WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.440 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:47.860 So now, if you've got your Bibles, open them up. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.500 We're at James chapter 5. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.940 We're going to start reading in verse 1. 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:53.860 Read verses 1 through 6 this morning. 00:00:55.120 --> 00:00:55.880 James says, 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.640 Come now, you rich. 00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:03.160 Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:08.480 Your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:16.020 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you, 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.840 and will eat your flesh like fire. 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:23.880 You have laid up treasure in the last days. 00:01:23.880 --> 00:01:29.320 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:35.460 are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the 00:01:35.460 --> 00:01:36.200 Lord of hosts. 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:40.780 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. 00:01:41.260 --> 00:01:44.600 You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 00:01:45.220 --> 00:01:48.620 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. 00:01:49.160 --> 00:01:51.440 He does not resist you. 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:56.100 So as we read this, as we dive in, I don't know if you're like me, but a lot of times we 00:01:56.100 --> 00:01:59.660 read scripture, and immediately it's like, all right, how is this relating to me? 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:02.100 And then we hear, come now, you rich. 00:02:03.160 --> 00:02:05.720 And so we're like, whew, not me today, right? 00:02:07.820 --> 00:02:08.720 Well, maybe it is. 00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:10.680 Maybe it is you. 00:02:10.760 --> 00:02:11.500 Maybe it is me. 00:02:12.420 --> 00:02:14.740 As we dive in, as we look at this. 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:21.540 Because what I want us to get to is that while we can begin to think that that money is going 00:02:21.540 --> 00:02:28.340 to be the target of the message this morning, that money is going to be the target of James 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:32.340 as he pens this, is that money is not the target at all. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:37.980 And so what I want us to do this morning as we get into this, I want us to take just a few 00:02:37.980 --> 00:02:46.740 moments this morning and begin by debunking the money and the wealth myth that oftentimes is held 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:47.700 by believers. 00:02:48.600 --> 00:02:52.600 And it's going to give us some of the importance of what it means as we talk about this, of 00:02:52.600 --> 00:02:55.640 reading scripture in context, all right? 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:01.900 The importance of reading the entirety of scripture, of working through and understanding what God's 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:02.400 word says. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:08.640 Because if we read this on a surface level, we can walk away from here by saying, well, 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:12.540 if I'm not wealthy, if I don't have a lot of money, then this isn't about me. 00:03:12.600 --> 00:03:16.600 Because this is about the wealthy, this is about money, and that's not me. 00:03:17.920 --> 00:03:18.160 All right? 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.700 But that's not at all what James is getting us to. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:25.140 So the first myth that I want us to kind of work out and understand that this isn't true, 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:27.600 myth number one, is that money is evil. 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:30.160 Money is not evil. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:31.820 Money is not evil. 00:03:32.580 --> 00:03:33.580 In fact, look at scripture. 00:03:34.660 --> 00:03:34.860 Right? 00:03:34.940 --> 00:03:36.000 First Timothy 6.10. 00:03:36.420 --> 00:03:42.900 For the, what love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. 00:03:43.940 --> 00:03:49.380 It is through this craving that some have wandered away from faith and pierced themselves with 00:03:49.380 --> 00:03:49.820 many pains. 00:03:49.820 --> 00:03:54.620 So, so Paul writes to Timothy and he says, look, here's what you need to understand. 00:03:54.760 --> 00:04:02.320 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils, plural. 00:04:03.540 --> 00:04:08.580 And that people have wandered away from the faith because of this. 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:15.740 Jesus looks at his followers in Luke 16.13 and says, no servant can serve two masters. 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:23.900 For either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise 00:04:23.900 --> 00:04:24.540 the other. 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:28.680 You cannot serve God and money. 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:34.320 So is money a cautious thing for us as believers? 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:35.120 Yes. