Gods At War Part 3 | Mo' Money, Mo' Idols with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

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point during this message you feel called to

make a change in your life, text CHANGEME to

97000. Now enjoy the message. Well, good morning,

everyone. I wanted a low, drowning hum to just

go across the room. So that you would all wake

up and know how much I appreciate you. So welcome

to HCV. We're so glad you're here. If you're

joining us from home, thank you for welcoming

us into your place. A couple of things I want

to highlight and address. Our HCV apparel has

been restocked. And it includes the tie -dye

jean jacket. So if you loved it when I wore it,

it's available for purchase. There have been

a few people, as you saw in the announcements

there. desiring to partner with one another to

purchase backpacks in bulk. Okay, that is a possibility.

Tracy has all the details at the Welcome Hub.

If you don't feel like going to Walmart or Target

or Sam's to buy a backpack, see her at the Welcome

Hub, throw your money together, and we'll buy

hundreds at a very discounted price so that we

can further expand the kingdom of God through

our backpack giveaway. I need to address something

that really bothered me yesterday on social media,

if that's okay with you. So I was making my Facebook

post, as I always do every single week before

our Sunday gatherings, inviting and including

people to come and be a part of our Sunday gatherings.

As I was on Facebook, as I was on our social

media circles, I saw this sharing of an unfortunate

event that took place at a concert this past

week. A couple was caught in idolatry with a

kiss cam. And it's a very unfortunate event.

I am in no way condoning what that couple was

doing or has done. But it breaks my heart when

I see people in the church and even in our church

sharing this post, making fun of them, pointing

fingers at them. Church, we can be better. We

can be better. And the last time I checked, Jesus

said, but let the one who has never sinned throw

the first stone. So I just want to challenge

you. If you're in your social media circus, which

many of us are, be better. Be positive. Be encouraging.

invite and include people to life change. Don't

tear people down, because chances are if you're

sharing and making fun of that couple, maybe

you're called in it too, and you're just trying

to take the light off you. So let's just be better,

and let's let people see the light of God in

us, even in our social media posts. So today,

we continue our July series, God's at War, and

we've been addressing a simple question throughout

this series. We don't worship idols in our modern

day American society, do we? I mean, after all,

we don't worship images of stone and of wood.

That's a primitive culture. That's Old Testament.

There's no way in our modern day civilization

that we struggle with this issue. And yet over

the last two weeks, here's what we've learned

and discussed. For most of us, idolatry is the

issue. It is the issue. It's the one thing that

is keeping us from living the life that God wants

us to live. See, we all have these gods at war

within us, and they're battling for who will

have control of our hearts. Os Guinness explains

it this way. Idolatry is the most discussed problem

in the Bible, and it's one of the most powerful

spiritual and intellectual concepts in a believer's

arsenal. Yet, for Christians today, it's one

of the least. meaningful notions. There's more

than a thousand references to this issue of idolatry

in the Bible, but we tend to skip over them and

believe, well, they don't apply to us. I don't

worship carved images. But it is my prayer that

throughout this series, we become aware of the

gods that are within us, and that will lead all

of us to a more deeper and passionate commitment

to Jesus, because I know in the first... Three

weeks in preparing for these talks, it significantly

changed my life. Let's open in prayer. Holy Spirit,

come. God, we're thankful for this series. We're

thankful, God, that you highlight areas of our

life that become God's, that become more important

to us than you. Speak to us today, God. Reveal

your truth to us. Open our hearts to receive,

and more importantly, to be changed. In Jesus'

name, amen. So if you were to ask most of the

people within our culture what is the definition

of success, I believe the word happiness would

show up. Aristotle called happiness the chief

good. The ultimate purpose, he would say, for

our life's existence is to be happy. And when

talking to people about happiness, it won't take

long for them to start speaking in terms of money.

