WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:24.535 If somebody could see your bank statement, would they be able to tell what you actually worship? Today's message is called what's in your wallet, and I'm taking you back to the pulpit at Eagle's Nest Church for this one. Jesus once sat across from the offering box and just watched people give. That's right. He watched them. 00:00:24.855 --> 00:00:44.085 And what he said about a poor widow with two small coins will flip everything you think you know about money and faith. That's what this episode uncovers. I'm coach Lee Jenkins. This is the Stewardship Coach Podcast. Let's get into it. 00:01:02.480 --> 00:01:17.845 Well, why talk about money in church? Somebody say money. Money. Say money money money. You all remember that song by the old j's, I'm sure, but why even talk about this subject in church? 00:01:18.565 --> 00:01:42.495 Very simply, there are over 2,000 verses in the bible that deal with how to handle money and possessions. Over 16 or rather 16 out of the 38 parables in the bible deal with how to handle money and possessions. Jesus said more about money than almost anything. Say anything. Anything. 00:01:42.975 --> 00:02:03.160 But yet, we don't wanna talk about it. But most of us want more of it. Isn't that interesting? So money is not the most important thing in life, but money impacts everything that is important. Money impacts your health. 00:02:04.440 --> 00:02:23.540 Money impacts your family. Money impacts ministry. Salvation is free, but ministry is expenses expensive. So the bottom line, this is a vital subject. It is so important. 00:02:23.940 --> 00:02:48.605 And so we're gonna be talking about this today. The series is called Money Talks What Your Money Says About You. And money does talk. Last week, we talked about how we have to renew our financial mind because some of us, we need our minds renewed. Now, some of that is not your fault. 00:02:49.430 --> 00:03:23.850 We weren't taught about this subject in a very healthy way in school, in our families, or in the church. In fact, most of the time in church when we heard about it, it was either somebody asking for it or somebody not talking about it at all. So there have been two extremes. One extreme is let's beat people over the head about it or the other extreme is let's not talk about it at all. But if you look in the bible, all throughout the bible from Genesis to Revelation, this is a subject that is talked about a lot. 00:03:24.330 --> 00:04:12.545 So why did Jesus spend so much time on this subject? Why does he care about this subject so much? Well, want you to look at this statement, the same statement that I had last week and it is this, you cannot be spiritually free if you are still financially bound. So if your spiritual life will never be what it's supposed to be if you are still financially bound. If you're still worried about money, yes, you can come and get your praise on at church and do what you need to do, but if you have to go back and face those bills and debt and you're arguing about things or you're worried about your future, then you're really not spiritually free. 00:04:13.640 --> 00:04:49.640 So last week, we set the foundation. This week, we're gonna continue to build on that foundation, and then next week and a few weeks after that, we're going to get more into some of the practical biblical issues because everything we're going to be talking about is right in the word of god. Let's pray. Lord, we love you, we thank you, we praise you for who you are, and we ask you to bless our time today. In Jesus name, amen and amen. 00:04:50.840 --> 00:05:25.485 The story is told of two brothers who were notorious notorious criminals in a small town. I mean, they had terrorized this small town with their criminal behavior. They ran a prostitution ring, they ran a robbery ring, and they were drug dealers. And everybody in the town knew that they were criminals. Well, one of the brothers got killed in a shootout with the police. 00:05:26.285 --> 00:05:51.055 The brother who was alive planned his funeral. So he went to one of the local pastors. He said, pastor, I want you to eulogize my brother. The pastor agreed to do it. He said, pastor, during the eulogy, I want you to call my brother a saint. 00:05:51.855 --> 00:06:13.650 And the pastor said, woah, wait a minute, man. Your brother is like you. He's a he was a big criminal. The the the guy said, pastor, if you call my brother a saint and make him look really good, I will give you a million dollars. The pastor said, woah. 00:06:14.485 --> 00:06:24.085 I still don't think I can do that. The guy said, well, go think about it. The funeral is in a few days. So over the next few days, the pastor was thinking about this. He was like, wow, man. 00:06:24.085 --> 00:06:41.260 I could really use a million dollars. I mean, our church, the building fund is coming up, and, know, we're trying to build this new edifice, and and then a million dollars could change in my life. But I can't lie to people. I have to be a man of integrity. Everybody knows this this guy's a criminal. 