The Love of Money

Open your Bibles to Psalm chapter 118, and meet me at verse 24, Psalm 118, 24.

Psalms 118 · chapter mention

And the word of the Lord says, This is the day the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad.

Enjoy the journey has been the theme that we have been on this year.

The Lord spoke this to my heart late last year, and it resonated on the inside

of me, enjoy the journey.

And more often than not, you and I have our feet in one place,

but our heart in another place. We always want to be somewhere else.

We never really want to take the time to enjoy the present, to celebrate in

the moment, to be present, to be here.

We always are looking to be somewhere else.

I gave the example several weeks ago of my children.

Sometimes they're talking to me about things that I really don't even want to talk about.

I mean, it doesn't really, I don't even know what they're talking about.

And they'll begin to talk to me and I really want them to move on to something

else or I want to move on to something else.

And the Lord's really been ministering to me like, no, pause and just Listen to them.

Enjoy this moment. Talk to them. Ask questions.

If you don't understand, just say it again or whatever the case may be,

because at one day they're going to have their own family and they may not want to talk to me.

They may want to have other obligations and other responsibilities.

So why don't I just take this moment to enjoy the journey?

And so this is the day the Lord has made. I wake up every morning saying,

this is the day the Lord has made.

Despite what may happen today, despite what may come my way today,

despite any good or bad that may occur today, I'm going to choose to rejoice and be glad.

I'm not going to be sad today. I'm going to be glad today.

I'm going to choose to be glad, and I'm going to enjoy whatever situation I'm

in, whatever moment I'm in.

I'm going to find something to celebrate. I'm going to find something to be thankful for.

I'm going to find something to give God the glory for because this is the day that the Lord has made.

This is the opportunity that he's given me.

A lot of people are not alive to experience this opportunity that he has given

us. And so I'm going to rejoice. I'm going to make the most of it.

And I'm going to be glad. Somebody say amen.

Now, John chapter 10 and verse 10 in the Amplified Classic says it this way.

John 10 · chapter mention

The thief comes only to steal.

Kill, and destroy. But Jesus said, he drew a line in the sand,

I have come that you may have and enjoy life to the full till it overflows.

And so we know the will of God here is for you to enjoy life to the full and

excessively, abundantly,

more than enough that life and enjoyment of life would simply overflow.

That is the will of God for you and I to enjoy life.

I know religion has told us that we're not supposed to enjoy life and that we're

supposed to suffer and we're supposed to be down and it's hard and you might

get beat up and get your brains beat out.

But Jesus said, no, I want you to enjoy this life.

I want you to live a life to the full until it overflows.

That doesn't mean bad things won't happen. That doesn't mean catastrophe won't take place.

It doesn't mean things may not happen that you weren't looking forward to,

or you may even surprise you. But in and of that moment, you can find something to celebrate and enjoy.

Jesus wants us to enjoy life.

And if you're not enjoying life, I submit to you that somewhere along the lines,

the devil is stealing from you.

Matter of fact, let me say it this way. Joy doesn't disappear. Joy gets stolen.

Let me say it again. Joy doesn't disappear. Joy gets stolen.

The devil is stealing from you and I if we are not enjoying life.

And so Jesus wants us to have life, have fun, have it to the full till it overflows with enjoyment.

And over the last couple of weeks, we've been talking about some areas that

have been hindrances to enjoying life.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about worry.

Worry is a hindrance to enjoying life.

If you're worried about life, you're not enjoying life.

And I mean, you know, it's easy for worry to jump on you and I.

I have to always be on guard because worry will try to jump on me at any moment, at any time.

Worry will try to get over you. But you have to obey Jesus when he says,

do not worry. That's not a suggestion.

That's a commandment.

Do not worry. So I have to tell myself, I will not let my heart be troubled. John 14, 1.

Do not let your heart be troubled. I will not worry. Why? Because God cares

for me. He cares about me.

He has watchful supervision over me. He's thinking about me.

My name is written in the palm of his hand. He sees me. He knows me.

He's not forgotten about me. I'm precious to him.

I'm valuable to him. So therefore, I don't need to worry. If the birds are not

worrying, I don't need to worry.