Truth is, in our American culture, money has

become the symbol for our happiness. When we

see money as something that is the ability to

satisfy us, what are we doing? We're giving it

a divine attribute. See, we choose who or what

will have control of our hearts. We learned last

Sunday that oftentimes, God will put himself

in direct competition with something that we

love or care about too much. And he says to us,

choose. Choose between this or that. Choose between

me or them. You choose. In week one, we learned

about a surprising attribute God has when it

comes to this word idolatry, and it is that he

is jealous. That God is jealous of someone or

something that is more important than him in

our lives. See, we were created to worship, to

be in relationship with God. I mean, he sent

his own son, Jesus, to die, so that is even a

possibility. And until we understand who or what

has control of our hearts, we will not experience

victory. Instead, we will continue to walk in

frustration and doubt and anger. We won't walk

in abundance and we will continue to give in

to sin. And listen, it doesn't have to be alcohol

or drugs or pornography or lust that we're bowing

down to. See, for many followers of Jesus, the

most destructive gods are the ones that we don't

recognize. Last week we talked about taking good

things that God has given us and turning them

into false gods. And when we do that, we're breaking

the first commandment that Jesus told us to follow.

Jesus said, you must love the Lord your God with

all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

In other words, put him first. And just because

these gifts that God has given us are good or

fine, it does not mean they should control our

hearts. For example, it may start out with a

young person. Who has a God of sports in their

life. They're passionate about the sport they

play. They practice. They work hard. They're

successful. Practically speaking, that's what's

most important to them. As they get older, that

God is displaced by the God of a car. And then

that God is displaced by a boyfriend or a girlfriend.

And then it's college. And then it's a career.

And then it's a husband or a wife. And then it's

a home. And then it's our children, and then

it's financial status, and then it's retirement,

and then it's the God of our grandchildren. See,

we can constantly be filling the throne of our

hearts with different gods. John Calvin puts

it this way. He says the human heart is a factory

of idols. He says we are always creating and

putting different things and people in place

of our worship. And until we identify those and

remove them from controlling our hearts, what

are we going to miss out on, church? We're going

to miss out on abundance. We're going to miss

out on the life that God wants us to live. We

need to replace worldly desires with a love for

God. Because we cannot defeat these desires in

our own strength. We have to strip them away,

strip them of their power, and put God first.

So we now know that there's this choosing that

must happen in our lives. And again, oftentimes

in church, we focus on a choice that is made

on the day of salvation. But truly being a follower

of Jesus is much more than a choice. It's a continual

choosing. It's not even just once a day. It's

many times throughout the day. We have to make

the choice of what we will worship. Are we going

to worship God? Or are we going to worship something

else? Will we worship God or will we worship

our spouse? Will we worship God or will we worship

the food that gives us pleasure when we're depressed?

Will we worship God or will we worship our career

and what other people think of us? And the list

continues. It goes on and on and on. But every

day we have this choice. And I believe when we

start to see life through that lens. that lens

that we have a choice, will I worship God or

will I worship something else, then things become

very clear to us. And it allows us to move forward

in our relationship with Jesus and overcome the

sins that have torn us down, which leads us to

our first thought this morning. The pursuit of

success can replace God in our lives. The desire

to be successful. It's a desire that is in many

Americans' hearts, and today we're going to discuss

the man who faces this choice in a very direct

and specific way. In Luke's Gospel, chapter 18,

there are three words in the Bible used to describe

this man. Rich, young, ruler. All of which point

to the fact that he was what? He was a successful

person. And what Jesus is going to do in this

story is he's going to put himself in direct

competition. With what this man loves. And he's

going to say to this man. He's saying to us today.

You choose. And in doing so. I believe all of

us are going to be challenged. This man has accumulated.

He has achieved. He has accomplished. He is a

success. And he was worshiping the gods of success.

Luke chapter 18 verse 18 says this. Once. A religious

Luke 18:18

leader asked Jesus this question. Good teacher,

what should I do in order to inherit eternal

life? Now, I'm going to break these verses down.