00:06:42.415 --> 00:07:24.040 So the pastor wrestled with what he was going to do during this funeral. Was he going to call the guy a saint and misrepresent this guy's life and then take the million dollars, or was he going to tell the truth and forfeit the million dollars? Well, it was time for the funeral. The praise team came and sang, and then somebody prayed, and then the pastor came up, and he started sharing the scripture, and he went into the eulogy, and then he got to the part where he was talking about the deceased. He said, this man right here in this casket, you all know what the deal is. 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:40.225 He was a notorious criminal. He ran a prostitution ring. He engaged in robbery. He terrorized this city. But compared to his brother, he was a saint. 00:07:43.905 --> 00:08:07.415 He got the million dollars. You see, it's amazing how creative we could get when it comes to money, isn't it? So what I wanna speak to you today from the subject, what's in your wallet? What's in your wallet? I'm sure you all have seen the ubiquitous Capital One commercials. 00:08:07.415 --> 00:08:52.480 Every time you watch television, it seems like every commercial that comes on features Samuel l Jackson or some other celebrity talking about the Capital One card. And then at the end of the commercial, they ask the question, what's in your wallet? And they are hoping that the capital one card is in your wallet. Will Jesus ask the same question or cares about the same thing? Jesus cares about what's in our wallet and what we do with what's in our wallet. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:09:50.840 Because what's in our wallet or our purse and what we do with it says a lot about where our hearts are. So it's a fascinating story that I'm going to share with you all taken from the gospel of Mark chapter 12. I'm going to be reading from the New Living Translation. So if you have your devices, those of you online, you can look at the the screen right here, or if you have your Bibles, meet me in the New Testament book of the Gospel of Mark chapter 12, and we're just gonna take a journey through a few verses starting at verse 41. Verse 41 reading from the New Living Translation and it reads, Jesus sat down near the collection box in the temple and watched as the crowds of people dropped in their money. 00:09:51.400 --> 00:10:20.040 No. You didn't, Jesus. I mean, can you imagine you all we're doing the offering, and we used to do this back in the early days of eagles nest, especially when we were smaller, where during the offering time, which is a time of worship, we would come down row by row and people would come and drop their offering in the basket. Can you all imagine me standing right by there looking? Everybody who dropped I'm just looking at you. 00:10:20.040 --> 00:10:44.310 Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's what Jesus did, you all. He was very interested in what the people were putting in the baskets and it was a lot of people because he watched as the crowds, not just a few people, dropped in their money. So that's the context. 00:10:44.870 --> 00:11:17.170 He didn't casually walk over there, Jesus was watching them intentionally. By the way, the same thing he does to us today. When we are online, when you are on your phone, when you are in church and you decide to give, Jesus is watching you. He wants to know what's in our wallet because it says a lot about what's in our hearts. Well, let's look at the next two verses. 00:11:17.170 --> 00:11:40.390 Let's see what happened. Many rich say rich. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. First of all, let me tell you something about the place where they did their giving. 00:11:41.110 --> 00:12:04.560 In Jesus' day, people did their giving in the temple. Let's call it the church house. It was not a storefront looking type of place. In fact, it was very plush and very ornate. In the temple, there were receptacles or offering containers, and they were shaped like trumpets. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:32.220 They had 12 of them. And people would go and drop their money in these receptacles that were shaped like trumpets. And when they would drop their money in, you could hear the sounds. For instance, when a rich person would drop their money in, you could hear the sound, ching, ling, ling, ling, ling, ling, ling, ling, ling, ling, and they would kinda walk back to their seat. Yeah. 00:12:32.540 --> 00:13:03.100 They would feel really proud because everybody knew they just put in a whole lot of money because of the sound of the receptacles. And then when poor people came, it would sound something like, ticking. And maybe some people would laugh or they certainly would not give that person a lot of respect. So that's how the people gave in the temple. So what happened after that? 