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:36.540 Yes. 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:42.520 You and I, with what we do in accountability, you and I, with what we do in integrity, you 00:04:42.520 --> 00:04:48.040 and I, with what we do with God has blessed us with, need to be mindful when it comes to 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:49.880 things of money. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:56.400 But the truth is, you can be broke and still idolize money. 00:04:57.940 --> 00:05:05.780 You can be not a penny in the account this morning with no hope of another penny to come 00:05:05.780 --> 00:05:13.560 in tomorrow and still fall into the pattern of sin where we idolize and love money. 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:17.300 I used this illustration a few weeks ago, and I'm going to use it again. 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:19.100 Money is like a hammer, right? 00:05:19.260 --> 00:05:20.700 It's what you do with it. 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:23.140 Hammers build houses. 00:05:24.320 --> 00:05:26.720 They don't fix computers, right? 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:31.880 The illustration, a guy named Tom McCullough, was my first small group leader that I ever 00:05:31.880 --> 00:05:32.160 had. 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:39.620 And Tom, a little bit older than me, Tom, brilliant mind engineer, but that man hated computers. 00:05:39.880 --> 00:05:42.560 And I was sitting there one day, and we were talking. 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:44.080 I was like, yeah, I had some issues at work today. 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:45.720 My computer's not working right. 00:05:45.880 --> 00:05:47.540 And he's like, well, bring your computer to me. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:48.540 I can fix it. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:50.080 Now, I know here's what Tom can do. 00:05:50.300 --> 00:05:51.520 Tom can build anything. 00:05:51.840 --> 00:05:55.680 He can fix tractors, cars, like the man is a plumber, like he's got it all. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.380 And for a moment, I was really impressed. 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:02.300 I was like, Tom, of all the things that you can do, you can fix computers too. 00:06:02.460 --> 00:06:04.740 He said, absolutely, I only need one tool, a hammer. 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:08.420 And if you give me a hammer, I can promise you that computer will never be an issue for 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:09.080 you again, right? 00:06:10.400 --> 00:06:12.300 So, Tom, that's not fixing it, buddy. 00:06:12.340 --> 00:06:13.300 That's not what I need, right? 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:15.080 Hammers for building houses. 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:17.740 Hammers don't fix computers, right? 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.880 We're going to see that money is not the issue. 00:06:22.200 --> 00:06:25.020 Money can be used for a lot of good in this world. 00:06:25.780 --> 00:06:29.980 Money can be used for the sake of the gospel in this world. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:36.600 But money can also be used in the love and pursuit of money for a lot of evil in this world 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:37.060 as well. 00:06:37.340 --> 00:06:41.880 So, what we'll be able to understand, right, is that money isn't evil, but that the love 00:06:41.880 --> 00:06:46.720 of money is, and it matters whose hand it's in, and the condition of their heart, right? 00:06:46.960 --> 00:06:51.720 Myth number two, rich people are evil, right? 00:06:51.840 --> 00:06:53.780 Rich people are evil, right? 00:06:53.860 --> 00:06:57.380 We see this, we hear this, we get the feeling for this. 00:06:57.460 --> 00:07:02.260 All of a sudden, we see people with wealth, and we think greedy. 00:07:03.340 --> 00:07:04.580 We think cheaters. 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:09.020 We go back to, like, the Robin Hood days, right? 00:07:09.460 --> 00:07:12.760 They're just taken from the poor of what's there. 00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:19.260 That rich people, if you are rich, then you've got to have a past that's a little bit sketchy 00:07:19.260 --> 00:07:21.500 to get you where you are today, right? 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:26.200 That's what we begin to feel and think oftentimes, but it's not the case at all. 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:31.240 Just as many instances in life today and in Scripture, right? 00:07:31.760 --> 00:07:34.500 Boaz, from the story of Ruth, right? 00:07:34.580 --> 00:07:36.800 Wealthy, wealthy man. 00:07:38.020 --> 00:07:40.240 He's his kinsman redeemer for her. 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:46.100 Provides and cares and is good and is righteous in who he is. 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:52.900 You see, Joseph of Arimathea in Matthew 27, a very wealthy man. 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:59.700 And after the crucifixion of Jesus, when everyone's running away and everyone's hiding and everyone's 00:07:59.700 --> 00:08:02.260 afraid, they don't want to be arrested, what does he do? 00:08:02.260 --> 00:08:12.480 He goes to Pilate, asks for the body of Jesus, prepares the body for burial, and placed Jesus 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:15.240 into his family's tomb. 00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:22.320 A man of wealth, a man of power, but a man who loved Christ, right? 