Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals church podcast.
Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God and others.
We're glad you're here and we hope you enjoy this message.
Hi, guys, and welcome to Sandals Church.
We are wrapping up our series on generosity.
It's called generous, like Jesus.
And some of you came to church today and you're like, oh my gosh, of course they're talking
about money.
Look, I hate talking about money.
I couldn't sleep last night.
I was up all night as I was stressing out, just like you do for the bills that you have to
pay, the money that you have to raise.
And that's just the reality.
Money is a tough, tough issue to talk about, and it's difficult times and it's difficult to
raise money.
But if it's your first Sunday with us or you're watching online for the first time, or
you're at Saturday night for the first time, maybe you missed some steps.
Anybody ever missed a step?
Okay, I did last week at our minafe campus.
Literally missed a step.
They brought me up on stage.
Let's put the face to the whole vision.
And I was up there to encourage people about my leadership and my wisdom.
Walked off stage, missed a step in front of everybody.
And if you wonder what it was like, just think of a grown man crashing into a wall.
And everyone on stage just went.
And I jumped up and I was like, I'm okay.
And then I was like, am I okay?
Because his body's 52, kind of like Taylor Swift, 22, but add 30.
And I told my wife, she said, she said, were you embarrassed?
I said, I would be embarrassed if I wasn't so grateful that I was okay.
So it's conflicting emotions.
So maybe you missed some steps and you don't realize how much Jesus talks about money.
I've said this over and over in this series.
But if you missed it, if you took the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and you
numbered the verses every 6th verse, 123456 every 6th verse.
Jesus is talking about money because he knows what our struggle is.
And it doesn't matter where you are in your faith, some of you are probably struggling with
money.
Okay, God, what's mine?
What's yours?
What do I give?
What is generous?
What does that look like?
And so today we're going to wrap up this series talking about what Jesus taught about
generosity.
What did he teach about it?
Because we need to understand, if I'm a Christian following Jesus, I don't need to
understand what I think is generous.
I need to understand what he thinks is generous.
Hey, guys, thank you so much for joining our service today.
I want to take this quick opportunity to invite you to give.
You can do so by going to donate.
Se for now, let's get back into the message with Pastor Matt.
So let's talk about this.
Jesus taught that generosity.
This is so important.
It's about the heart and not the amount.
This is so important.
We began this message today with a video of our students, our kids making an offering.
They're generous like Jesus offerings.
Now, I'm going to guess, I don't know.
We haven't tallied it, but I'm going to guess there wasn't a million dollar check in there.
Okay, I'm just going to go out on a limb.
Not a prophet or anything.
I'm just saying probably we didn't get a million bucks from a four year old.
Amen.
I'm kind of curious to see what was in those offerings.
You know, a couple of weeks ago, I told you I paid 32 50 for salsa and mexican rice.
I just want to thank all of our Hispanics for all the recipes for rice.
Thank you so much.
You might have missed the point of the sermon, but I'm very, very grateful.
You helped this gringo make mexican rice.
Somebody actually put that in the offering.
A recipe for rice.
Come on.
You never know what you're going to get at Sandals church.
And I'm not going to say which campus it was, but it was Anaheim.
That's all I'm going to say.
It was Anaheim.
I told Pastor Moy we'll pay his salary out of that recipe.
Amen.
Yeah.
So it's not about the amount, it's about the heart.
And that's why it's so important for us as a church to have our kids give.
Because if we don't teach them to give when they're little, they won't give when they're
old.
And this is so important.
If your parent, you're like, oh, my gosh, I forgot.
That's okay.
You can give all through the year and just have your kid give that in.
And I think it's important that we teach our children, hey, this is what we do.
My mom and I were talking and she was just sharing some of the difficulties she felt as a
mom.
And I had family members where they made a lot more money and they didn't go to church and
they weren't tithers.
And my mom said, I just felt so bad as a mom that we gave 10% to God, and sometimes we
couldn't give you the things you want.
And I just stopped her.