And so one hindrance to enjoying life is worry.

A couple of weeks ago, we said a hindrance to enjoying life is impatience.

If you're always trying to get somewhere quicker than God wants you to get there,

you're going to become impatient.

And impatience will cause you to completely lose the gifting,

the appointment, the anointing on your life by simply getting out of the will

of God because you feel like things are moving too slow.

Impatience will cause you to literally get the anointing of king off of your life.

Saul got impatient, offered sacrifices, which was Samuel's job.

He did it because Samuel didn't come when he wanted him to come,

lost his entire kingdom because of his impatience.

We know Abraham, Ham, and Sarah got impatient.

Sarah recommends her slave, Hagar, to have a baby with her, and they create

Ishmael, got impatient, and now we have a patriarch of the Muslim religion.

And patience will do this, but we've got to enjoy life, move at the pace that God has us on.

And let me say this to you, set a pace for your life that is sustainable for you.

Don't go too fast, don't go too slow, but set a pace for your life that you

can sustain because you and I are in this for the long haul.

Somebody say amen to that. We're not in it for a short time,

we're in this for the long haul. So set a pace for your life that's sustainable and enjoy life.

Well, today I want to talk to you about another hindrance to enjoying life.

And some of you may be mad at me today.

I just want you to know I'm not scared of you, okay? I got to do what the Lord

tells me to do. Somebody say amen to that.

One area that we're going to talk about today, and I want to ask it with this

question, What is your relationship with money?

What is your relationship with money?

A man several years ago was going to our church and he said this to me.

He said, there are two things a man should never talk about.

I guess he was giving me some wisdom, I guess.

Two things a man should never talk about. I said

well what are these two things he said one a man

should never talk about his relationship with

his spouse man should never talk about that I said okay what's the other thing

the other thing is a man should never talk about his money never talk about

your relationship with your spouse never talk about your money now this particular

individual was divorced.

OK. Divorced. And his checks used to bounce like a basketball.

I didn't say his name, so you all know what I'm talking about.

But there are two things you don't talk about.

Your spouse divorced and your money checks bouncing.

Checks about we we had to ask him we had

to say we cannot receive a check anymore because we

were getting we were getting uh fees for

for the bounce check and i said man whoever told you that was wrong you need

people talking to you about your relationship with your spouse and you need

people talking to you about money.

You got to have it or we're going to end up in your situation.

And so first, go to 1 Timothy with me, chapter 6. Look at verse 9,

1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 9.

1 Timothy 6:9

It says, but those who desire to be rich...

Fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts which

drown men in destruction and perdition. Let me pause here for a second.

Those who desire to be rich.

Now, most people will take that verse and say, see, this is why I don't want to be rich.

Because if I'm rich, I'm going to fall into a lot of temptation.

It's going to lead to destruction and even death so

I don't want to be rich I mean just I just

need enough for us four and no

more I don't want to have more than

sufficient because I could easily stray and what I would tell you is that is

the most selfish thing that you could possibly say that you only want just enough

for you two you four and no more because there's a lot of people that need help.

A lot of people need support. They need what you have.

And so they'll say, I've heard people say, this is why I don't desire to be

rich, is because there's a lot of temptation concerning that.

Well, yeah, because the God of riches, it goes by the name of Mammon.

And Mammon will talk to you about money.

Mammon is actually the voice of money. and the voice of money will talk to you

and tell you what to do because mammon wants to be a god in your life.

And so yeah, being rich and having more resources gives you the ability to have

mammon talk to you just a little bit more.

And as mammon talks to you, then you have to put mammon in its place.

Matthew 6, 24 says, you cannot serve two masters.

You either can serve God or you're going to serve mammon.

The good thing is you can serve God with money, but you cannot serve God and money.

Somebody say amen to that. You can serve God with money, but you can't serve God and money.

And so in this verse there, he says, those that desire to be rich,

there's a warning. But look at verse 10.

Verse 10, it says here, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

For which some have strayed from faith in their greediness and pierced themselves

through with many sorrows. Notice it's the love of money.

It's not money, it's the love of money.

And this love of money is a root to all kinds of evil.