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:29.980 We see Lydia in Acts chapter 16, a wealthy business one from Thyatira who was saved under 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.340 the teaching of Paul in Philippi. 00:08:32.660 --> 00:08:39.620 And a lot of early church historians suggest that she and her funds were a lot of what could 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:44.840 take place to help spread the gospel and to fund missionaries during the days of the early 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:45.260 church. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:47.540 And this is what we see. 00:08:48.900 --> 00:08:49.960 We see in King David. 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:57.340 We see in King Solomon over and over and over again, we see people of wealth, people with 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:01.080 money, but who were using it for the means who glorify God. 00:09:01.140 --> 00:09:02.240 So where do we get this from? 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:09.380 Where do we begin to get these things, these notions in our head that money is evil and that 00:09:09.380 --> 00:09:11.620 if you have a lot of it, then you must be evil too? 00:09:11.880 --> 00:09:16.140 Well, oftentimes we as believers get this because we take scripture out of context. 00:09:16.800 --> 00:09:19.100 We don't understand what is happening. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:23.840 So if you've got your Bibles open, hold where you're at in James 5, but jump over to Matthew 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:24.440 19. 00:09:27.180 --> 00:09:29.600 It's an interaction that Jesus is going to have. 00:09:29.660 --> 00:09:32.140 We're going to look at his interaction with his disciples first. 00:09:32.520 --> 00:09:37.200 And then we're going to jump back a few moments before that happened and look at his interaction 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:39.720 with someone else. 00:09:40.760 --> 00:09:42.400 So Matthew 19, verse 23. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:52.400 And Jesus said to his disciples, truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich 00:09:52.400 --> 00:09:54.640 person enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:09:54.900 --> 00:09:55.560 And we're like, well, pause. 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:56.660 That's all we need right there, right? 00:09:57.480 --> 00:09:57.980 Verse 24. 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:03.660 Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for 00:10:03.660 --> 00:10:05.640 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 00:10:05.640 --> 00:10:12.720 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, who then can be saved? 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:20.260 But Jesus looked at them and said, with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things 00:10:20.260 --> 00:10:21.400 are possible. 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:28.700 What Jesus is doing in Matthew 19, 23 through 26, is he's explaining to the disciples what 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:29.520 just happened. 00:10:30.180 --> 00:10:35.380 He's explaining to them what just took place, what they observed as they would have been 00:10:35.380 --> 00:10:41.880 shocked to watch Jesus' conversation with a man that most of us know as the rich young 00:10:41.880 --> 00:10:43.620 ruler or the rich young man. 00:10:44.780 --> 00:10:50.440 There's this individual a few verses earlier, and he comes to Jesus, and he asks Jesus a question. 00:10:50.740 --> 00:10:58.440 And his question is, what good deed must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:10:59.380 --> 00:11:05.240 And Jesus, in this dialogue with him, asked him about the word good. 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.200 And he says, well, what is good? 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:12.160 What good deed must I do, the rich young man says. 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:17.160 And Jesus says to him, well, there is only one who is good. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:23.060 And then Jesus used the words, keep the commandments. 00:11:23.260 --> 00:11:24.700 Now, here's what this means. 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:35.080 If you've ever broken one, if you are breaking one, or if you ever will break one, then you're 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:40.740 not keeping, you haven't kept, and you will not keep the commandments. 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:49.800 And so Jesus lays out before him a list, not of all of them, but of some. 00:11:51.420 --> 00:11:56.940 And you and I know, yeah, violated that, violated that, violated that, violated that. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:00.720 But the rich young man looks at him and says, but I've done all. 00:12:01.900 --> 00:12:02.700 All of us. 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:10.040 Looks at him, I'm a walking picture of religious perfection is what he claims before Christ. 00:12:11.160 --> 00:12:13.620 And then Jesus looks at him and says, right? 