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:38.270 It says, as as in this particular verse, let's look back at this verse forty one and forty two. It says, many rich people put in large amounts, then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Now the Greek word for the type of coins that she dropped in is called lepta. Lepta. Now a lepta was the smallest coin in circulation at that time. 00:13:38.750 --> 00:14:11.930 Sort of like a penny is the smallest coin in circulation in America. Now, a lepta in today's dollars was 1 fourth of a penny. Now again, I wanna set the stage for you. Many rich people were coming and putting in large sums of money, ching, ling, ling, ling, all of this. And then this lady came in and put in 1 fourth of a penny. 00:14:13.615 --> 00:14:38.040 1 fourth of a penny. Let's look and see what happened. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I tell you the truth. Let me stop right there. When this lady put in one fourth of a penny, Jesus was astonished. 00:14:39.880 --> 00:15:19.965 He called his disciples to him and says, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who were making contributions. What? I'm sure his disciples were like, well, that just doesn't make sense because we saw some of the people who were giving large contributions. I know what they drive, I know where they live, I could see the kind of Gucci tunics that they have on. And and the sandals and the and the the chariots, the the Lexus and the Mercedes and the Tesla chariots that they came to church in. 00:15:19.965 --> 00:15:52.395 And then this lady, I saw her get off of MARTA. K? I saw her walk in the church and there is no way that she gave more than they gave. Furthermore, I heard the sound of what she put in. But he says, for they gave a tiny part of their surplus but she as poor as she is has given everything she had to live on. 00:15:54.110 --> 00:16:27.510 I wanna read this in another version just so it will hit you the way I believe it hit the people who were listening to Jesus from The Message Bible. Look at what it says. Jesus called his disciples over and said, the truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. Wait a minute. She gave more, that lepta, than all the others put together and then look at what he says. 00:16:28.230 --> 00:16:49.205 All the others gave what they'll never miss. She gave extravagantly, say extravagantly, what she couldn't afford. That's giving by faith. That's giving over and above. That's giving when you're trusting God, when your circumstances say you should not be giving. 00:16:50.540 --> 00:17:18.675 When your circumstances say, are you crazy? It says she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford. She gave her all. What an incredible story. You see, although the widow gave less from a dollar standpoint, she was commended because she gave more proportionately than the rich people. 00:17:19.555 --> 00:17:54.230 The rich people tipped God. The widow gave sacrificially. Now Jesus does not condemn the rich people. I'm sure the temple officials appreciated very much so what the rich people did. But Jesus is trying to make a deeper point here, and that is that when Jesus looks at our giving, it's not necessarily the amount that impresses Jesus. 00:17:54.230 --> 00:18:20.220 Now, the amount may impress your friends, the pastor, the bank. I'm not saying the amount is not important, but I'm saying some people give a big amount and it doesn't impress God because you're giving so much out of your surplus. It's not extravagant. It's not by faith. In fact, you don't even miss it. 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:51.810 I mean, there are billionaires out there right now where if they gave a million dollars to a ministry, let's say to Eagles Nest Church, they wouldn't even miss it. Now, if you're a billionaire out there, I would gladly I ain't saying you shouldn't do it now. Okay? I'm just saying I would be happy about it because we could use that. But would God be happy? 