has nothing to do with the qualification of the first

asking for the loan, right? It has to do with if you have,

if you have and they need meet that need.

And so it is a one of those that very often I try to find, I try

to find wiggle room. I try to I try to figure out a

way that I don't have to listen because I'm human and Lord,

please don't make me. But he is.

He's very clear on on his desire to use each and every one of his

children to bless the world around us.

Because if you think about when, when we when we look at this set

of verses, we talk about, we think about money.

But what is more valuable, my bank account or my relationship

with Jesus, right. And now I may meet somebody's

needs with stuff and things, but it but if all I'm doing is

meeting their needs with stuff and things, then I am not

meeting their needs. You know, when I'm in Uganda,

that is one of my biggest if, if I and you guys will get to come,

I'm I'm sure I will take in the next, in the next decade, many

of you will be in and out of Uganda.

When you get there, you're going to see all the things that

Ugandans do that are not like we do it.

And there there are some things that are not like we do it and

they actually are better. And there's some things that are

not like we do it that are just painful to watch.

And we because we're doers, right?

I mean, genetically, I think the, the, the pilgrims and all

them that came, came over, they were into doing things.

So genetically, I think we have doer as powers going to do

things we want. We want to improve the way you

live. Well, that is not what I'm there

to share in Uganda. It doesn't mean that that I

can't, I can't offer, offer help and and guidance, but that isn't

why I'm there. And I can, I can show you when

you drive up and down the road from Kitkun Delira and I can

show you dozens of ministries that came to show them how to

live better. And when those people did, we're

done with their work and passed on or, or went back to their

home countries. Those missions failed.

And the reason they failed was because they, they were not,

they, they weren't focused on the thing that was important.

They were focused on doing it like we do it in Germany or

doing it like we do it in America.

And it was the only when we, when we did, we have a school

there and the church and we have like a few churches, but I'm not

in charge of any of it. And none of it was, none of it

was new heritage from America coming over and telling them how

to do stuff. It was new heritage from America

going over and partnering, partnering with Ugandans to help

them tell people about Jesus. And because of that, when, when

we failed and, and came home, the mission didn't fail, right?

I, I, it, it continued on and it's, it's stronger today.

The the school is, is thriving, but it's thriving because it's a

village school that's, that's ran by it's it's, it's like a

it's like here, right? Is that you can, you can't

organize, you can't organize what you guys have had for the

last five years, but you have or 5 to 16 years.

But it's you guys love each other and you take care of each

other and you watch over each other.

And that's something that isn't isn't because you have a big a

big church with all this organization.

You you just care for one another.

And that is what the Lord has. That's what our hearts supposed

to be all the time. And I think I'm off that soapbox

to remember God is never impressed when I'm in my flesh,

when I'm in my when I in my when I'm comfortable and selfish.

It in it ends badly for me, right?

Just just like, just like with our children when they are being

selfish and when they're being selfish and self-centered, we

can see the damage that they're had that they have in their life

from that. And that's, that is the Lord

that isn't that God doesn't want to let us be comfortable in

richness. He doesn't want us to be

comfortable in money thinking that is what's going to make us

happy because it will always, always fail.

And when we focus on riches, I miss the blessing that we get.

And then this is my America thing that I was talking about

is America is it had a time of prosperity that was unimaginable

even 100 years ago. And the amazing things that have

been done in the Kingdom in that time, right?

I mean the the amount of missions that went out of

America in the great awakening in that time with with Moody and

even with what's our what's our big evangelist that I just went

blank. He just passed away.

Billy Graham. There we go.

Billy Graham. But so the amount of work that

has been done by people that didn't get comfortable right.

I mean, you look at she Faye reads about Elizabeth Elliott

and her husband and the other men on that beach, right?

They were on purpose, not comfortable.

They were they were going out for for Jesus.

But America big a big capital a America became focused on

keeping the blessing, not what caused the blessing, because

what caused the blessing was people being others focused.

And I, I say that so you think about the founding fathers and I

would let you today hand pick 50 men, hand pick them.

You can, you can go research and hand pick 50 men from all over

the country. And you put them in a room and

you tell them to write a document.

That is what is is as unselfish and well written as the

Constitution. And it's undoable because they

actually, those men walked in that room rich and powerful and

they walked out of that room with less money and less stuff

because they, they were doing what was best for the country,

not was best for them. And they they had that attitude.

And then what what we get in America a lot of times is we get

I want what America can give me without recognizing what it took

to make America what it is. The the make of America great

slogan is when you when you actually understand it and

understand the heart behind it, It is a it is, it is a well,

well stated, right. But that isn't what everybody

gets. And I don't mean, I don't mean

that isn't what the left understands about make America

great. I think, I think there's a lot

of a lot of the right that doesn't, doesn't understand that

make America great is not make America more comfortable, right?