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:18.480 He says, if I've done all this, what do I still lack? 00:12:19.280 --> 00:12:27.120 And Jesus said to him, if you would be perfect, go and sell what you possess and give to the 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:32.680 poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me. 00:12:33.680 --> 00:12:41.820 And when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:53.600 So Jesus, as he looks at his disciples, is explaining to them what just happened before. 00:12:55.180 --> 00:13:06.460 And he says, that idol that you have that's in your heart, go and get rid of it, and then 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:07.340 come and follow me. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:13.960 You see, Jesus' disciples would have been blown away that this conversation is even happening 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:14.820 to begin with. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:21.740 Because in most of the culture of that time, if you were Jewish and you had a lot of money, 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:28.640 which this guy was Jewish, this guy did have a lot of money, then everyone around you believed 00:13:28.640 --> 00:13:30.020 that you were going to heaven. 00:13:30.180 --> 00:13:36.100 Not because you could buy your way in, but because it was obvious by your amount of wealth 00:13:36.100 --> 00:13:38.500 that you've been blessed by God. 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:43.780 And what Jesus does here, he says, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's about the heart. 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:46.100 It's about the heart. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:53.680 How you define yourself, where you see, are you pursuing this, or are you pursuing the Lord? 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:57.200 And so Jesus steps right in and cuts to the heart of it. 00:13:57.280 --> 00:14:03.900 So while it may appear here that James is going after the wealthy, James is more so attacking 00:14:03.900 --> 00:14:07.100 the heart of those who sinfully love their money. 00:14:07.180 --> 00:14:08.260 Look back at verses one and three. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:09.560 One through three. 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:11.760 Come now, you rich. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.500 Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 00:14:14.900 --> 00:14:18.540 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 00:14:19.540 --> 00:14:26.120 Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:27.200 your flesh like fire. 00:14:27.520 --> 00:14:30.260 You have laid up treasure in the last days. 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:35.480 So if we're not talking about the sin of money, then what are we looking at here? 00:14:36.020 --> 00:14:42.020 And the first thing I think James is addressing here is the love of money and the sin of selfishness. 00:14:43.180 --> 00:14:46.620 The love of money and the sin of selfishness. 00:14:47.400 --> 00:14:49.520 James begins with a warning here. 00:14:51.320 --> 00:15:01.860 If money is at your heart, whether you've got a lot of it or none of it, if money is at the pursuit 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:05.580 of the love that's there, James begins with a warning. 00:15:06.280 --> 00:15:11.400 Weep and howl for the misery that is coming. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:14.300 Those are strong words. 00:15:15.640 --> 00:15:17.740 James says, this is who you are. 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:24.280 It's not a brokenness that needs to happen when it takes place, but in every fiber of your being 00:15:24.280 --> 00:15:27.000 that this is what awaits you. 00:15:27.680 --> 00:15:35.220 And then he describes this sin, that the sin of selfishness that's manifest itself right through 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:38.040 the behavior of hoarding is what we see. 00:15:39.260 --> 00:15:46.260 The sin of selfishness that looks at the possessions of what they've accumulated over time and says 00:15:46.260 --> 00:15:49.600 this, what is mine is mine. 00:15:51.040 --> 00:15:51.600 Ooh. 00:15:53.060 --> 00:15:54.220 Is that our mindset? 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.480 What is mine is mine. 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:00.340 That's logical. 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:05.460 That's culturally applicable. 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:08.540 But it's just not biblical. 00:16:09.900 --> 00:16:10.960 And that's the problem. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.200 The sin of selfishness says what's mine is mine. 00:16:16.680 --> 00:16:21.880 And so James defines it here that you have more than you need. 00:16:22.040 --> 00:16:28.180 And instead of being generous from the excess, you say, no, no, no, no, this is mine. 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:32.100 So he says this, your clothes, they rot. 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:37.240 Your gold and silver, they corrode. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.640 And what happens is that God is watching. 00:16:42.640 --> 00:16:43.620 God is watching. 00:16:44.760 --> 00:16:47.960 So what do we do with these things? 