Holy Bukcets - God's Portion - Week 2 - Pastor Kipp Penrod

Thank you for listening to this message from

Lifehouse Church. It's true, it's true. Now listen,

welcome, welcome. It's good to have you here.

If you're with us in the house, if you're listening

online, it's good to have you this morning. And

this is week two of a message series called Holy

Buckets. All right, Holy Buckets. And here's

what I know to be true of each one of us. God

has given us buckets full of stuff to manage.

He really has. He's given us buckets full of

stuff to manage. And in your buckets are a lot

of different things, right? You might have relationships

in your buckets. You've got family. You've got

friends. You've got people you're connected with.

You've got relationships in that bucket. You've

got a bucket of responsibilities. Raise your

hand if you've got responsibilities, all right?

Yeah, all of you, right? You've got responsibilities

that are in a bucket. You've got to show up to

work or school or whatever it is that you're

doing in life. You've got your body in a bucket.

How many of you feel like your body's in a bucket

sometimes, right? It's your mind, your will,

and your emotions that are in a bucket. You've

got to manage that. And there's something else

in your bucket that's called money and possessions.

You've got a bucket that has money and possessions

in it, and God calls all of us to manage those

buckets that he gives to us. Some of our buckets

are fuller than others, right? Of different seasons.

How many know you get in a different season in

life, your money and possession bucket might

be a lot smaller than when you get older in life.

I know when we first got married, we lived in

an apartment. That was about four rooms. And

you could stand in the middle and touch all four

rooms. And we didn't have enough to fill that

up, right? We just didn't. But the longer you're

married and life has gone on, our buckets have

gotten fuller with things and with stuff. And

God cares. deeply cares about how we manage the

buckets. In particular, we're focusing on money

and possessions. He cares about your responsibilities.

He cares about your relationships. He cares about

how you handle your body, your mind, your soul,

right? Your will, your emotions, all of that.

But we're going to focus on money and possessions.

And you don't have to look very far in scripture

to find out that God has a lot to say when it

comes to money and possessions. Now, I don't

know, I didn't actually go back and count, but

how many know everything on the internet is true,

right? Come on. I looked it up on the internet.

I'm not gonna lie. All right, I looked it up.

And the word, you know, in the internet, they

say in the word of God that there's 2 ,350, at

least 2 ,350 scriptures that talk about money

and possessions. 16 of Jesus' 38 parables have

something to say about money and possessions.

So we cannot talk Jesus and not talk about money

and possessions and what he's put into our buckets.

We can't do it, right? We manage, we steward,

another word for managing, right? We manage,

we steward what Jesus has put in our buckets.

And we're either gonna do that in a holy manner

or we're gonna do it in an unholy manner. We're

gonna do it in a godly way or an ungodly way.

It's gonna be handled in a righteous manner or

an unrighteous manner. I have buckets and it's

gonna be holy buckets that I'm carrying around

or it's gonna be unholy buckets. It's true, right?

Turn to someone and tell them, we're going to

talk holy buckets today. Say it with attitude.

We're going to talk holy buckets today. All right?

We're going to do it. I'm going to pray before

we go into God's word. Father, thank you for

this day. Thank you for this time together. I

thank you, Lord, for your word, God, that is

quick and it is powerful. It is sharper than

a two -edged sword. I pray, God, that you speak

into our spirit. Show us what you have for us

to learn today. And, Lord, help us to apply it,

God, that we might bring increase into the kingdom.

And we just give you glory in Jesus' name, we

pray. Everybody say it together. Amen, amen.

Well, Pastor Adam was here last week and reminded

us of this about our buckets, right? It matters

how we manage our buckets and we will give an

account of how we steward these buckets. Our

money and possessions, we're gonna give an account.

Hebrews 9, 27 says this, and as it is appointed

for men to die once. but after this, the judgment.

He briefly mentioned this. As it is appointed

for men to die once, but after this, the judgment.

So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of

many. To those who eagerly await him, he will

appear a second time apart from sin for salvation.

There's gonna be a judgment. There's gonna be

a review of either our holy or our unholy buckets.