Now let me pause here for a second. those that desire to be rich and the love

of money can be synonymous.

Okay? If you're desiring to be rich for the sake of being rich,

you don't have kingdom compassion.

You just want to be rich so you can flaunt, so you can buy the next Jordans,

so you can bling bling and get you a pinky ring. Those people...

Are the ones that mammon is talking to, and they have the love of money.

And the scripture says here, Paul tells us, the love of money is a root.

How many know the root is underneath the surface?

It's a source system that is working, is producing. You can't see, but it's working.

Underneath that surface, the love of money is producing a variety of evil.

Every category of evil, you can trace it back to the love of money Every evil

work, you can really trace it all the way back Not to money,

but the love of money The relationship with money The affection of money The lust of money.

The fondness of money.

How many of you have ever been in love before? Hopefully some of you are still

in love, right? You've been in love.

You're in love now or you have been or you want to be. There's a relationship

you have when you're in love.

One of the things is, you know, Stacy and I, we're in love. So I actually listen to her.

I do. She'll talk to me. I seek her counsel and advice. What do you think about this?

You know, how does this bounce off of you? Because we're in a love relationship.

So I'm listening, right?

I'm patient and kind.

I'm observant because I'm in a love relationship with her.

There are people that are in a love relationship with money.

It's a wrong relationship, but they consult money before they do anything else.

God says, hey, I want you to be a part of the True Life Home campaign.

And you say, well, let me see what the money says.

And then the money says, well, we can't do that.

No, no, no, no, we can't do it. We can't do it.

And then that shows the love of money is more important than the love that you have for God.

You're consulting with money when God has told you to do something.

That's the love of money. And scripture says there, put it back on the screen, guys, verse 10.

I like it. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith.

The love of money has called some people to separate from the faith.

Notice the love of money is like cheating on God because it's causing you to literally separate.

From the provision that God wants you to have. In its greediness,

straight from the faith, you separate it in their greediness.

Now, I have never met anybody ever that walked up to me and said,

Pastor Devon, I struggle with greed.

Not one time has anybody ever walked up to me and said, my major struggle is

greed. I'm just a greedy man. I'm a greedy woman.

Nobody's ever said that. You know why? because greed cannot

be self-diagnosed greed must

be brought to the light by anointed

teaching greed must be diagnosed by the Word of God and so greed is the longing

for more amen would you agree with

that the longing for more but it's also equally the longing to hold on to.

It's the longing for more and the longing to hold on to.

That will determine if you have a love of money or not.

Am I longing to hold on to it?

And if I am, then I'm not enjoying life.

I'm not enjoying the journey.

If you look at Luke chapter 12, you remember the rich man, he had barns and

Luke 12 · chapter mention

he yielded plentifully. He said, I've got so much provision. Here's what I'll do.

I'll build more bonds and I'll save and I'll save and I'll save more and more. He was greedy.

He was greedy because he was longing to have more without kingdom impact to be a blessing.

And the Lord basically told me in Luke 12, I may talk about it later,

but the Lord basically told him, you're going to die tonight.

And all this stuff that you've been saving, who's going to get it?

Because your soul has been required of you.

And then he said there in the New Living, he says, this is going to happen to

people that don't have a rich relationship with God, but they got a rich relationship with money.

And so greed will cause you to say, I need to hold on to.

Yes, it's a longing for more. And we'll look at somebody and say, they're greedy.

They just want more. But I look at somebody that says, you know,

do you have a storage facility with just stuff in it?

Well, yeah, why? Well, I just got to hold on to it. That may be a sign that you're greedy.

I'm just sitting on stuff in a unit. Matter of fact, I pass by storage units

all the time, and I'm thinking, look at all these greedy folks.

Just hoarding stuff. Now, we have our church stuff in there,

but it's temporary, okay? It's temporary.

We're going to pull it out here soon and very soon. Amen?

Amen. Thank you, Lord Jesus. And so greed is the longing to hold on to,

which comes from the love of money or the wrong relationship that you have with money.

I want you to skip to verse 17, guys, in 1 Timothy chapter 6,

1 Timothy 6:17

verse 17, like what the Apostle Paul tells us here.