You can just keep them on the screen, on the

Sky Bible. But I really want to break it down

so that we understand it. Now, in the Bible,

young means 40 and under. Now, in Matthew's account,

because some of you are thinking, wait a minute,

it doesn't say rich young ruler. But in Matthew's

account, he describes this man as a rich young

ruler. Under 40. Now I understand some of us

think we're young. We feel young. We look at

life as being young. But if we're over 40, we're

no longer young. Unfortunately, that's a biblical

truth, okay? The Bible teaches 40 and under,

okay? So I'm old. I'm acknowledging that I have

gray hair now. So we have a young ruler, and

what do we know about him? He was a person who

was driven. He was driven to succeed and be successful,

and it says a certain ruler, and the word ruler

in Greek means a recognized official. So in other

words, he would have been recognized as a person

of authority in this culture, and he asked Jesus

a very simple question. Now you have to give

this man credit because If you're going to ask

Jesus one question, this is the question. What

must I do to live forever? What must I do to

inherit eternal life? But notice, even the way

he asks the question reveals the God that he

worships. Because how does he phrase the question?

What must I do? What must I do? And those of

us who struggle with gods of success are continually

wanting to be the source of our own salvation.

Then the word he uses here for inherit could

just as easily be translated as acquire earn.

So yes, he's asking Jesus a simple question,

but he's asking it through his lens of success.

And this is one of the many reasons people are

drawn to the gods of success. Because it allows

them to put our hope into our accomplishments,

into our success. Into our achievements. And

Jesus doesn't even seem necessary anymore. Because

we look at everything we've been able to accomplish

and achieve and we put feathers in our caps and

we say, I'm doing it. It's all me. And this is

one of the reasons why successful people are

some of the hardest to reach with the good news.

In order for them to respond to Jesus and to

follow him, they have to take themselves out

of their heart. They themselves are the center

of their attention, the center of their affection.

They put themselves as the God of their heart.

And it's hard to take yourself off the God of

your heart because you have to admit your weakness.

TV personality Bill Maher, when talking about

the crucifixion, said this, I just don't get

the thought of someone else cleansing me of my

sins. It's ridiculous. I don't need anyone to

cleanse me. I can cleanse myself. I can earn

it. Warren Buffett donated 85 % of his $44 billion

fortune to charity, and he says, there's a lot

of ways to get to heaven, but this is a pretty

good one. Essentially, what is he saying? I can

do it. I'm successful enough. I can earn my way

into heaven. So Jesus responds to this man's

question right away, verse 19. Why do you call

me good? Jesus asked him. Only God is truly good.

Notice he points him right back to the Father.

But to answer your question, you know the commandments.

You must not commit adultery. You must not murder.

You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.

Honor your father and mother. The man replied,

I've obeyed all these commandments since I was

young. So Jesus is trying to help this man form

the appropriate response. This man should have

said, I'm not good. I haven't kept those commandments.

I can't do it on my own. But he doesn't. This

man was too proud. Instead, he says, oh, I've

done all those things since I was a boy. And

what this man is doing is unfortunately what

many do in the church today, especially for those

who've grown up in the church. While success

may not be something that you're caught up in,

meaning you're not worried about your job titles,

your financial success, it is very possible for

people in the church to make spiritual success

a false god. Just like the man in our text. When

we keep all the religious rules, it makes it

very difficult to see we need a savior. We can

be so spiritually minded, so spiritually successful

that that's where our confidence is. That's where

our security is found. For example, every time

the doors are open, I'm at the church. We read

our Bible. We memorize scripture. We pray. We

fast. Maybe we've come up with our own set of

religious rules. We don't go to the movies. We

don't watch Netflix. We don't listen to secular

music. We don't just give 10%. We give 15%. Now,

I am in no way saying these things are bad. Please

hear me. If the Holy Spirit has convicted us

or you to live that way, go for it. But don't

allow those religious rules to become your God.

If this rule has replaced Jesus as our security

and our salvation, it has become our God. There

are way too many Jesus followers living this

way in the church today. Forgive us. Let's continue.

So remember, this man has great confidence in

his spiritual success. I've kept all these since

I was a boy. Then in verse 22, Jesus takes aim

at this false God that has controlled this man's

heart. He says, when Jesus heard this, he said,

there's still one thing you haven't done. Still

all your possessions. and give the money to the

poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then

come follow me. But when the man heard this,

he became very sad, for he was very rich. Now

the adjective used here to describe this man's

wealth would have put him above pretty much everyone

else at this time in this geographical location.