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:55.320 If it's not bad to have them, then what does it look like when we have them? 00:16:55.400 --> 00:17:04.220 What's the attitude that glorifies the Lord in our life in a calling of being generous? 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:10.460 You know, you have those moments where if you're writing a book, you're going to list these stories that have happened in your life. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:11.900 At least that's how my mind thinks. 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:20.180 And one of those is a conversation that I had very early on in ministry at the first church that I was serving at with a man by the name of Melvin Lord. 00:17:20.300 --> 00:17:23.860 Now, Melvin's gone on to be with the Lord at a young age. 00:17:24.060 --> 00:17:27.440 Went in for a simple outpatient surgery, right? 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:30.500 And in that time, the Lord called him home. 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:38.680 But if you were to ask me, like some of the most godly men that God's ever given me the privilege to be around, Melvin and Lord. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:40.480 Melvin Lord is one of those. 00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:47.320 Just what all that God taught me through his kindness and his grace and his generosity just was mind-blowing. 00:17:47.320 --> 00:17:54.780 But early on in our ministry at the church there, Melvin said, hey, I want to come by the office because I've got something for you. 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:56.660 I'm like, okay, great, great, great. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.640 So he came by that day and he gave me a gift. 00:18:01.080 --> 00:18:01.820 He gave me a gift. 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:06.880 Now, what a gift is, it's not important, but Melvin gave me a gift. 00:18:08.260 --> 00:18:13.100 And so I'm sitting there, I'm early on in ministry, not even married yet. 00:18:13.100 --> 00:18:15.400 Just getting ready to get married in a couple of weeks. 00:18:16.260 --> 00:18:24.420 And I'm trying to parse through in my brain, how do I humbly interact in this moment? 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:26.180 Very generous gift. 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:33.800 And I said to Melvin in that moment, I said, man, thank you so much for this, but I just don't know if I can accept it. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:35.840 But thank you. 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:37.360 Thank you so much. 00:18:38.540 --> 00:18:39.720 And I'll never forget. 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:41.340 You can ask Aaron. 00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:43.600 Melvin always smiled. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.400 He stopped smiling. 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:57.720 And he looked at me and he said this, Bo, God told me to do this for you, to give this to you. 00:18:58.520 --> 00:19:02.560 Now, what you do with it is between you and him. 00:19:03.280 --> 00:19:05.700 But I don't care about being obedient to you. 00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:07.920 I care about being obedient to the Lord. 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:12.680 Okay. 00:19:13.800 --> 00:19:14.280 Okay. 00:19:15.360 --> 00:19:18.000 Folks, that's generosity. 00:19:20.080 --> 00:19:24.220 I'm not who Melvin was being obedient to. 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.080 I'm not the focal point of the story. 00:19:30.260 --> 00:19:37.140 God is, as Melvin says, what you've told me to do, Lord, I'm going to do. 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:39.820 And what he does with it is between you and him. 00:19:40.820 --> 00:19:44.980 But I'm going to live in the obedience of generosity. 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:55.500 Melvin's definition of generosity was not based in my worthiness, but was based in his obedience to the Lord. 00:19:56.220 --> 00:19:58.180 So, don't be selfish. 00:19:58.300 --> 00:19:59.340 Be generous. 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:01.480 Don't be selfish. 00:20:01.600 --> 00:20:02.060 Be generous. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:10.820 How do we fight against the love of money, the sinful love of money, the sinful pursuit of selfishness? 00:20:11.140 --> 00:20:12.120 Be generous. 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:15.360 Your clothes are going to rot. 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:18.680 Your money is going to corrode. 00:20:19.540 --> 00:20:20.920 But eternity matters. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:22.920 Be generous. 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:23.960 Be generous. 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:25.880 Let's keep looking at verse 4. 00:20:27.520 --> 00:20:34.700 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. 00:20:35.260 --> 00:20:39.680 And the cries of the harvesters had reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.900 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. 00:20:44.100 --> 00:20:47.400 You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:50.260 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:52.680 He does not resist you. 