It's gonna be a bucket examination, okay? There's

going to be a review that Jesus is going to do

with each of those who follow him. And this particular

review, this judgment it's called in Scripture,

is not a condemnation or a type of judgment.

It's not a heaven or hell issue. This is actually

a review that God's going to do, a judgment that's

going to take place where he's going to take

a look at the works and the things that we've

done, and he's going to say, hey, I'm going to

determine your reward based on your judgment.

buckets. How'd you manage your buckets? Right?

Jesus saves us. That's a free gift. We've heard

that this morning. Heaven's our home. We're saved

by grace. God, in his infinite wisdom through

his son, Jesus Christ, gives us the opportunity

for salvation. It's a free gift. But what we

do and what we manage is going to determine the

reward in the next life. It's true. 1 Corinthians

3, 9 says this, Now, pay attention close here.

Now, if anyone builds on this foundation, With

gold, silver, precious stones. Now let me stop

there for a second. You're going to build something

on the foundation that God's given you. He saved

you. He's given you grace if you follow Jesus.

And now you have a foundation which you're going

to build on. And it's going to be right, either

gold, silver, precious stones, or it's going

to be wood, hay, and straw. Each one's work will

become clear for the day. Say the day. There's

a day. There's a day of judgment. We'll declare

it. because it will be revealed by fire, and

fire will test each one's work of what sort it

is. If anyone's work which he has built on it

endures, he will receive a reward. It's all through

scripture, reward, right? If anyone's work is

burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will

be saved, yet so as through fire. Hmm. The believer's

judgment. God's eternal review, I call it a bucket

review, right? It's not a heaven or hell type

of judgment. It's a determination of reward based

on how I managed what God put in my buckets.

And if I do not manage my buckets in God's way,

it's going to be hay, water, stubble. He's going

to test it by fire. And if I haven't managed

well, it's just going to kind of disappear. There's

not going to be any reward for it. Or if I've

done it his way and I've done it according to

what he says, it's going to be stone. It's going

to be precious metal. And how many know if you

put the fire in a precious metal, it gets even

more pure, right? It remains. It's a pure thing.

Did I manage what God gave me righteously or

unrighteously? Did I take the money and possessions

that he's given me and have I handled it in his

manner? Because our eternal reward is based on

how I manage the stuff he puts in my buckets.

I didn't say your salvation. I said reward. Amen?

Some of you are like, got deer in the headlight,

looks like you've never heard this before. I

can assure you it is all through scripture. It's

all through the New Testament. right? A lot of

Jesus followers don't believe this when I first

talk about this or I first preach about this,

right? They understand salvation. They understand

the kingdom of God, and they understand that

heavens are home because of the free gift of

God, salvation through Jesus Christ. But they

don't believe, and honestly, here's what they

believe. They believe that when we get into heaven

and we walk through heaven's doors, that all

of a sudden the reward's going to just be the

same for everybody, right? Because that's how

God does, except it's not in Scripture. Scripture

talks about a reward. It talks about those who

serve him. God's going to try those works. He's

going to find out what's in your bucket. He's

going to test it by fire. And if it is pure,

if there were righteous motives behind it, it's

going to remain and he's going to reward. It's

a reward thing. Turn to your neighbor right now.

Just declare and say, there's a reward involved.

Just tell them. It's a reward. It's a bucket

thing. It's a bucket thing. It's true. Revelation

22, 12 says this. Look, and this is Jesus' thought.

Look, I'm coming soon, bringing my reward with

me to repay all people according to their deeds.

I am the alpha, the omega, the first and the

last, the beginning and the end. Right? Our heavenly

reward is based on our deeds. How we handle our

money and possessions is one of those. And he

speaks this, Jesus talks this all through the

New Testament. I'm gonna take you to a parable

in Matthew chapter 25 this morning. You can start

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

turning there. We're gonna pick up at verse 14.