He was in the top 10 % in terms of wealth. But

I want to challenge you this morning. Remember,

as Americans, we are in this income bracket compared

to the rest of the world. Now, I get it. It may

not feel like it. But in comparison to the rest

of the people living in our world, we are rich.

And quite often when reading this story, what

do we see it as? We see it as a story about money.

But this is not a story about money. It's a story

about idolatry. The problem with this man is

not that he had a lot of money, it's that the

money had him. Which leads us to our next thought.

Money, money has the potential to become a God

substitute. The Bible does not say that money

is the root of all kinds of evil. It says the

love, the love, the control, the idol of money.

1 Timothy 6 .10, for the love of money is the

root of all kinds of evil. For some people craving

money have wandered from the true faith and pierced

themselves with many sorrows. See, this morning,

we are sitting here, we are gathered together,

and we are rich. But let's be honest, we may

be poor in terms of American culture, but that's

not really the issue. It's not whether we do

or don't have money. It's whether money has us.

See, the rich young ruler has turned his money

into a what? Into a false God. And the reason

Jesus talks so much about money in the Gospels

is because these right here, this right here,

has the potential to become a false God in their

lives. Jesus talked more about money than he

talked about heaven and hell. He talked more

about money than he talked about sin and judgment.

He talked more about money than he talked about

prayer. Think about that. All big issues that

we teach Sunday after Sunday in the church, but

yet Jesus taught more about money. And in the

Sermon on the Mount, Jesus mentions idolatry

briefly, and when he mentions idolatry, guess

what it's tied to? Money. Matthew 6, 24. No one

can serve two masters, for you will hate one

and love the other. You will devote it to one

and despise the other. In other words, You have

a God in your life. You cannot serve God and

be enslaved to money. In the Bible, money is

consistently portrayed as God's chief competition.

And here's why. Because the things in our life

that have the most potential to become a false

God are the things that carry with them the false

promise that they can do for us what only God

can do. They can provide for us. They can give

us meaning and purpose and a life full of abundance,

which leads us to three ways we can make money

a false god. First, money will give me satisfaction.

Look at Ecclesiastes 5, 10 through 11. Those

who love money will never have enough. How meaningless

to think that wealth brings true happiness. The

more you have, the more people come to help you

spend it. Amen. So what good is wealth except

perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers?

I mean, what do we say about money? Americans

believe that money will satisfy them. And in

so doing, we give money. What are we doing? We're

giving it a divine attribute that it has the

power to satisfy us, to satisfy our hearts. We

make it a God in our lives. What did Aristotle

say about happiness? It's the chief good. It's

the ultimate purpose. It's the existence to be

happy. And so many people in our country think

and believe that money is the key to happiness.

Forbes magazine, though, put out their 75th anniversary

issue. It was 570 pages long, and the majority

of it went to answering this simple question,

what do we in America, excuse me. why do we in

America feel so bad if we have it so good? They

asked 11 of their best writers to probe, to answer,

and to do research on that question, and it all

came down. Every single one of them came down

and created one simple equation. Money does not

equal happiness. And yet, everyone in our country

believes it will. Satisfaction is not something

we can order off the internet or drive off a

lot. Yet we think we can do it. We think if we

drive this car, I would be satisfied. That every

time we see someone else driving that car, if

only I could drive that car. We watch TV shows

about home makeovers and we think, if only I

lived in that house, I would be satisfied. But

what are we doing? We're giving that stuff divine

attributes. And God says, I want to give it to

you. We are saying that stuff has the power to

do for us what only God can do. Another thing

we say about money, money will give me security.

What's Ecclesiastes say? Ecclesiastes 5, 13 through

15, there is another serious problem I have under

the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. money

is put into risky investments that turn sour

and everything is lost. In the end, there is

nothing left to pass on to one's children. We

all come to the end of our lives as naked and

empty -handed as on the day we were born. We

can't take our riches with us. God wants to be

our security, but when we look to money for our

security, what are we doing? We're making it

our God. Again, we're giving it divine attributes.