00:18:53.255 --> 00:19:30.665 I'm not saying God wouldn't be happy, but I'm just saying when God looks at what you have proportionately and and overall, is he looking at that as as something that that is really worship or is it just a little tip that you throw to God? Is it just something casual that you do? Giving is worship you all because Jesus is looking at what we do. That's why you shouldn't you shouldn't treat it so casually. You gotta pray about it and and you gotta worship God when you're giving because he's looking at what we do. 00:19:33.320 --> 00:20:04.460 So what's in your wallet? What do you do with what's in your wallet? What would Jesus say about your giving? Well, for the rest of our time, I wanna give you four quick benefits of giving because I believe one of the reasons people don't get excited about giving extravagantly is because they don't understand what's in it for them. They don't understand what some of the benefits are. 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:46.225 And so I want to share with you one of the benefits of what something that Jesus said, and I need you to get this in your spirit, it's in Acts twenty thirty five. Look at this verse. Jesus says, remember the words of the Lord Jesus, so this is not me, this is Jesus, that he himself says, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, that is so countercultural. That is so counterintuitive because most of us were taught that it is better to receive than to give. 00:20:48.065 --> 00:21:27.610 In fact, a lot of us don't like giving because, check this out, it's not most of our nature. Our nature as human beings, the nature we were born into sin with is more selfish than than generous. You don't have to teach a little child how to be selfish. You have to teach a little toddler how to share because the selfish nature is already there. But then Jesus says, it's more blessed to give than to receive. 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:48.115 Here here is what I think he's saying. Look at this statement right here. The giver is always happier than the getter. The getter is the recipient. So Jesus is saying, you're gonna be happier as a giver than a getter. 00:21:49.700 --> 00:22:13.335 And that's so countercultural to what we have been taught. So let me give you four quick benefits of being a generous giver. These are important things that I need you to think about because I believe it will change your life. And again, we're just building on this foundation. Over the next few weeks, we're gonna be getting into some of the practical stuff. 00:22:13.335 --> 00:22:27.660 Number one, giving draws our hearts closer to Jesus. Repeat after me. Say giving Giving. Will draw my heart Will my heart. Closer Closer. 00:22:27.740 --> 00:23:04.665 To Jesus. I wish that was preached and taught to more in churches because that's why there are over 2,350 verses in the bible that deal with money. That's why 16 out of the 38 parables in the bible deal with money Because of our hearts, because of what giving does to our relationship with Jesus. Giving generously will cause you you to fall more in love with Jesus. Give it a try. 00:23:04.665 --> 00:23:43.140 I promise you, I guarantee you, your relationship with Christ will go deeper. I also guarantee you the more stingy you are, the harder it is to fall more in love with Jesus. Matthew six twenty one, look at what it says. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Your treasure is where your treasure is, your heart will gravitate wherever your treasure is. 00:23:43.140 --> 00:24:02.465 These are the words of Jesus, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Look at this graphic right here. Your heart will always follow your money. I need to let that one sink in because that's what that verse means. Your heart will always follow your money. 00:24:03.345 --> 00:24:24.580 Okay. Look at this. If your treasure is over there, your heart is going to gravitate to wherever your money is. Where your treasure is over there, wherever your treasure is, wherever you are invested heavily and consistently, guess what's going to happen? Your heart is gonna go there too. 00:24:25.645 --> 00:24:42.620 If you don't have your treasure in the stock market then you won't care about the stock market. So when it goes down, no big deal. I don't have any money in it. My affections are not there. My emotions are not tied into it any kind of way because I'm not invested. 00:24:44.860 --> 00:25:15.850 If you are a renter and you don't own a home and home prices go down, no big deal because you're not a homeowner. So your heart is not there. But once your money goes into something consistently, your heart gravitates toward it. And I'm not saying that's always a bad thing, I'm just saying it is a truism. Your treasure is wherever your treasure is, your heart will be there also. 00:25:16.365 --> 00:25:42.350 The reverend Billy Graham said this, look at this statement. He says, our checkbook is our theological document. It tells us who and what we worship. What's in your wallet? Those little dollar bills, those credit cards, those bank statements, I'm using wallet as a euphemism for where wherever you keep your resources. 