He says, command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty,

nor the trust in uncertain riches,

but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Somebody say enjoy.

Say it one more time. Enjoy. He richly gives us all things to enjoy.

Now, I'm going to take some time here because I want you to understand that

enjoyment is the will of God.

God wants you to enjoy this life.

He wants you to enjoy the fruit of your labor. He wants you to go on vacation.

He wants you to have a good time. He wants you to get that ice cream if you've worked out. Praise God.

Get that ice cream and enjoy it. He wants you to.

He wants you to enjoy this life.

But what stood out to me was the first part of that verse. He said,

command those who are rich.

Somebody say rich. Say it one more time, rich.

Now we might be thinking about Bill Gates or Elon Musk or somebody that's just

got loaded amounts of money.

But I saw something here in scripture that I thought was real interesting that

if you look at 2 Corinthians 8, 9, 2 Corinthians 8, 9, Paul tells us here.

He says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,

yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become what? Rich.

So he's saying, and I'll talk about this later.

I'm going to dissect this verse later. But he's saying Christ became poor so

that you might become rich.

Galatians chapter three, verses 13 and 14.

Galatians three, verse 13 and 14. It says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Being made a curse for us, for it's written, cursed is anyone that hangs on

a tree so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles.

So Christ, I'll talk about this verse later as well. But Christ redeemed us

from the curse so that we can have the blessing.

Somebody say amen to that. Now let's look at Proverbs chapter 10, verse 22.

Proverbs 10:22

Proverbs 10, 22. It says the blessing of the Lord, what does it do? It makes one rich.

And he adds no sorrow to it. Glory be to God, you can be rich with no sorrow.

And so when we see in 1 Timothy 6, 17, the apostle Paul tells us,

command those who are rich.

He's talking about you and I.

Say amen to that. Say I'm rich. He says you and I command those that are rich. That's you and I.

We're rich. Christ made us rich. The blessing makes us rich.

Jesus was redeemed to make us rich. He redeemed us to make us rich. We're rich.

We're not the poor trying to get rich.

We are the rich resisting poverty.

Say amen to that. We are the rich resisting lack.

We are the rich resisting all the other things that the enemy is throwing our way.

We are in a resistance stance.

We're fighting the good fight of faith. And Paul says, command those.

That word command also means to teach.

Teach, charge them, teach them. Well, what am I supposed to teach them?

I'm supposed to teach you how to think and how to act, how to think and how to act.

Now, in the natural, rich simply means you have consistent shelter,

consistent clothing and consistent food.

Everybody in the sound of my voice is rich.

Online. If you're online, you

got a computer or phone of some sort and you're watching, you are rich.

And so I'm not talking to Elon Musk. I'm talking to you today.

Command those, charge those, teach those how they should act and how they should think.

Teach those that are rich. Put it on the screen, verse 17.

Command those that are rich in this present age.

That means today not to be haughty that

means don't be full of pride just because you're rich doesn't make you better

than anybody else let me say it again just because you're rich doesn't make

you better than anybody else let me say it again you are not more valuable than

anybody else because you got a little more money.

You are not more significant. You are not more loved.

You are not more valuable because you have more money than somebody else.

Say amen to that. No, no, no. Every human being is valuable and not one human

is more valuable than another human.

Amen. And so command those that are rich not to be full of pride.

Don't be full of pride, nor trust in money. That's uncertain wrenches.

Don't trust in money. You're the trust in the living God.

That's where your trust is. And money is always trying to get you to trust it.

That's the goal of mammon.

Trust me. Don't trust God. Trust me.

One time, this was years ago, we had a line up at the front of the altar and

I was praying over people and I went to this particular couple and this came

out of my heart I said do not be afraid to let the bank account go to zero,

And they started crying, and I said, well, they said, that's exactly what we're

afraid of, is the bank account going to zero.

Well, when I said that to them, the Holy Spirit said, I'm saying that to you too, Devon.

And I was like, oh, do not be afraid to let the bank account go there.

Why? Because that's not where our trust lies.

Money is so unreliable.

It is here, and it is gone.