We're saying, you can make me secure. But whatever

we put our security in, ultimately God is going

to challenge us to put him first. And so many

people have come to believe that comfort and

security is something that can be bought. If

I had enough money, I can be comfortable. I have

security. If I had extra money, I could have

the best health insurance and it would make it

so that I'm healthy. If I had extra money, I

would have the best life insurance and my family

would be taken care of. If I had extra money,

I could save enough to retire and relax when

I'm 65. If I had extra money, then I, then I,

then I. If I had that extra money. And what are

we doing? We're putting our trust in the money.

And we're taking it away from God. It's the money

that we are given those divine attributes. We're

making it a God. And what is God? God is jealous.

And he says, church, we got to change. The last

way we. Can say this about money is, money will

bring you significance, success. Ecclesiastes

5, 16 through 17, and this too is very serious

problem. People leave this world no better off

than when they came. All their hard work is for

nothing like working for the wind. Throughout

their lives, they live under a cloud, frustrated,

discouraged, and angry. Does that not sound familiar?

People are burnt out, working long hours, frustrated.

discouraged, and angry. I mean, just think about

it. When we talk about a person's worth, we talk

about their net worth. As Americans, we determine

someone's value by what? Their valuables. We

have containers and containers and containers

of stuff. We're giving money a divine attribute.

But God wants to be the person that gives us

significance. He wants to be the person to give

us worth. But when we look to money to do that,

which we often do, we're making money the God

of our life. I mean, I don't know if you're like

me, but I can do that. I'm currently driving

a 2010 Jeep Wrangler. I love that car. It's the

nicest Jeep I've ever owned, but there are two

lights that never go off on my dashboard, the

check engine light and the tire pressure light.

And hear me out. Thank you, Steve. Thank you,

Mike. Those lights mean nothing. It's been tested.

There's nothing wrong with my vehicle. Yet when

I'm driving around town and I see someone driving

a new Jeep Wrangler, I get jealous. I bet their

lights aren't on. I'm jealous because two lights

are on thinking to myself that I'm driving a

piece of junk. I need a new Jeep. Is that the

truth? No. It's not the truth. But in my mind,

I see that. I think that. What am I doing? I'm

looking to my value in my valuables. And when

we do that, what am I doing? I'm making it a

God. Because we look to money for security, for

significance. God says, no, I want to do that.

I want to be your source of satisfaction. I want

to be your source of significance. I want to

be your security. which leads us to our third

and final thought. See, the problem with idolatry

is we are putting our trust into something other

than Jesus. Luke 18, 22 to 23. When Jesus heard

his answer, he said, there is still one thing

you haven't done. Sell all your possessions,

give the money to the poor, and you will have

treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. But

when the man heard this, he became very sad,

for he was very rich. In week one of our series,

we asked several probing questions so that we

could begin to identify different idols that

could be in our life. This is really true when

it comes to money. For example, what do you complain

about the most? Do you complain about your finances,

never having enough money? What about the car

you drive, the house you live in? It's a false

guide. So many Americans, what do they sacrifice

their time for? They sacrifice their time for

making more money. Overtime is at an all -time

high throughout the country because what are

they worried about? They're worried about money.

Because they have fears revolving around their

finances, gas prices, 401Ks. How am I going to

pay the mortgage? Right? What brings you the

most joy? For many people, when they dream of

things, it's something they can buy. What controls

you? I mean, I've spoken with people in the church

who have told me they really feel called by God

to leave their job and be involved in full -time

ministry. They feel like that's what God wants

them to do. Yet they haven't done it because

it doesn't make sense financially. Money is saying

to them, you can't afford it. Church planning

is at an all -time low, I believe, Trust money

more than God. Is this a step of faith? Do you

have to sell it all? Do you have to take up your

cross? You're darn right, but it's all worth

it in the end. So if God is saying this is what

you should do, and money is saying you can't

do it, what you decide reveals you're God. I've

had conversations with couples, and one of the

spouses feels like they need to quit their job

so they can stay at home and raise the kids.