But this is one of those parables that Jesus

talks about money and possessions. He explains

what it works like in the kingdom of God. Matter

of fact, he even starts the parable off in that

manner, all right? It says this, Matthew 25,

14, y 'all there? Say amen. All right, you're

all there. You're all looking up at the screens,

aren't you? Yeah, you're not there. You're just

looking at the screens, all right? Matthew 25,

14 says this. And it says, again, the kingdom

of heaven can be illustrated by a story of a

man going on a long trip. He called together

his servants and entrusted his money to them

while he was gone. Now, let me stop right here

just for a moment and preach. Jesus starts with,

again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated.

He's saying, this is a picture of how it works

in the kingdom of God. This is a snapshot of

what it looks like in the kingdom, right? This

is how it rolls in my kingdom. This is what it

looks like where I rule and reign. He's saying,

don't be confused. Don't misunderstand. Don't

get off in some tangent. This is what it's like.

This is the plan, right? And Jesus says, he states

this, he says, there's a man going on a long

trip and he calls together his servants and entrusts

his money, his money to them. How many know there's

always a parallel in the parable, right? There's

always a parallel and there's always a parallel

in Jesus' parable. There's always something to

learn. And the man who's going on a long trip

in this, in this particular portion of scripture

is Jesus. He's talking to his disciples. He's

talking about himself. He's telling them, listen,

I'm about to leave. I'm not long and I'm going

to be gone. I'm going to be the right hand of

the father and I'm going to be gone for a long

period of time. Now I'm coming back, but I'm

going to be gone for a while. I'm going to the

father. And he says, before I go, I'm going to

call my servants together and I'm going to entrust

them with my money, his money. That's what the

word of God says. to them while he's gone. The

money and the possessions in our buckets are

not ours. They're his. What's in your hand is

not yours. It's his. Every dollar in my bucket

personally is not mine. It's his. I know I'm

the one. You're the one that went to work. You

know, you clocked in. You did your 40 hours.

You did your 50 hours. You did your 60 hours.

And they gave you a paycheck at the end of the

week or end of the month, whenever it was. But

he's the one who gave you breath to get up in

the morning. Amen? He's the one who gave you

energy in your legs to get you wherever you're

going or your arms, your brain, whatever you're

using it, wherever you work, right? He gave you

the intellect and the fortitude and the ability

to go and do whatever task he laid before you.

And he's the one who provides it all. You don't

take your next breath without his permission.

I don't know if you know that or not. but you

really don't. And I can't live and move and breathe

without him. And everything is his. I was reminded

this week, early this week, I got a little bit

sick. I was reminded how quick a germ can put

me down, right? Lay me flat on the couch. I'm

not going anywhere. I'm not doing nothing, right?

I'm just gonna lay here and die in peace. Come

on. A little dramatic when I get sick, all right?

You get reminded of how fragile you really are.

You know, how quick it can all change. And sometimes

that money and possessions in that bucket, we

think it's ours. And God says, uh -uh, it's mine.

The earth is the Lord's and everything therein,

right? And this is absolutely critical to understand.

For us to believe and understand how God manages

and wants us to manage our buckets, we cannot

even begin until we understand, and actually

not just understand, because how many know understanding

is just intellect, right? We gotta believe it.

Believe means this is how I live, this is how

I function, this is what I function out of, that

it is all his. I will never manage God's, the

bucket, what he's put in my buckets, I will never

manage it properly till I realize, understand,

and more importantly, believe that I am not the

owner of what is in my buckets. He is. He is,

right? Because if I see myself as the owner of

the buckle, I will handle things in a whole different

manner than Jesus prescribes. I really will.

Because our natural inclination is to hold on

to what is mine, right? I hang on to what is

mine. How many know somebody comes and tries

to grab your wallet or your purse? Would you

clutch onto that thing? That is mine, right?

Some of you sweet, meek people try to grab your

wallet, you'll beat them into the ground. Call

the police and cuff them yourself. Come on, right?

Justice must be served. You will hang on to whatever

is yours and you will give away generously what's

not yours. If it's yours, you'll grab ahold.

If you own that thing, you're hanging on to it.

You're defending it, right? To the death. When

my children were young, they're all adults now.