People be talking about this This is just It makes me laugh Now there are some

shenanigans out there But I hear times Oh that pastor trying to steal your money

Listen I'm going to tell y'all straight up As soon as it hit the offering basket That money is gone.

It ain't stolen.

It's gone It's being used for goods And services We've got vision See somebody

that's stealing the money ain't got no vision,

They conniving and cheating and stealing We got vision for it So it's I mean

as soon as the hit is gone If you ask me for it brother that thing is gone,

Okay it is gone You got to let it go It's gone it is put to work Amen And so we see here don't trust,

In your bank account If you start focusing On how much is in your bank account

You're not going to enjoy the journey Thank you.

If you're always thinking about how much money you have or don't have,

you're not going to enjoy the journey.

If you're checking your bank account multiple times a day, ask me how I know. Multiple times a day.

Back when I was in college, Erica, I used to remember I had them in the ATMs.

In college, and I used to, just before the phone, I used to go up there and

just make sure I had some money. Oh, $9.

Woo, that $9 is still in that bank account. And then I would go back to the ATM. All right.

Nine dollars still there. All right. Glory to God. Money is on the mind all the time.

You're not going to enjoy the journey if money is always on your mind.

If if statistics say that we we think about money thousands of times a day.

Money crosses our minds so often. And listen, I understand we live in this world.

Money is a tool that needs to be used.

And, you know, you hear the dollar is devaluing and prices are going up.

I get all that, but either God's going to take care of us or he's not.

Right? Either he cares about us or he doesn't. I just believe he's going to take care of me. Amen.

I got to put some gas in the car. I went through a season. I didn't even look

at how much I was putting in.

I just blindly put it in and I took it out.

Why? Because that dollar amount was getting to me.

Can I be transparent with you? I said, man, no, I can't. I can't be like you.

Listen, I got the car needs gas.

I got to get the going. Even God's going to have to provide.

Amen. And so I said, you know what? Money is unreliable.

You can't trust it. You can't depend on it. You can't rely on it. It is unreliable.

So what do you do? You put your trust in God.

Put it back on the screen there, guys. Verse 17, command those that are rich

in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches,

but put your trust in the living God because he's gonna give us richly all things to enjoy.

Somebody say enjoy.

He's gonna richly give you and I all things to enjoy, but if money is on the

mind, we're not gonna enjoy our journey. If lack is on the mind,

we're not going to enjoy our journey.

If all you're thinking about is hoarding, hoarding, saving, hoarding,

you're not going to enjoy the journey.

I was talking to a friend of mine right before church today.

He called me as a pastor in another state and he called me and I was telling him.

He called me to tell me something and I was telling him what I was going to

share today. You know, saving, saving,

saving, saving, saving all the time could also be a love for money.

I'm just save, save, save, save, save. I like saving. Between Stacey and I don't

tell her, but she's the spender. I'm the saver.

I like to save, but saving could be a form of greed, which is a form of loving money.

Oh, it got quiet in here, but I'm telling you the truth.

And I was telling him when we first started the church, this was probably year one or two.

And we were just barely getting by, praise God.

But people kept showing up and we kept showing up. And at one point,

we got a little momentum.

And because we got that momentum, I started to save.

Let's just save. Everything came in. Save, save it. Throw it straight to the

save of the count. Save, save, save.

Save it, save it. A wrong spirit jumped on me. I was thinking because we might go backwards one day.

Amen? We might go backwards. I might have to lean on that a little bit.

And I started save, saving. I ended up talking to, if I named him,

you would know this guy, a minister.

I ended up talking to him, and he was standing in my face, and out of the blue,

I didn't even say nothing to him about saving, but he said it by the Spirit of the Lord.

He said, money is not designed to be thrown into savings accounts all the time.

He said, it's designed to be used for goods and services.

And at that point, we were meeting at a middle school, a high school.

We're meeting at Butler High School.

And our monthly payment was low.

And so I was like, let's save. And then the building that we were in,

we were going to quadruple our payment to get in that building.

And here I am thinking, I need to keep this money in savings.

We don't need this, but we just keep staying at Butler. I need to keep this

and save let's just pad the savings account.

And when the man of God got in my face and said, money is not supposed to always be saved.