It's make America great means that we're doing a better job

taking care of vets and the homeless and the widows and the

orphans and those in need. As a, as a country, as a whole,

we are, we are out caring for people.

When we, when we look at the rest of the world, we are out

standing against evil. That's make America great.

It isn't, it isn't put up taller.

I mean, and I'm not against the wall in America or in, in

Mexico, but it's not put up bigger walls and keep everybody

away from us because that's like, that's like us as a, as a

church body going out in the woods and, and making a commune,

right? Those get weird.

That's what happens, right? You get, you get self focused

and self-centered and just try to make yourself comfortable.

And and that making America great is going to be when when

we get focused on on those things, right?

When making Sandpoint great again.

Mark talked about it. I don't know the last time you

taught that how we're going to make Sandpoint great again is by

taking care of people right from this little building, this

little group, people going out and be in our community

community and taking care of people, meeting their needs

where they're at. And guys, that is not a

comfortable thing to do. It's being being out putting

yourself out to do that you takes you have an emotional cost

that's there. You have a a financial cost, but

it's not comfortable right when you when I ask people to stand

out front and share Jesus with people walking by, that isn't

comfortable right when you're when you're telling people that

they're that outside of Christ, they're going to spend eternity

separated from him and in hell. That isn't that is not a

comfortable conversation, but it is a necessary conversation,

right? If you love people.

And being willing to spend my, my riches, my, my, my gifts, my,

my dealing with the spirit to spend that on others is why

we're still here. And then James goes on some more

just because he hasn't beat us up enough in verse 4 and talks

about stinginess. And it says, behold, the wages

of the laborers who mow your fields, which you kept back by

fraud are crying out against you in the cries of the harvesters

have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

So Nehemiah is probably my when I when I read this, I'm like,

that's that's what Nehemiah ran into in chapter 5 of his book or

his his story Chapter 5 of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah has a whole group of Jews that have been that have

been brought out of Babylon. They are, they are, they have

been saved out of Babylon and they're now in Jerusalem a lot

like James. James is talking about the

talking to the 12 tribes of the dispersion.

So, so he's talking to the Jews that that are probably believe,

they're probably all believers. They've they've, they've left

Jerusalem, they've fleed the persecution.

And in Nehemiah, Nehemiah has, has, has won a lot of victories.

He has, he has been sent out by the king.

So that was a a prayer victory. He had, he went and surveyed the

walls. He, he started the building of

the walls. Then he then he was stood in

attack, finished building the walls through unity of his, of

his people. And then chapter 5 hit him

between the eyes and I mean, and, and the level of disgust

that I can imagine he had of just, are you kidding me?

And this is something that we want to be careful of,

obviously. And that's all the way through

this. That's what I'd really, that's

what I'd really challenge all of us is that I don't think that we

are all stingy, miserable, horrible people.

I just think this is a time for us to be careful that we aren't

comfortable in our in our comforts, right?

But Chapter 5, and I put this in the new Living translation just

because it's easier to read through this whole thing.

But Chapter 5. But about this time, some of the

men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow

Jews. They were saying, we have such

large families, we need more food to survive.

Others said we have mortgaged our fields and vineyards and

homes to get food during the famine.

And others said we have had to borrow money on our fields and

vineyards to pay our taxes. We belong to the same family as

those who are wealthy and our children are just like theirs.

Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough

money to live. We have already sold some of our

daughters and we are helpless to do anything about about it, for

our fields and vineyards are already mortgage to others,

Nehemiah says. And when I heard it, heard these

complaints, I was very angry. And Nehemiah has come and given

everything he has and then and then he hears that they are that

that his nobles are persecute are actually doing what they

were building a wall around Jerusalem to stop others from

doing. And he goes on to say in verse

7, after thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles

and officials and told them you are hurting your own relatives

by charging interest when they borrow money.

Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.

At the meeting I said, we are doing all we can to redeem our

Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to Pagan

foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again.

How often must we redeem them? And they had nothing to say in

their defense. Then I pressed further.

What you are doing is not right. Should you not walk in the fear

of God in order to avoid being mocked by the enemy nations?

And this is just one of those that as as believers to to be

caring for each other, but to not use to not use the world and

its its cultural norms to justify the way we act, right?

That's because that's really, although all the guys in

Nehemiah and Nehemiah, as they were doing, was just running

life like it's supposed to be run, right?

Well, they borrowed money and I get interest for the money they

borrow. And if they can't pay the money

back, I get their children for slaves.