They got their own children, except for one of

them. When they were young, they loved to give

my stuff away. I don't know why, but they loved

to give my stuff away. One day, my middle daughter,

I caught her out in the yard. She's giving my

tools to the neighbor. And she's like, you can

have them. She's like, go ahead, take them, whatever

you need. Just give them away. She just gave

them away. She said, right? They used to invite

their friends over. They're teenage friends.

Those kids would come over. They would give my

food away with great liberality. They would clean

out the cupboards. Just give it up. They give

doggy bags. Here, you want to take some home

with you? How many know you give away what's

not yours? You do a little bit. I'll give your

stuff away, right? You'll give my stuff away.

You won't even blink. You'll be like, sure, take

as much as you want, right? But we hang on to

what we think we own. We'll clutch onto it. We'll

put the death grip on it. And we hold tight.

So we'll clamp down. We'll lock up, right? We'll

make sure it's secure and it's tucked away just

for me. So when I believe that everything in

my bucket, believe is the key word. When I believe

that everything in my bucket is his, I will be

cool with Jesus telling me, what to do with what's

in the bucket. Whether he tells me to keep it

in the bucket or he tells me to hand it off to

somebody else. I'll be cool with his instructions

to give now or give later or tell me how much

to give. I will be cool with Christ doing that

in my life if I realize it's not mine in the

first place. It's his. It's his. Everything in

the bucket belongs to the man who's on a long

journey. who's not here, who didn't return yet.

And that's the only position you can take if

you're going to manage money and possessions

God's way. Anything outside of that, you're going

to default to, it's mine. And it's going to get

corrupt in how you handle it. Amen? It's true.

Now let me read the whole rest of the parable.

I'm going to start back at the beginning. Again,

the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by a

man, the story of a man going on a long trip.

He called together his servants and entrusted

his money to them. And while he was gone, he

gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of

silver to another, and one bag of silver to the

last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities.

I can stop and preach there a while. I'm not

going to. And then he left on his trip. The servant

who received the five bags of silver began to

invest the money and earn five more. The servant

with two bags of silver also went to work and

earned two more. But the servant who received

one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and

hid his master's money. After a long time, say

a long time. After a long time, their master

returned from his trip and called them to give

an account. of how they used his money. This

is the judgment he's talking about. The servant

to him who he had entrusted the five bags of

silver came forward with five more and said,

master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest

and I've earned five more. The master was full

of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful in hailing a small amount.

So now I'm gonna give you more responsibilities.

Let's celebrate together. The servant who had

received the two bags of silver came forward

and said, Master, you gave me two bags of silver

to invest, and I've earned two more. The master

said, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful in handling this small amount,

so now I give you more responsibility. Let's

go celebrate together. Then the servant with

the one bag of silver came and said, Master,

I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops

you didn't plant and gather crops you didn't

cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money,

so I hid it in the earth. Look, here's your money

back. But the master replied, listen to his reply,

you wicked, lazy servant. If you knew I harvested

crops, I didn't plant and gather crops, I didn't

cultivate, why didn't you deposit my money in

the bank? At least it would have gotten some

interest on it. Then he ordered, take the money

from this servant and give it to the one that

has the 10 bags of silver. To those who use well

what they are given, even more will be given

and they will have an abundance. But from those

who do nothing, even what little they have will

be taken away. Now throw the useless servant

into outer darkness where there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth. This is how it works in

the kingdom of God. This is how it works with

the man who's on a long journey. God put his

money. and his possession into our buckets. And

he expects me to use those funds in a way that

are going to bring profit into the kingdom of

God, into his work. Not investing in the kingdom

of God is not optional for a follower of Jesus

Christ. It's not optional. It's not optional

in God's word. It didn't work. How many know

it did not work out well for the one that went

and hid the money? All right, I'm not gonna go

into all that. You can see it in scripture, right?

Unless you're really into being thrown out into

outer darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth. It

did not work out well for him, all right? If

I'm managing the buckets that God's given me

in the kingdom and including the money and possessions

that God gives me, then God expects me to use

it for kingdom profit, for increase in the kingdom.