It's supposed to be used for goods

and services, for helping people and blessing humanity and et cetera.

Man, something released on the inside of me, man, I got to spend this money.

I got to get it and we got to get in this building. And while it quadrupled

our payment, I said, I've got to trust God.

And, you know, by God's grace, we stayed there for a while. We did not miss not one rent payment.

Glory to God. Come on, give the Lord some praise for that.

It quadrupled. But we kept going.

And as we kept going, we kept serving people, ministering to people, helping people.

At some point, schools stopped letting churches be in. And we would have been

in that situation where they were like, hey, especially during COVID.

They're like, no, you can't meet here, right? No, we had a place to meet, praise God.

And if you're always saving, saving, saving, saving, saving for the sake of

just saving, you could, let me diagnose you, Dr.

Devon here now, you could have a love for money that you don't even realize.

So he said here in verse 18, put 18 on the screen there, guys.

I love what Paul said. He said, let them do good. Now we're charging the rich. That's you.

Let them do good. That they be rich in good works, ready to give,

willing to share. Paul's there.

Let them do good.

Just do good with your money. Plan to do good with your money.

Prepare to do good with your money. Be rich in good works.

Just be rich, not in sneakers, not rich in clothing, rich in good works.

When it's all said and done, and we're at your funeral if Jesus tarries,

At the end of the day, do you want them to say, man, she was rich in them shoes? I'll tell you what.

Or do you want them to say he was rich in good works?

I want them to say, man, he's generous. He's rich in good works. Ready to give.

I mean, ready to give at any moment, just being ready, ready to give.

So the Lord, I might challenge you with this.

We don't I don't carry a lot of cash, But the Lord's been talking about carrying

more cash. Why? So you be ready to give.

You're ready. And say, well, what's your cash app and all that stuff?

No, no, I'm ready to give. You got to be ready to give.

And he says here, willing to share. That means to divide and distribute.

Be willing to divide and distribute. Share.

Be willing to share. Be willing to say, hey, I will sacrifice so that you can have something.

I would go without so that you could have.

I won't get my hair done this week. Come on, somebody, so that you can have.

I won't get a coffee today so that you can.

Being willing, willing. And when

you get like this, your kids will follow your lead. We went out to eat.

And, you know, when we all go out to eat, it's just like the Collins family.

It's a lot of us, okay? We went out to eat as we go out, and we were finished,

and I had a tip I was going to use, and Zavin said,

Dad, I want to tip him, and he gave a high number.

I want to tip him, and he gave the number. And I was like, well,

that's as much as the food costs.

And I said he ain't got no money you know laughter.

I said, you know what? We're going to tip him that amount of money.

I said, this is going to go to your account. You know what?

No, meaning I want him to get the blessing behind it.

Not I'm charging him. I want him to get the blessing. I said,

this is going to go to your account. We're going to tip him the amount you said.

And we left the tip and the man was excited.

Zavin was excited about it. And he's like, yeah, I just really wanted to tip him.

I said, Zavin, you're getting this. You're getting this in your heart that you're

ready to give, willing to distribute, ready at any moment, just ready to be a blessing.

I don't know what that person was going through, but we tipped them good.

One week later, somebody says, hey, what size shoe does Zavin wear?

I told them, they said, I went to the mall and bought some shoes for them and

gave Zavin some shoes. And I said, buddy, that's from that tip you gave. Amen.

He was like, I said, this works when you're ready and willing to give and distribute and to be a blessing.

God will honor that. And it says here, verse 18, one more time,

put it on the screen, let them do good.

They're to be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.

Look at verse 19, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come or the future.

You're giving is storing up good foundation for the future so that they may lay hold.

Somebody say lay hold on eternal life. Now put that in the New Living Translation,

verse 19 in the New Living Translation.

He says, by doing good, this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good

foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

So having money doesn't cause you to experience true life.

There are a lot of people that have money and they're not experiencing life

and life more abundantly.

What causes you to experience true life, to enjoy the journey,

is releasing the money. Giving the money.

Having the money set aside to give.

Jesus said it is more blessed to give.

That means you'll have more joy. The word more blessed could also mean more joy.