They feel like that's what God wants them to

do. But to do that, they have to downsize. They

have to get a smaller house to make the numbers

work. But they don't do it. Money is saying you

can't do that. You need the bigger house. What

they decide determines who their God is. And

I get it. There's different situations and scenarios

that make it difficult to determine what God

wants. But at the end of the day, what is it

that controls you? God wants to be your number

one. He wants to control our hearts. And as I

said last week, he will not share the love seed

of your heart with money. And chances are he'll

make us poor to prove it. He's just not gonna

do it. Are you putting your work, your success,

your money ahead of God? Then you're either experiencing

God's active anger or his passive anger, right?

You're experiencing his passive anger in that

he has just allowed you to pursue your career

advancement, financial success, all at the expense

of your children not having a parent around to

play catch with. Go ahead, be successful. What

about your children? God says if that's what

you want to worship, go ahead and worship it.

But one day you're going to realize you wasted

your time and your kids. Are the ones that suffer.

Or are you experiencing God's active anger? Where

he's taking some of these things away from you

in order to turn you back towards him. Maybe

our bills got tight because of the current inflation.

And the first thing that always goes is our tithes.

Bills get tight. House payment goes up. Cut the

tithe. Cut the tithe. Remember, a tithe is not

a religious rule. It's a baseline established

by God so that money does not become a God in

our life. It's what it is. It's a baseline. If

you want to debate with me whether tithing is

biblical or not, let's go. You're going to lose.

Jesus knew the power of money. He told the Pharisees.

For those of you who say Jesus never taught on

tithing, he told the Pharisees, yes, tithe. But

don't do it for show. Do it as a means of expressing

justice, mercy, and faith. That's what he said.

That's Jesus' words, not mine. God desires to

be our source of hope and joy and happiness,

Romans 15, 13. I pray that God, the source of

hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace

because you trust in him. Then you will overflow

with confident hope through the power of the

Spirit, which leads us to our action step. And

what you're going to learn in these last four

weeks is that It's pretty apparent that they're

simple. How do we overcome the gods of success?

We prioritize Jesus first. We prioritize Jesus

first. Luke 18, 22, when Jesus heard this, he

said, there's still one thing you haven't done.

So all your possessions, give the money to the

poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then

come, follow me. And when he speaks these words

to the rich young ruler. It's tempting for us

to say, he really didn't mean it. He's speaking

in story, it's metaphorically. I believe Jesus

meant it. I mean, I wonder, did the rich young

ruler just become a richer older ruler? Or did

he, at some point, realize that he needed to

trust in Jesus? I mean, one of the strangest

verses that we read in the Bible is verse 23.

It says, he became very sad because he was a

man of great wealth. I mean, it doesn't make

any sense. He became very sad because he was

a man of great wealth. When we hear that, we

think, that's an oxymoron. How could that be?

But it all comes down to a simple point. This

man did not want to choose. Jesus left him with

a choice. He didn't want to choose. And yet that

was the only invitation that Jesus offered. It's

all or nothing. I'm either Lord of all or not

at all. That was this man's invitation. And what

did the man do? Walked away. But notice he walked

away sad. Which to me means he walked away empty,

depressed. grieving, because he knew he had idolatry

in his heart and he didn't want to give it up.

And the problem with idolatry is that ultimately

we are putting our trust in something other than

Jesus. We are looking to something or someone

other than Jesus for our happiness, for our joy,

and for meaning, and for many of us living in

the United States, it's money and success. And

maybe you're here this morning and you're lonely.

And you're looking to a relationship for redemption.

Maybe you're here this morning and you're empty

and you're looking to possessions for happiness.

Maybe you're here this morning and you're oppressed

and you're looking to food or alcohol for peace.

Maybe you're here this morning and you feel rejected

and you're looking to pornography for salvation.

Maybe you feel you have no purpose in life and

you're looking to work for that meaning. Maybe

you're worried or anxious and so you're looking

to money for your salvation. See, we've made

these things our Savior. We have said, this is

where I'm gonna look for salvation in my life.