I said, mom, I'm so grateful that you taught me as a young man to give to the Lord what's
the Lord's, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
And I just told her, I'm so thankful that you taught me as a young child to give to God
what's his.
That's right.
And so we're going to have an offering today.
We're going to end the service with an offering.
If you're watching online, you can do whatever you need to do on the app or whatever God
leads you.
But there's actually a story in the Bible where Jesus watches an offering just like we're
going to take.
He's watching.
And so the Bible says in Luke, chapter 21, verses one through four.
And here's the thing you need to remember.
The gospel of Luke is written primarily to non jews.
Luke's wanting people who weren't raised with the Torah, who weren't raised going to
synagogue, who weren't raised knowing God.
He's teaching gentiles, who are as far from God as they possibly can be, what it looks like
to give generously.
And so Luke tells us this story.
So Jesus looked up and he saw the rich putting all of their gifts into the offering.
Okay?
Now, we don't have a box of sandals.
We have a bucket, or you give on the app, okay?
But they had an offering box.
And he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
And he said, listen, truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all of them
combined.
For they listen to this.
They contributed out of their abundance, but she, she gave out of her poverty, and she put
in all she had to live on.
Now, if you're broke today, don't put all your money in because you're going to call me
next week to help pay your bills, okay?
That's not the point of the story.
The point of the story is a lot of us feel good when we give big amounts, but it's not
sacrificial at all.
It's just not.
It's out of our abundance.
And so a lot of us think we're generous because of the dollar amount Jesus defines.
Generosity is from the heart.
She gave the least.
But according to Jesus, listen to this.
She gave the most.
It was the most important offering.
And Jesus is teaching us something here.
He's teaching that God doesn't care about your money.
God cares about your heart.
And this Poor old widow who didn't have a husband, who had no one to look after her.
She only had God to look after her.
And isn't it interesting that God was the one who noticed her offering?
He was right there.
You see, it's so easy to focus on the amount and miss the meaning and miss the meaning, as
Tammy and I, we've been praying.
So we're in this series called generous, like Jesus.
And if you don't know, we have a general budget, and I want to thank everyone who gives to
that.
We're trying to raise an extra $2 million over and above.
So what this means is families in our church, like Tammy and I, we're going to make a
special offering that's over and above what we normally give to help us do some really,
really exciting things, like pave parking lots.
Isn't that.
You know, as I drove in here today to Hunter Park, I looked at our new parking lot.
I was like, I can't even look at it yet.
Can't even look at it yet.
It's brand new.
But I know how much it cost.
But oftentimes we just miss the meaning.
We miss the purpose.
And really, these moments are heart checks.
Where is my heart?
Where's my heart?
I have gotten so many questions on the debrief about tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing.
And here's what most christians in our church want to know.
How much should I be giving?
And it's the wrong question.
The right question is, where's your heart?
And I've met people who say, well, Jesus never said you should tithe.
Well, they haven't read the Bible, and I'm going to read to you what he said, matthew 23
23.
He said, what sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law.
Hypocrites.
You see, here's what Jesus is saying.
There can be a difference between what we profess and how we live.
Anybody ever met someone like that?
Jesus couldn't stand hypocrites.
For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens.
Okay?
Some of you sell an herb.
Listen up, listen up.
You probably should double tithe for what you sell, but you ignore the more important
aspects of the law.
Okay?
What's more important than giving?
Jesus gives us a couple things.
Justice, mercy.
And here's one that people miss, faith.
And Jesus follows it up with.
You should tithe.
Yes.
But do not neglect the more important things.
Here's one of the things that I wrestle with as a pastor and as a christian.
Am I generous?
Now, here's the thing you need to know.
I am a tither.
I don't think you have to tithe.
I think as Christians, we get to tithe.
That's a totally different perspective.
But here's the thing.
Am I generous because I'm a tither?
Jesus seems to indicate that we can be very specific in our giving, but we can be very
bankrupt in our hearts.