That's what we do. And we don't get to act like the

world that isn't our we get to act different.

We don't get to be out for ourselves.

We don't get to be unloving, uncaring and say it's just

business. We get to be different.

And but in doing that, that changes lives.

You know, as you've all heard my stories about Bruno, my safety

guy in in the Tri-cities and Bruno isn't comfortable in he

because a safety guy at Energy Northwest, there's 1300 people

and he could sit in his office and write rewrite procedures and

go to meetings and he'd be fine and they'd they'd be happy with

him. But that's Bruno wouldn't be

comfortable with what God gave him, which is keeping people

safe. And he does that be by being out

with guys and and questioning them on their not.

And you'd have to know Bruno to know how how good he is at his

job of making people care about their own safety.

And as believers, we are supposed to be out making people

care about their eternity. And that isn't comfortable,

right. That isn't something that, but

it is necessary. And if we're not doing that,

then we're just here taking up space.

And that, that's a harsh thing to say, but that is if we're not

if, if what I do and during outage, it is literally what I

do, if what I do is get up, go to work, come home, go to bed,

why am I here? And in 10 years and 15 years and

20 years, if that's all I'm doing, then I am.

I'm no better than then the this group of guys that is just God

gave me something and I'm supposed to be Hornet out into

people's lives. And what I'm doing is just I'm

saved, I'm good. And that what we're supposed to

be giving the world is his life and God is always watching,

loving others and caring for their needs is his plan for his

body. It isn't, it isn't that his plan

for his body is that we raise a bunch of money and we go out and

give it away. I mean, that happens.

And that can be that can be a use.

But his plan is that as a as a big, big body, we're affecting

our community, but as individuals that we're out in

the community pouring into those we know and and not getting

comfortable. And like I said, that isn't guys

the easiest thing to do. And I think we're Americans over

the years where we lost our school system, where we've lost

so many things is the easiest thing to do is where do I send

the check? Right.

It's it is missions. There's, I tried to find the

story, but there is a story of Hudson Taylor and it is, it's in

his, it's in a book called The Spiritual Secret.

But he came to America and he came to America and he was

coming to spread the word about China, Inland Mission and

raising up missionaries. And after, I don't remember how

long he'd been here, but he raised more money than he had

ever raised. And that's all.

Americans are very generous. They gave lots of money, but no

one was no, he wasn't getting any missionaries.

He wasn't getting anybody that wanted to go right.

He's getting lots of money and no and no workers.

And he went to the went to his fundraising board and said give

it back. I know, I know how to go to

China with no money and workers and God take care of the money.

I don't know how to go to China with money and no workers.

So I don't need the money if you're not going to send the

workers. And that is just a amplification

of really God's heart, right? Money is not, I mean, we, we are

a money focused country and society, but money's cheap guys

and it's not He could care less. He's got it all and if he wants

to move it around wherever he wants to move it, it's his to do

right. But time I can't make any more

of that emotions or my comfort. This is all stuff that really

costs costs, right? And so when we're looking at

this be be thinking that way. When I say comfortable

selfishness, right, it's is me being comfortable what I'm

holding on to and this is this is what we're supposed to be

doing. The day I gave my life to Jesus,

he came in and has changed my desire right?

Because outside of him I can find find short term comfort and

selfishness that he paid for. So when I'm outside of Christ

being selfish, that sin he paid for on the cross and any and in

Isaiah, Isaiah tells us that we're going to act like that

right? It says 53, six and seven.

All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on

him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, He was

afflicted, He was open and he yet he opened not his mouth like

a lamb that has led to the slaughter and like sheep that

before it shears is silent. So he opened not his mouth.

So when I when I lean back on my comfort and my I want to I want

what I want. I'm, I'm encouraging the

infliction that was on my Lord at the cross and I'll explain

exactly how it all works when we get to heaven and we'll all

actually know at that point. But as every sin that I commit,

every sin that I have committed, He paid for.

Every sin that I am going to commit, He paid for.

And so when I'm comfortable sinning, I'm comfortable with

the abuse that he took for it. And being comfortable is not a

sin until you rely on that comfortable, unless that

comfortable is before Christ, right?

But I want to be comfortable more than I want to serve you,

Lord. And it's the selfishness side of

it. First, Peter 223 through 24 says

when he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued and

truck continued entrusting himself to him who judges,

judges justly. He himself bore our sins, and in

his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to

righteousness. By his wound we have been healed

and that's that's the gift He's given us.

Right Is that he died for my sin.