00:25:44.255 --> 00:26:12.690 And I hope you have I hope you have a bunch of it. We're gonna be talking about how to grow what you have and how to manage better what you have and how to be a blessing to your family and even to future generations. All that is important you all. Don't get me wrong. But if you don't have the right perspective, if you have your treasure going in other places and then you wonder, why can't I get my relationship with Jesus right? 00:26:14.115 --> 00:26:39.930 Why why why am I not feeling it? Why why it could be where your treasure is, there your heart is also. So if I wanna grow closer to Jesus, I have to give generously. If you want to remain distant or have a mediocre relationship with Jesus, then don't give. So I want you to think about that. 00:26:41.530 --> 00:27:19.365 Number two, another benefit of being a generous giver is giving breaks our selfish tendencies. There's something about giving that is so, again, counterintuitive that it breaks something in us. Now, maybe you are the exception, maybe you were born with a generous heart, but I wasn't. I didn't grow up with a lot of money. The first twelve years of my life, we lived in in the projects in Atlanta, not too far from Downtown Atlanta. 00:27:20.165 --> 00:28:06.460 And and I saw quite frequently what not having money looks like. How how it feels not to know where your next meal was coming from. How it feels to know you don't know where you're gonna be living next month. I I know how it feels to have the lights turned off and the electricity turned off and and you light a candle and that's how you see. I I know how it feels to to get the water turned off and you have to go heat up the water, you you you run cold water in the bathtub and then you you you heat up the water on the stove and you pour the hot water and the cold water and you can take a bath. 00:28:07.365 --> 00:28:30.920 Why? Because the hot water is turned off. I know how it feels to struggle financially because most of my young life, my family did. Now there are a lot of reasons for that. My father was an alcoholic and that led to him being irresponsible financially, and my mother, a lot of that burden fell on her and it was just really difficult. 00:28:31.960 --> 00:29:03.150 So when I committed my life to Christ and I first heard about how important it is to give, I was not I was not real open to it you all. In fact, I was like some of you all, looking at the preacher like he's crazy. I was like, uh-uh. When I make money, I'm gonna keep it because I know how it feels to be broke and poor. And then God began to work on my heart. 00:29:04.725 --> 00:30:16.760 And I'll all the details, but I was in my mid twenties and the church I was going to at the time, I had a situation and it was a very small church and if we didn't raise $30,000 in the next week or so, they were gonna come and take the building. It was some kind of situation and it was a real situation and it was not a very big building. And so the pastor came out and he shared the situation with us and he says, we need to raise $30,000 and I know some of you are regular givers, which I was at the time, but he says, I'm going to have to ask some of you all to give over and above what you normally give. And I remember the holy spirit speaking to me saying, you need to give $500. Now that's not a lot of money to some of you all, but this was in the mid nineteen eighties and I was living from paycheck to paycheck, I wasn't making a lot of money, I was a young adult, had a car note, had to pay rent. 00:30:17.320 --> 00:30:39.565 So I said, that can't be the holy spirit. I rebuke you, Satan. That's what I said. But I knew deep down inside it was the holy spirit saying, give $500. Here is the problem, I'm reasoning, I'm I'm I'm rationalizing this in my head, I'm like, Lord, if I give $500, I'm gonna come up short at the end of the month. 00:30:40.650 --> 00:31:06.205 Peter is gonna get robbed and Paul gonna get robbed and Pookie ain't gonna get his money either. I I just it just did not make sense, but I knew the lord wanted me to do it. I wrote the check, gave the offering. It felt so good because I knew I was obeying God. Until I got home, I had giving remorse. 00:31:07.165 --> 00:31:23.100 Like, are you crazy? What have you done? All this faith stuff, have you lost your mind? That was nothing but the devil. A few weeks go by and I know I got some bills due and I know it's not adding up. 00:31:25.195 --> 00:31:40.000 One of my friends calls me you all. He was a pro football player. We had never talked about money before. He calls me up out of the blue, he said, Lee, God told me to ask you something. I said, okay. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:52.320 What's that? He said, how are you doing financially? My friend has never asked about my finances before and pride in me. Guess what I said y'all? Oh, I'm doing great. 