You're so, so careful to tithe.
I mean, you should see some of the questions I've got on the debrief.
Does this count as my tithe?
I mean, people are asking very, very specific questions.
And what I keep going back and saying is, God doesn't care about the amount.
He cares about your heart.
Now, here's what you need to know about tithing.
Sandals church.
Not by ourselves, but by outsiders.
We are considered what's called an evangelical church.
We're evangelical.
What that means is we believe the Bible.
We believe it's God's word.
We believe you have to be saved only through Jesus.
So we're considered, like, crazy conservative when it comes to our understanding of
scripture.
And I don't want to change that.
That's who we are.
The world can call us whatever they want.
That's who we are.
But here's the thing you need to know about evangelicals.
They give the most to the church, more than Catholics, more than orthodox, more than any
other religious group.
Evangelicals lead the way in generosity to their local church.
Do you want to know what the average amount of an evangelical Christian gives to their
church?
It's 2%.
2% is number one amongst Christians.
Amongst Christians.
And the church that gets ripped.
The most Catholics, right, because they're so rich.
Catholics give the least.
They're at the bottom of generosity.
And that's not to put you down as a Catholic.
These are just numbers.
These are just the statistics.
And if you feel bad, look, we're at number one at 2%.
So we're not all that great either.
But there's this huge problem out there that says I'm super generous, but the reality is
we're super hypocrites when it comes to this.
And so many people say, well, pastor, why do you have to talk about this week after week
after week?
Well, one of the challenges is since COVID people only attend church about once a month.
So if I don't preach on it four times, the majority of our church never hears stewardship
about giving.
So if you say, well, pastor, that's one verse Luke also puts the same teaching in Luke
1142.
It's the exact same teaching, the exact same words.
You should tithe.
Yes.
Now, this is not to pressure you to tithe.
It's to pressure you to say, lord, am I generous to ask God?
Because generosity is not about the amount.
It's about the heart.
And Jesus points this out so powerfully.
Look, my executive pastor told me we have about 35,000 people that watch sandals church a
week.
If everybody gave $100, we'd raise $3.5 million extra.
That's how easy it is if we all just get on board.
Now, some of you, if you give $100, that's a stretch.
For some of you, that would be an insult to the Lord.
See what I'm saying?
And a lot of times, all the rich people say, oh, we all need to do our part.
I'm like, you need to do a little more than your part.
You need to put in some parts.
Amen.
Your offering should be plural.
Next.
Jesus taught that generosity, and this is huge.
If you got kids, I want you to listen to this.
This is so important for how you raise your children because this is an epidemic amongst
many young people today.
Jesus taught that generosity is believing that giving is better than getting.
What are all the political discussions about nowadays?
What you should get?
We don't call them gets.
We call them rights.
We don't use the language like, health care should be a right.
Okay?
Do you know how much health care costs?
College should be a right.
Does anybody know how much college costs?
Like, these are extraordinarily expensive things.
And we just throw these things around here because what we believe as a culture is the most
important thing is what I get.
Jesus said the exact opposite.
It's about what you give.
Come on.
In acts 2035, the apostle Paul reminds us of a teaching that didn't make it in the gospels.
And John tells us that there were so many things that weren't put in his gospel.
He says this.
If I wrote down everything Jesus said, he said, there's not enough books in the world to
contain it.
I mean, when Jesus said, that's the word of God, that's the word of God, and he didn't put
it in there.
Here's what the apostle Paul said in the book of acts.
He said, you should remember the words of the Lord Jesus.
If you call yourself a Christian, this is something that you should pray about every day.
Am I remembering the words of the Lord Jesus?
Here's what Jesus said.
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
We have Christmas coming up, and I love Christmas.
And one of the discussions my wife and I, we've been having is, what's your favorite
memory?
Like, my wife lost her dad years ago.
He died way too young.
He was a wonderful man.
I'm blessed.
I still have my parents.
My wife lost her dad when she was 27.
It's really, really hard.
We had just planted this church.