He expects me to invest it so the kingdom increase

takes place. Now I gotta stop here and just explain

a little bit what profit is in the kingdom of

God. Because if you don't know, you're going

to think worldly like terms of money, right?

When we say profited in business, that's like,

oh, yeah, well, we made a billion dollars this

year. I don't know, right? Or they made a million

dollars this year, or they made $3 this year,

whatever that is. The profit above all their

expenses is the profit. But profit in the kingdom

of God, you've got to understand something in

the kingdom of God. God has it all. He owns the

world and everything that's in it, right? If

you can look in Revelation, you can take a look

at heaven, right? Streets of gold. The city's

built. Heaven's going to be built with pearl.

God's not too worried about money. Profiting

in the kingdom of God is people. People. That's

what profiting in the kingdom of God. People

coming into the kingdom of God. We use unrighteous

mammon, which is money, so that we get profit

in the kingdom of God. So we minister to people

and they come into the kingdom of God. I want

you to turn to a person right beside you right

now. Look at them. Don't say anything. Just stare

at them very awkwardly. Okay? Just stare at them

for a minute. Go ahead. Make it completely awkward,

all right? You're looking at profit in the kingdom

of God. People are profit in the kingdom of God.

God just uses money and possessions to bring

people into the kingdom. Jesus gave us money

and possessions, and he gives us a plan in his

word to do that. He does. It's in his word. Worship

team, if you'd come. Can I tell you for a fact,

Jesus has a money management plan. for his servants.

He has a money management plan for his servants.

Here's the beautiful thing with his plan. God's

plan for money will sustain me and it will grow

the kingdom of God at the same time. You notice

something in Jesus' parable that he told, right?

Because it's a parallel of what's happening on

and takes place in the kingdom of God. You notice

some things in the parable. Sometimes you got

to read between the lines. You got to really

see the story in scripture to fully understand

what it is, right? And if you look, let me tell

you what you do not see happen to the servants

here. In the parable, you don't see any of the

servants. who come back right after the master's

been gone for a long time none of them come back

and say master where have you been we're starving

to death you've been gone so long we've had no

food no provision You don't see anybody come

back, right, and say, we've been homeless. Nobody's

coming in before the master and the Lord and

saying, we're naked, right? We're homeless. None

of them are in dire need. As a matter of fact,

those who went and invested, they're healthy

and whole. And God's saying, you know, the master's

saying, let's celebrate. You've brought increase

into the kingdom. You're doing well. The kingdom's

doing well. They're following the master's plan

because God's plan for money, the money and possessions

he puts in the buckets that you have is to sustain

you, right? To bring blessing into your life,

to sustain your family. The word of God says

that those who don't take care of the family

is worse than an infidel. He gives us substance

to take care of our families. And then he says,

you use the rest to invest into the kingdom to

bring people into the kingdom of God. He's got

a plan. In the parable, the servants who were,

actually all three of the servants were sustained

the whole way through. God's got a plan. Jesus

has a money management plan. Invest in the kingdom.

You got to think kingdom when you're talking

about money. You can't think like the world,

right? Matthew 6 .31 says this, Therefore do

not worry, saying, and Jesus spoke this, What

shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what

shall we wear? For after these things the Gentiles

seek. For your heavenly Father knows you need

these things, right? But seek first the kingdom

of God and his righteousness, and all these things

shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry

about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about

its own things. Sufficient for the day is its

own trouble. Everything in the bucket's his.

Just manage it in a righteous manner, in a godly

manner, in a holy manner, in a kingdom manner.

God will supply everything you need for your

family and for you. And simultaneously, if you

work God's plan, he will fund the kingdom of

God and the kingdom of God will grow. That's

how he works. That's how he does it. That's how

he rolls. Last week, Pastor Adam talked about

tithing. He preached about tithing and giving.

And here's what I know. And I've done this. Anytime

I've done a financial series, and I'm gonna do

it this morning again, right? And you're saying,

well, Pastor, it's Labor Day weekend. You're

doing it because there's not a lot of people

in the house. No, you can tell your friends too.

Tell those who've done it. I tell people, I've

done this every time I've done a financial series.