He didn't keep them, but then he gave me power over my

selfishness. He gave me power that when he

asks me to go be uncomfortable and get outside myself, he gave

me the power to go do that if I'm willing, if I'm willing to

back in James in five and six, it says you have lived on earth

in luxury and self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in

the in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered

a righteous person. He does not resist you.

We don't want to be I don't want to be known as that.

I don't want to be known that I'm the comfortable guy and I'm

I'm just, I have luxury and I am self indulgent and I'm OK with

the Lord paying for that because he paid for that.

You know, it's there's AI can do all things through Christ who

strengthens me. And so he he forgives my sin.

So I'm going to go out and sin some more.

The darkness in that statement is being is is accepting that

I'm willing to add more to his pain and he doesn't get that

pain today. But however it works.

He got it all then. But when I, when I agreed to add

to it, that's that's me here agreeing.

Do we love our Lord more than that?

We love our Lord enough not to be comfortable.

Am I am I willing to be uncomfortable for him?

And you can think back on martyrs or or missionaries over

the over this, but I mean the things in our lives that make us

comfortable. Are we willing to not focus on

them first? Peter 317 and 18 for it is

better to suffer for good for doing good.

If that should Oh sorry for it is better to suffer for doing

good. If that you should be God's

will, then for doing evil, that should be God's will then for

doing evil. For Christ also suffered once

for sin and righteous for no sorry for Christ also suffered

once for sin, the righteous, for the unrighteous, that he might

bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh of me being

made alive in the spirit. And that is we're supposed to go

to the cross every day and die to self, which means die to die

to focus on comfort. And then we go out and share

with the world what he's done in our lives.

And it's it's a world full of sinners guys, and we're supposed

to be out sharing the good news and opportunity just to go

through what that is right when you're talking to somebody and

you've got your story because that's you know, your testimony

is that. But Romans 323 says for all of

sin and fall short of the glory of God and Jesus is the son of

God and he was born born of a virgin on or 2000 years ago and

he paid for all of our sin on the cross right.

And this is stuff we can we can walk him through.

But those are those are facts. Romans 58 says, but God showed

his love for us that that while we were still sinners, Christ

died for us. So take him take him through

that. And this is that this is Romans

wrote if you guys haven't heard it, but it's and what I deserve

is death. But I was saved by his work on

the cross and that's 6 Romans 623 and it's for the wages of

sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ

Jesus our Lord. Now this is where this is where

you can get them because all of that is in our world.

We can get the idea that, well, you know, there's the Buddhists

believe one thing and the Muslims believe something and

the Hindus believe something. And on the third day, he proved

who he is by rising from the dead.

And that can be proven in secular, in secular history

books from, from the 1st century, Jesus rose from the

dead and that proves who he is and that he, what he said.

And the difference when you're having those conversations is

that you should be in the background, in your in your

head, you should be praying because the Lord is the one that

can do the speaking, right? It isn't you doing the time and

you're going to be you're going to be there and you're going to

be talking. But but the one that is working

on him is the living God that lives inside you.

John 112 says, but to all who did receive him, who believed in

his name, he gave the right to become children's of God.

And he desperately wants a relationship with not only

everybody in this room, but everybody in Sandpoint,

everybody in Idaho, everybody in America, everybody in the world.

And he is willing to keep us as uncomfortable as is required to

reach as many of them as possible.

And he gives us the grace, gives us his grace to withstand that,

to be uncomfortable and filled with him.

Ephesians 289 says For by grace you have been saved through

faith, and this is not your own doing.

It is a gift of God, not as a result of words so that no one

may boast and then do they want it.

It is simple as saying Lord save me a Sinner.

Romans 10/9 says because if you confess with your mouth that

Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from

the dead, you will be saved. And that is something that each

and every one of us should be able to share with people that

you have the God of the universe living inside you and he wants

out into the world. He wants to he wants to flow out

of each and every one of us. He wants us to say like Peter

silver and gold, I have not, but in the name of Jesus, rise up

and walk there are there are lost and dying people and I say

that every week. But do you know him?

Do you work with them? And what they don't have is

Christ. What they need is him and what

we have is him. That's the richest.

He wants us pouring out. Are we too comfortable to pour

that into our world? And that's.

It's my heart for sampling, heart for you guys.

So Lord, I just lift up this time and lift up just just us,

Lord, that you would fill us with your spirit guide and

direct us. Lord, that you would bring

people into our lives, that you would help us, help us to pour

out into our community, help us to share with people all that

you've done and all that you want to do.

Lord, that your light would, would just erupt from this

building, Lord, and just just flow out of here in a, in a

mighty way. Lord, then you would, you would

guide and direct. And I pray this all in Jesus

name, Amen.