It was a very, very tough time for us.
And her dad was wonderful.
And we just said, we were just talking about what's your favorite memory?
But here's the thing.
Christmas for me when I was a child was only about what I was going to get.
Anybody remember not being able to sleep at night?
It wasn't because I was so excited for what I gave.
It's because I just was so excited for what I was going to get.
Here's the switch.
Now as a parent, now as a husband, I'm not excited for Christmas morning for what I'm going
to get.
I'm excited to see the look on faces when they see what I gave them.
Listen to me, Christians.
This is the difference between being a christian child and a christian adult.
Some of you are still babies, craving milk, never growing up.
And unfortunately, most christians are in this place.
They think church is all about me.
What do I need now?
Hopefully, you are blessed when you come to sandals church.
But if you're going to become an adult, it's what can I give?
And if you don't agree with me, wrestle with Jesus.
Don't wrestle with me.
Wrestle with Jesus.
And just so you know, you're going to lose.
He said, not me.
He said, it's more blessed to give than to receive.
Jesus went on to teach this in Luke 638.
Give, he said, and it will be given to you.
Good measure pressed down.
Right?
Not like our bag of chips.
Anybody noticed the bags are getting bigger and there's just like, there's three chips in
there.
There's three chips.
My daughter helped me wrap my.
I shouldn't say help.
She wrapped my wife's Christmas presents because I want them to look like I care, okay?
That's why I didn't wrap them.
But you know what she told me?
She said, oh, I bought all the wrapping paper.
She said it was this amount.
And then she went to wrap them.
And you know what they did?
They increased the size of the cardboard in the middle, and they put less paper on it.
She had to buy three times as much paper as she thought the world.
They put a lot of air in there.
They're pumping air in that bag of says, no.
When you give, there's no air in there.
It's pressed down, shaken together.
Listen to me.
Running over it will be put into your lap.
It won't even fit in the container.
When you choose to give to Jesus, listen to what he says.
For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
What?
I thought jesus was a communist.
Nope.
You haven't read the gospels.
He rewards us with what we're faithful with.
He rewards us.
And I gotta tell you, rewards come in all shapes and all sizes.
Last week, or actually two weeks ago, I was preaching at Salles Church, Hunter park, and I
came out in the lobby, and I just got to tell you, here's why I love giving to our church.
There are a bunch of great churches in Riverside.
There are amazing churches in southern California.
But I want to ask you, how many churches are like this?
Two weeks ago, I ended the sermon with work hard to keep money in its place because Jesus
said, you cannot serve both God and money.
I was in the lobby at Hunter park, and a young woman came up to me with tears in her eyes,
and she said, can I hug you?
I said, sure.
Why?
She said, you changed my life today.
She said, you saved my life today.
And she gave me a hug.
Security was pressing in, and I said, how did I save your life?
What changed today?
She said, I worship money.
She said, that's my sin.
I said, what do you do for a living?
With tears in her eyes, she said, I'm a stripper.
She said, I hate it.
She said, hey, I hate everything I do.
She said, but I love the money.
And she looked at me and she said, I've been worshiping the wrong God, and this church
saved my life.
Now let me ask you, how many churches, not just in Riverside, not just in southern
California, not just in the world, would a woman walk up to the senior pastor and say, I
was a stripper, but I've been changed today.
That's sandals church.
Amen.
That's us.
We welcome the people that fit nowhere else.
What I tell people is sandals church is the last bus stop in a thing called Christianity.
We're like the last one.
One of my favorite stories is a guy in my small group.
His dad was a meth addict, and he said, I want to go to church.
And his son Adam said, go to sandals.
They take anybody.
And we did.
And his dad gave his life to Christ.
Isn't that amazing?
That's why I give.
And here's the thing.
A lot of times we think about rewards just as this transaction.
And by the way, anybody who gives money to God to get more money to God is missing the
point.
The rewards are not just financial.
I don't know what you did with your week, but I got to look into the eyes of a young woman
whose life was changed.