And Jesus challenges us in Matthew 6, 33, seek

the kingdom of God above all else, live righteously.

And what's he gonna do? He's gonna give us everything

we need. Matthew 10, 38 to 39, Jesus said, if

you refuse to take up your cross and follow me,

you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling

to your life, to your idols, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for me, you will

find it. And again, Jesus isn't saying we're

gonna lose our salvation. What's he saying? He's

saying we're going to lose our abundance. And

listen, that invitation has not changed. It's

the same invitation that he presents to us today.

Will you make Jesus Lord of every area of your

life? Not just parts of it, but your entire life.

Will you let him have control of your heart?

And listen, how you walk out these doors today

is up to you. But Jesus is patiently waiting

for that position in your life. His grace is

sufficient to cover every area of sin in our

life. I believe grace wins. And it may take some

of us five, six, seven, eight, ten years to come

to this realization, but God is presenting to

us. right now. Will you make Jesus Lord of every

area of your life, including your Benjamins,

including your finances? And this isn't a talk

about money. This is a talk about what has control

of our hearts. Amen? Will you stand with me?

Is it okay if I challenge a group of you? There's

a group of you gathered here that you think if

you throw a couple bucks in the bucket, you're

good. If you think you're giving 20, 30, 40,

$50 a week, you're good. I want to challenge

you with something. Those of you that don't believe

in tithing, you know what God says? He says,

test me. That's what he says. He says, put me

to the test. You don't believe in tithing? Test

me. Tithe for a month and see what happens to

your finances. Do it. Test God. Don't test Chris.

Don't give to HCV because I'm trying to convince

you that you have to tithe and we need your money.

I'm not saying, I'm saying test God. Start giving

10 % this week for a month. And see what God

does. Because I believe by the end of the month,

your priorities will be in line, your finances

will be stronger, and you will be walking in

abundance. If that's your choice. So I'm going

to pray for the Holy Spirit to come. I'm going

to ask him to reveal any area of our life where

we are putting an idol in place of God. And here's

what I want to ask you to do. I want you to be

bold, and I want you to be obedient, and I want

you to lay that down at God's feet and say, I

want it to be gone, and I want to replace it

with you, and then take the steps you need to

do to do that. How do you replace an idol with

God? You replace it with scripture. You replace

it with prayer. You replace it with serving,

giving to others. You replace it with living

passionately for Jesus. And as you do that, Then

that addiction or that lust or that anger, whatever

it is that is controlling you, it will go away

because we're prioritizing God first rather than

the idol. Amen? So Holy Spirit, come. Your invitation

is for us all. Reveal to us, God, any areas of

our life that are not lining up with you. Areas

of our life that we've made idols. someone or

something that we've elevated to a position above

you, forgive us, God. We lay them at your feet,

God. My prayer, God, is that as we leave this

place, as we walk through these doors, God, we

leave this place smiling, happy, full of joy,

excitement, and passion for you. Allow none of

us, God, to leave here sad. For some of you,

your journey in your relationship with Jesus

starts right now. I'm going to pray a simple

prayer. And I'm going to invite you to pray it

with all of us. So that you don't leave this

place sad. But you leave this place walking in

abundance in new life. Amen? Let's pray together.

Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt. Shame.

Regret. Sin. Change me. I believe. You're God's

son. I believe you died for me. Make me new.

Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me,

God, to serve others and put you first. In Jesus'

name, amen. So if you prayed that prayer, see

me. I want to point you to get baptized in the

coming weeks. There was three words of knowledge

I need to share with you before we go. You have

nerve damage and pain around your left hip. God

wants to heal you. You have persistent headaches

that are causing pressure in your eyes. God wants

to heal you. You have arthritis in your fingers.

God wants to heal you or any other need that

you may have. Our prayer team will be here on

my right to agree with you and pray with you

and believe that God's going to heal you. What

door am I going to today? I'm going there. Okay,

cool, I'm going to my right, so I'll be there.

If you need to run out, go there. Thank you for

joining us online. God bless you guys. We close

this series next week with the gods of love.

God bless.