I tell people, you just try God's word out. Because

in Malachi, God says, if you try me in this,

if you follow what I speak about the tithing

and the offering, if you do this, if you walk

in obedience with this, you watch and see if

I don't open the windows of heaven and pour on

you blessings that you cannot contain. So I've

told churches over the years, I've been preaching

over 20 years now, anytime I've done a message,

I tell them, you just follow God's prescription

for money. and possession. You just follow his

plan. You walk in obedience to what he says about

tithing and giving. And if he doesn't hold up

his end of the bargain, if you do that here at

LifeHouse, and six months from now, God doesn't

come through with what he says he'll do, I'll

write you a check right back. Amen? Go, right?

But it's true. I can say that because God's never

failed. I could take you to story after story

after story where people began to walk in God's

plan for giving. And there's much, much more

to it. It's way more than just tithing and offering.

I know that's all you ever hear in church, right?

There's way more to it. But here's what I don't

understand. What will block you from following

God and his money management plan boils down

to just a couple things. And I'm closing with

this. If you believe you're the owner of the

possessions, you will not follow God's money

management plan. plant, if you don't believe

that he's the owner. And if you're discounting

scripture this morning and you're like, well,

that's what the Bible says, well, let me give

you a little just something you can look at in

real life, something physical. How many of you

have ever seen a hearse going down the road hauling

a corpse with a U -Haul hooked behind it? Anybody

ever see that? You know why? You can't take it

with you. You came in with nothing, you're going

out with nothing, right? It's his. It's his.

You're letting it here. You'll go out with your

soul. That's all. Right? So that'll keep you.

Two. One. Second is ignorance. Ignorance. If

you don't understand God's plan for money, and

it's in depth. If you don't understand God's

plan for finances and managing finances, you...

will not follow God's prescription. If you're

just gonna take what I say and what's been said

in a couple of messages and you don't understand

the full counsel of God out of scripture and

what it has to say, because God's word talks

about investing, it talks about saving, it talks

about all kinds of things that have to do with

finances in depth. If you don't understand the

plan, ignorance, you will not walk in God's plan

for finances, for money management. Now you say,

well, pastor, I don't know. I don't know where

to get that. Well, guess what? We made a plan

for all this. We're gonna have, we're offering

this on Wednesday nights, Financial Peace University.

Anybody ever hear that? It's through the Dave

Ramsey ministry. If you wanna learn and understand

about finances, you can sign up for a life group.

It is Financial Peace University. You can go

and we will teach you what God's word has to

say. You don't have to take my word for it. You

don't have to take any preacher's word for it.

We'll show you what the word of God has to say

about money and finances and what it means to

manage the buckets. Amen. So that's an action

step you can take right now. You can hop on the

Church Center app right while I'm talking. Just

go ahead. Don't get on Facebook, but you can

get on the Church Center app, right? And sign

up for that group right now. If you can't make

it to Wednesday night, let us know. We'll try

to figure something out and get you in in the

future or work something out somehow, some way.

Let me tell you what else will keep you from

doing money God's way. History. History. If you've

had a history of finances, being a wreck, a train

wreck in your life. Some people just reserve

themselves. I'll talk with people sometimes.

They just reserve themselves to, pastor, it's

been this way my entire life and it's just gonna

continue that way. Yes, it will unless you do

something, right? You've gotta do something.

You gotta learn something new. You gotta do something

new. You gotta find out what God has. I'm here

to tell you, you can turn around quick. It can

turn around. Now, not tomorrow quick, but it

can turn around. You can shift those things.

Last thing that'll block you from getting involved

in God's management plan is greed or materialism.

And this is a spiritual issue. If your identity

is wrapped up in what you own and what you have

and what you can attain, that's a sin issue.

And the only way that I know to break a sin issue

is to confess it before God and to repent. If

it's materialism. Four things can block you,

right? If you don't believe it's all his, if

you're ignorant to God's plan, if you're hung

up on your history or of greater materialism

is what's in your heart. I'm gonna ask you to

stand. I'm gonna ask you to do this. If you're

new with us, please, you don't need to do this.