She's a single mom.
It's not just going to affect her life, but her kids life because she was confronted with
the fact that she worships a false God.
I don't know if you've been confronted, but maybe you're worshiping a false God during this
series.
So jesus taught that generosity.
Listen to this.
Doesn't crave attention.
This is key.
This is so key.
Jesus taught this.
He said, thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet.
Don't put it on social media.
Right.
Oh, my gosh.
I mean, everybody on social media is this know person that's trying to get attention for
all the things that they do.
He says, don't make a big deal about what you do.
And here's one of the things I got to confess to you.
I've been struggling with this because last week on social media, I got slammed by an ex
church member who literally cussed me out on social media.
Some of you guys have seen this because I'm trying to raise money so we can have parking
lots.
How dare you?
This person said, came at me, told me to f off and our church to f off.
And I was just like, oh, my gosh.
And it's because of all the things going on in the world, you're raising money for
yourself.
And I just thought, oh.
And I told our team, our executive team, I said, we got to do a better job letting people
know.
But here's the tension.
I don't want to be sounding our horn.
Look at all the good things that we do.
But I got to let you guys know, hey, here's some of the things that we're doing with the
money that you're given.
And so in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to show you some videos of me touring a
quadplex condo complex that we're building for our missionaries.
When they come home, it can be a studio apartment, two bedroom, three bedroom, or four
bedroom with kitchens and everything you say.
Why is that important?
Because missionaries come in all shapes, sizes, and families and numbers.
And when they come back, we want to be able to meet the needs of them.
They're our goers.
And when they come back, we want to welcome them.
And we were able to do that.
I'm going to show you a video of a laundry facility that we finished in San Bernardino.
The number one reason kids in San Bernardino give for missing school is they don't have
clean clothes and sandals.
Church has built a laundry facility.
It's fantastic.
You're going to see it.
And kids get to come in and use the facility for free.
All they got to do is sign up for it and kids are coming every day.
I saw the list of names of the kids that use it the night before I filmed.
We're doing that.
We're not just raising money for parking lots.
We're not just raising money for raises.
We gave almost $250,000 to Ukraine.
We're not paying for bombs.
We're paying for souls.
We're trying to save people's lives.
We gave another couple hundred thousand dollars to Turkey, to primarily a muslim community
that's been rocked by an earthquake.
And I know the world is forgotten, but those people still need houses and our ministry and
our dollars are still working there.
And just so you know, when the time is right and we're able to minister to the people in
Gaza, we will do that at Sandals church because that is who we are.
But we live in this world where everything is.
I've made a post and so therefore I'm generous.
I'm woke.
I am amazing.
Jesus says, don't do that.
It's not who you are on social media that matters.
It's who you are in your real life that matters.
And so when you give.
Don't sound a trumpet.
Don't do that.
It always makes me feel so weird, you know when you're at the grocery store and you want to
give money to kids, cancer or whatever, and they ring the bell.
It's so embarrassing.
Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.
I'm like, can you just not do that?
Can I give extra for you not to do that?
It's so embarrassing.
But some people love that.
And you just rounded up $0.02.
Do you want to round up for children?
Oh, it's $0.99.
I'll do it because I'm generous.
Jesus says, don't do it like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets.
A lot of churches when you go there, and I don't want to shame these churches, I just don't
agree with it.
You see people's names on the buildings.
I just don't like that.
I don't like that.
Listen to what he says.
They do it so that they may be praised by others.
Now this teaching is powerful.
Truly, I say to you, this is Jesus speaking.
He says, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing.
Isn't that incredible?
So that your giving may be in secret.
Wow.
One of the reasons it's so important that we do that at this church is that we don't treat
people differently.
It's important.
And he says this, and your father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Man, this is so, so important.
Years ago, I was talking with one of our campus pastors, and he's been with us a long time,
and he said, oh, you remember that time we were trying to raise money?
It was called 24/7 it was our first giving campaign to buy the Hunter park facility.