It is more blessed. You'll have more joy when you give than when you receive.

Giving will cause you to experience true life. It'll cause you to enjoy the journey.

Your love, giving breaks the back of love of money. Giving snaps the neck of greed.

Giving profusely and consistently, giving will do that.

And you can start where you are.

And the Lord will increase it more and more.

And as your giving increases, your enjoyment will increase.

There was a particular time, there was a family in our church and they had vehicle

issues. They didn't have a vehicle.

And they were faithful family started the church with us and something happened

to their vehicle. They didn't have the funds to get a vehicle.

And one day, Stacey and I were talking.

And I said, Stacey, I think we're supposed to buy them a vehicle.

And she said, I do, too. I said, OK.

I said, let's pray about it and let's see what the Lord does.

So we prayed again and we both felt confirmation that we were and they had they had a couple of kids.

And so we felt like they needed a van.

So I went and started looking for a van, found a van,

talked to the person who owned it got the price to where I wanted it to be,

and they said yeah we'll sell you

that van I said well we're gonna buy the van

bought the van and it had a big old chip on the windshield like going across

I said I can't give the car to somebody with that chip going across the windshield

like that so I went and got a new windshield we got a new windshield we put

it on the van and we said alright we bought it got everything we needed,

for it, and I took the kids.

I said, kids, we're going to go over their house. So I reached out to them,

and I said to them, we're coming over. They're like, oh, what?

We're coming over right now. We're coming over right now. Okay,

we're home. What's the address?

Gave us the address. We took the kids, drove out there.

We took two cars, went and parked the van out there. I said,

I said, come outside. I said, take a look at this van.

And the husband was like, this nice van. This nice. I said, it's nice,

son. He said, it is. The wife, I said, come out here. Take a look at this van.

Oh, this is really nice. Y'all got a new van? I said, yeah, that's nice. Really, really nice.

Yeah, it is nice. I said, guess what? They said, what? I said, this is your van. What?

This is your van. I will never forget the husband laid out in the middle of

the road on his back, laid out, just praising God on the ground.

I said, this is your van. I said, we just came to drop it off.

Here's the keys. Here's the title. Y'all do what you need to do to get it in your name.

But this is your van.

Kids were with us. They saw the excitement that went with it.

We put them in the car. We let them celebrate as they hugged and cried. We drove on home.

This is what it's about.

It's not about hoarding money and holding on and saving how much you got in your bank account.

It's being able to say, I want to be a blessing.

And they had transportation and they were able to get back and forth to church. Amen.

Because they were hindered from doing that. They were able to do it.

And from then, the Lord will take care of you.

Stacey and I have had vacations paid for.

For us. Matter of fact, I'm going on one this next weekend. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.

Already, already paid for for us. somebody said hey you guys are going through

a lot with the church thing and getting everything going you're working hard

why don't you slow down let me pay for it glory to God.

It's a blessing to be a blessing. And you can't out give God.

This is how you enjoy the journey.

You become a giver. And God will make sure that you enjoy life.

Let's put 19 on the screen one more time and I'll wrap it up.

Verse 19 on the screen one more time.

By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for

the future so that they may experience true life.

Notice, as you store up treasure, how do you do that? By giving.

Your giving is storing up treasure for the future.

And you will begin in the future experience true life.

If you see your giving as not leaving your hand,

but, or let me say it this way, as leaving your hand,

but not leaving your life, it's going

into your future and will come back to

you when you need it the most

if you're going to enjoy the journey you're gonna

have to be men and women that are givers and you

gotta start you might pastor we can't buy a car from somebody that's not where

i started i started with five dollars here three dollars there and as you continue

to go on and increase then gotta ask you to do a little bit more and a little

bit more and a little bit more.

And you're going to be happy to do it because you're seeing how he gives it back to you.

Now, the motivation is not to get.

That's not the motivation. The motivation is to be a blessing.

But what's the old saying? You cannot out give God.

You cannot give him. And when you give, he'll give right back to you and it

becomes a perpetual cycle.

And the more you give, what's that old song?

The more he gives to you. Just keep on giving.

This is how you experience true life.