If you don't feel comfortable, it's perfectly

fine. We're just gonna pray. But I ask you to

slip out of your seats and move towards the front.

I think this is something we pray together. This

is a family thing we're talking about here. And

I'm passionate about this. You can move that

table. We'll just pop that right up on this step

here to where we get a mile away. Just move up

as close as you can. I promise I won't spit on

anyone. All right. The prayer team's over here.

They're always ready to go and pray with people.

They may slide in behind you. They may lay hand

on you. Pray this morning. Four things. I'm gonna

go back over them again. Just move up closer

so everybody behind you can get in too. We want

everybody up as close as you can get. All right,

so here's what we're gonna do. I want you to

just, wherever you're at, just close your eyes

right now because I don't want you looking around

anybody. I want you focusing. What do you believe

about God's financial plan for your life? What

do you believe? Eyes closed just as you're looking.

Focusing on Him. What do you believe? You believe

it's all His in the bucket? Because if not, you've

got to deal with that. You've got to work that

out first. I can show you more in Scripture.

I don't have time to unfold it all this morning.

Are you ignorant of God's plan with your money

and possessions? Because ignorance will get you.

What you don't know will hurt you. Will hurt

you. Are you ignorant? Are you caught because

you've had a history of mess? In this area of

your life. You can be saved on your way to heaven

and have a complete mess in this part of your

life. It can be a struggle. Or are you dealing

with greed and materialism? Everything you are,

your identity is wrapped up in what you own,

what's in your bank account, what you can earn

in your career, whatever that is. This is time

for spiritual surgery this morning. I want you

just to recognize I'm just delaying. So you can

answer this for yourself because this is important.

You cannot launch forward in God's plan with

money and possessions until this is straight,

until this is right. Everything else will build

off of this. Father, we come before you today.

God, I know you are the keeper of life. God,

your spirit is the one who came this morning.

We felt your presence so strong in this place.

But we know that we must walk in your truth and

your word, Lord, if we are to go forward, Lord,

if we are to know, God, your presence, if we

are to know, God, your freedom, if we are to

know deliverance. God, if we're to know that

one day we will walk into your presence and we

will stand before you at a judgment, at a review,

but we will answer for the deeds that we've done.

And we'll either receive reward or we'll be burned

up like chaff. And God, it's not that we're after

the reward. Lord, we're after hearing, well done,

good and faithful servant. We want your favor.

And we want to see the kingdom increase. So Lord,

I pray for every person in this house. God, there's

people represented here that could be deep in

debt and they need freedom. They might be thinking,

Pastor, you don't understand. I'm drowning right

now. We want to help them, Lord, get above water.

God, your plan will help them get above water.

God, we want them to swim. We want them to know

what it is to walk in your freedom. You want

your people free. So, Lord, I pray for that couple,

that person, that individual. God, I pray, Lord,

for the one that's had the history. And, God,

the one maybe who's caught and they need to confess

and repent right now that it is materialism.

It is the things that's had me. I don't own this

stuff. The stuff owns me. So Lord, I pray, God,

that they would confess it and they would repent.

And God, they might just be like the rich guy

that you encountered. They may have to go sell

a bunch of that just to get it out of their presence.

I don't know, whatever you instruct them to do,

or it might be that they use it for the kingdom,

whatever it is, but Lord, shift their hearts.

And God, help us to stand before you whole and

right and holy, because you are a holy God. And

Lord, we don't want to miss a thing expanding

the kingdom of God. We don't want to miss a thing,

Lord, with what you're doing in the kingdom.

God, I ask for each person. I pray as they pray,

your spirit would overshadow them and fill them.

Give them vision and sight. And Lord, I ask this

in Jesus' name. Take this serious. God can do

great things in your life. He wants, and listen,

I don't know, maybe you're a one talent, right?

Maybe God gave you the one, maybe he gave you

the two, maybe he gave you the five. That's irrelevant.

Just take what God's given you in the bucket

and use it for the kingdom. All right, that's

how you hear well done. to this message from

Lifehouse Church. We pray that you were impacted

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