And I preached on Noah's ark.
And I literally said, this is back in my younger days, it was a little offensive.
You guys think I'm offensive now?
You should have come to church, like 20 years ago.
And my whole sermon was, everybody got on the ark.
It was people or animals, and only the people contributed.
So are you an animal or a person?
I don't.
Okay.
It was a little rough.
But here's what I did, is I told the Church how much I was giving, and this young leader,
he loved that.
And I wrestled with whether or not to tell you guys what Tammy and I are going to do.
And I told the number, amount.
And at the time, I think it inspired a bunch of young people to give, and I'm not going to
tell you what I'm giving because I think that you just need to know that I am.
That I'm going to give over and above, and I'm going to give sacrificially.
But I think it's important that I don't sound the trumpet.
But I want you to know this.
I never ask you to do something that I don't do.
I ask you to serve the church.
I serve the church.
I ask you to give to the church.
I give to the church.
I ask you to be in a small group.
I'm in a small group.
I would never ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself.
Jesus says it's so important to not make a big deal.
There's a lot of ways to show off in your life.
I don't think any of them are good, but it's especially not good to show off with what you
give and make sure that you understand this.
So we're going to work harder to let you guys know what we're doing, just so that you can
know, because I think we're all curious.
Okay, well, where is all this money going?
What happens with all of this?
One of the most exciting things.
Remember last week when I was a menafee and I fell off the stage?
That was awesome.
I told my wife, when we look back and we say, when was the day we became old?
That was the day.
That was the day when I cross over.
When stairs are your enemy, you are now old man.
So it was so embarrassing.
Next service, they put lights on it for me right here, Pastor Matt.
Lastly, stay focused.
Jesus taught that generosity, this is so important.
And some of you have been christians for a long time, and what I'm going to say in this
last point is going to rock you.
Jesus taught that generosity helps to keep me spiritually sharp.
You see, a relationship with Jesus is like all relationships.
There are ups and there are downs.
When you first start dating guys, you're all about the gifts.
Then you're married ten years.
Like, was I supposed to get a gift?
Yes, go get a gift.
But, you know, you can tell how you feel about a relationship based upon the gifts that you
want to give.
It's just true.
Jesus understands there are ups and downs.
He doesn't expect you to be on fire all the time.
People that are like that are liars.
They're not on fire.
They're shouters.
Jesus understands.
He understands.
He knows what it's like to be tired.
He was bored.
He gets the mundane aspects of life.
He was a human.
Jesus understands that relationships have ups and downs.
He just doesn't want a dead relationship.
And so in the book of revelation, it begins with a letter to churches who've let their
relationship with God slip.
And there's a particular letter to the church at Laodicea.
And here's the thing you need to know.
This church doesn't exist anymore, but the letter does because Jesus said, my words will
remain.
And he was true.
He was right.
Thousands of years later, we have to excavate where this church was, and it's just
literally stones and dirt and not a lot of life.
But at one time, there was a lot of life there, and there was a lot of people there who had
done really, really well.
And Jesus says to this church at Leodicea, in revelation, chapter three, verses 15 through
18, he says, I know your deeds.
I know your deeds.
My wife and I, man, whenever I go on a vacation, she's always, like, worried about what I'm
going to do when she's not around.
And you know what I just told her one time?
I said, you're scary.
Let's just say that.
But I don't live a righteous life because I fear you.
I fear the Lord.
There's no hiding from God.
And some of you think you can.
That's why the psalmist says, even in the darkness, you are there.
I know your deeds.
And this is Jesus speaking to a christian church 2000 years ago.
He says that you are neither cold nor hot.
You're not on fire, and you're not falling away.
Listen to what Jesus says.
I wish you were either one or the other.
Wow.
So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth.
Now, you've all heard this.
You've all heard this, but many of you have never read it in context.
What's their problem?
Why aren't they hot?
Why aren't they cold?
Because they've been blessed.
And Jesus calls them out.
He says, you say, I'm rich.