00:31:53.040 --> 00:31:59.125 Oh, man. I'm rolling, bro. I'm doing good. He said, wow. Okay. 00:32:00.005 --> 00:32:18.250 Well, okay. Well, I I tell you what, I'm just gonna do what the lord told me to do. He said, I'm supposed to send you a thousand dollars right now. I said, I'm really not doing great, man. Oh, thank you, Jesus. 00:32:18.810 --> 00:32:34.385 Oh, god. You just don't know your answer to a prayer. Oh my god. Oh, I just cried like a baby. So I get the 500 back plus another 500. 00:32:35.105 --> 00:33:03.415 And y'all, ever since then, I said, god, I trust you with everything I got. I'm never gonna worry about it again. And so that was my breakthrough you all when it comes to being selfish. God broke something in me and I've been tithing and giving above the tithe ever since. And God has prospered me and I believe he wants to do that with you. 00:33:03.415 --> 00:33:40.300 Lastly, the final benefit of being a generous giver is look at this. Giving increases our material blessings. Now let's be honest, most of us wouldn't mind our material blessings increase. However, this is a dangerous statement right here because so many people have abused this, have told people that if you give, you'll become a millionaire. Or God will wipe out your debt or God will do this or God will do that. 00:33:40.300 --> 00:34:19.765 And there's one that this extreme, this prosperity theology extreme that that ties in your giving to all of the stuff that you want. If you give, you'll drive a Mercedes or you'll have a half $1,000,000 house. All you gotta do is give to the Lord. Now God has often and certainly can and has blessed people materially because of their obedience to him. But you don't give to get, but you should give expecting God to bless you. 00:34:22.965 --> 00:34:41.570 Look at this statement. Giving is not God's way of taking something from you. Giving is God's way of getting something to you. A lot of us, if I give, I lose. No. 00:34:41.570 --> 00:35:04.140 When you give, you win. You he opens up opens up things for you. Proverbs eleven twenty four and twenty five, last verse. It says, give freely and become more wealthy. Be stingy and lose everything. 00:35:05.260 --> 00:35:40.900 So what am I saying here? And this is the foundational again, the last two weeks have been more focused on the foundation that you have to understand because we can't talk about building wealth, we can't talk about investing and saving and getting out of debt and and and doing great things through our business and through our careers if you don't get this right. What's in your wallet? What are you doing with what's in your wallet? And what will Jesus say as he looks at what you do? 00:35:42.805 --> 00:36:11.830 I believe God wants to bless you tremendously. I believe maybe the thing that is holding some of you back the most is your lack of generosity, But it really boils down you all to a trust issue. That's what it boiled down to with me. Am I gonna trust God? And by the way, this is a biblical principle, the principle of sowing and reaping. 00:36:13.095 --> 00:36:30.150 And this works in any area of your life. It works in your marriage. If you sow into your marriage, you will reap good things. You cannot expect to take a withdrawal if there haven't has not been deposits. What's in your wallet? 00:36:30.950 --> 00:37:23.115 Let's pray. Father, we thank you, we love you, we praise you, we need you. Lord, I'm asking these men and women to do something that is not natural. I'm asking you to do something in their hearts just like you did in my heart that is supernatural, and that is to trust you, that is to be generous, That is not to let our nature take over. And so, Lord, I'm praying for those right now who you're speaking to. 00:37:24.220 --> 00:38:04.960 Just like you spoke to me twenty five or thirty years ago. Lord, I'm praying as they are obedient to you and only you can stir their hearts that you will bless them tremendously. Lord, I'm praying they may not have the same experience I have, and I'm not telling that story to to set some kind of prototype that everybody should should shoot for. I'm telling that story and that, Lord, you are a provider, and you're not gonna let us out give you. So be with us, Lord, as we are obedient to you. 00:38:05.395 --> 00:38:25.470 In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Let's give the Lord praise for his word, everybody. Yes. If something in this message challenged you or gave you a next step, that's what it was for. Don't just sit on it, do something with it. 00:38:25.550 --> 00:38:38.805 This week, and let me know what resonated with you the most in the comments. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. God bless you. Now see you in the next one.