I have acquired wealth.
I don't need a thing, man.
For some of you, the worst thing that could ever happen to you is you win the lottery.
It could destroy your life.
You say, I'm rich, but you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and,
oh, by the way, naked.
Jesus says, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire.
Listen to this so you can become rich.
I have seen this over and over again in our church.
You know how I know when a person is slipping from sandals?
When their giving slips?
The best way to take your spiritual temperature is to look at your giving.
It just is.
And here's what happened to the church at Laodicea.
They were wealthy, they were blessed, and they were just kind of cruising.
Your financial comfort may be your greatest enemy to Christ.
And here's what Jesus said.
If you don't change, I'm going to spit you out.
And listen to me.
There's no one there anymore.
We don't know what happened, but we can guess.
But his words are still here.
And then here I'm going to finish with one of the most misused texts in the history of
scripture.
I wish that you were hot and or cold, but you are not either, because you've fallen in love
with your money.
And some of you say, well, thank God I'm not rich.
Listen to me.
If you make $32,000 more or more, $32,000 a year or more, you are in the top 1% of income
earners in the world.
In the world.
And the only reason you think you're poor is because you haven't gotten out and seen what
poverty is.
You haven't seen it.
You have no idea how blessed you are.
America has many problems, but you are blessed to live here.
And we know this because every day there are thousands upon thousands of people crossing
our border illegally because they would rather be a criminal here than a citizen somewhere
else.
Because they know.
They know.
And we're all upset at what we don't have.
And we haven't thanked God for what we do have.
And here's how this passage ends.
I wish that you were hot.
I wish that you were cold.
But you're neither.
You're just lukewarm.
He says, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth.
And then the passages ends with this verse.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone would answer that door and let me in, I would sit down and eat with them.
We all use this as an invitation for people to accept Christ in their hearts.
This is an invitation for the church and christians to let him back in.
And what happened?
They fell in love with their comfort.
They fell in love with their own money.
They thought they were rich, but according to Jesus, they were broke.
Generosity is the best way I know to keep me spiritually sharp.
It's not the only way, but it's a great way.
And so let's just end as we prepare to take an offering.
And by the way, if you're not ready to give today, you can give throughout the year.
There's two calls.
If you're not a regular giver yet, step up.
Become a regular giver.
If you are a regular giver, pray about giving above and beyond, because that's what we're
trying to do.
We still need to raise a couple of million bucks.
We got a long way to go.
Just pray about it.
Say, lord, what do you want me to do?
And whatever God says, do it.
But generosity is a great way to invite Jesus back into our hearts, back into our lives,
and think about that illustration back into our homes.
How sad would that be for us as christians?
You're all offended that it's all about Santa everywhere else, but Jesus saying, is it
about me in your home?
And he's knocking at the door and he's saying, I want to come in.
So let me close by saying this.
I'm just so grateful for those of you who give.
I am.
There is no ministry without your giving.
It doesn't exist.
And I'm so grateful, and I'm looking forward to see what we do as a church.
And just know this, I'm in this with you.
Tammy and I are giving, and I look forward to what we give.
So let's close and pray and ask God to move in our hearts and then to bless and multiply
this offering, okay?
Because God can do that.
He can multiply things.
So let's ask him to do that.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we pray, Lord, that we would give whatever amount
that you're calling us to give for this special offering, Lord, that we would feel good
about it, and that we would give cheerfully, Lord.
And that we would give generously, Lord.
Whatever it is, I pray that we give it.
God, I just ask that as this money comes in, Lord, from online, from our campuses, and from
our friends, from other churches that watch sandals, as well as attend their own church,
God, I just pray that you would bless this and multiply it, just like you did when a young
boy brought some.
Some fishes and loaves of bread.
And God, as you used it to feed the 50,000, Lord, I pray that you would use this offering
to meet the needs that we have as a church so that we can charge in to 2024, Lord, leading
people to Christ.
We pray this in Jesus name.
Amen.