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:57.280 So, we've seen the love of money, right, through the sin of selfishness. 00:20:57.520 --> 00:21:00.480 But now here what we see is the love of money and the sin of stealing. 00:21:01.280 --> 00:21:02.960 It's the sin of stealing, right? 00:21:03.080 --> 00:21:06.520 So, the sin of selfishness says, what is mine is mine. 00:21:07.840 --> 00:21:11.780 And the sin of stealing says, and what is yours is mine. 00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:19.820 Now, the illustration that James gives us here is of a wealthy landowner who hires people to work for him. 00:21:20.280 --> 00:21:28.700 And instead of paying them what he promised, what is right, he defrauds them. 00:21:29.340 --> 00:21:38.600 And he took the money that would have been right to give to them, whether he lied and didn't follow through or he underpaid of what the job was worth. 00:21:38.780 --> 00:21:40.260 Both of those are defrauding. 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:43.080 Both of them are defrauding. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.020 And instead, he lived extravagantly with it. 00:21:47.760 --> 00:21:50.620 Now, when you and I think of stealing, we kind of think on scales, right? 00:21:51.340 --> 00:21:51.520 Right? 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:52.900 We all had it. 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:53.640 We all did it, right? 00:21:53.740 --> 00:22:00.240 That on a low scale, it's the sin of the little kid who the cookie jars left out on the counter. 00:22:00.840 --> 00:22:01.840 Mom says, no cookies. 00:22:02.080 --> 00:22:02.700 What do they do? 00:22:02.860 --> 00:22:03.600 Mom's not looking. 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:05.020 Cookie, right? 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:06.060 Chocolate all over the mouth. 00:22:06.180 --> 00:22:06.600 You're caught. 00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:07.140 You're guilty. 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:08.380 Stop sinning, right? 00:22:08.780 --> 00:22:09.960 We think of that. 00:22:10.760 --> 00:22:12.360 Or we think of the extremes. 00:22:13.520 --> 00:22:14.400 The bank robber. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:16.600 People breaking into houses. 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:18.760 Taking what's not theirs. 00:22:19.780 --> 00:22:26.460 If you've ever been, not a part of the action, but if you've ever been a part of a recipient of someone who's broken in, 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:30.040 it's one of the most violating experiences you can go through. 00:22:30.040 --> 00:22:32.040 And we think of these extremes. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:43.360 But James kind of pulls it down into this dynamic of this social interaction that is seen from employer to employee. 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:45.200 Where, again, I want to emphasize this. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:56.780 It's either they didn't fulfill what they said they were going to do, or they devalued and defrauded and should have paid more, 00:22:57.540 --> 00:23:03.060 but instead, through sinful means, paid less. 00:23:03.120 --> 00:23:11.780 And so what we see from this is that James tells us here that if we steal from people within our hearts, 00:23:11.840 --> 00:23:16.100 what we're doing is we're seeking to deceive them from our own personal benefit. 00:23:17.060 --> 00:23:17.160 Right? 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:23.700 So now, now theft is deception that benefits me. 00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:30.920 Theft is deception, not truth, that benefits me. 00:23:31.100 --> 00:23:31.820 We're deceiving. 00:23:32.060 --> 00:23:33.100 It's what comes from our heart. 00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:39.220 So while money is at the heart of this illustration, what we see, the question, what we should look at is, 00:23:39.220 --> 00:23:48.160 but are we people who devalue others enough so what we look to do is to defraud and to deceive so that we can benefit from them? 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:52.200 We see these matters of integrity, right? 00:23:53.280 --> 00:23:56.700 I read this pastor this week, and he said this. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:01.860 You can either get what you want in life by using people to get it, 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:08.800 or you can love people in this world by using what God has given you to bless them. 00:24:09.580 --> 00:24:13.840 It's the matter and the point of what we see against others, 00:24:14.540 --> 00:24:18.540 what we see and how we view them, right? 00:24:18.580 --> 00:24:20.180 So what are we doing? 00:24:20.360 --> 00:24:21.960 How do we view others? 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:29.180 What is this picture that God is giving us in these moments, right? 00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:31.740 It's about our hearts. 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:40.180 The heart of selfishness, the heart of stealing, the heart of greed that we have. 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.980 So I want to close with this. 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:45.520 What do we do with money then? 00:24:46.820 --> 00:24:48.060 What do we do with it? 00:24:49.300 --> 00:24:54.780 So earlier in James 1, we kind of see a glimpse of this. 00:24:56.120 --> 00:24:57.580 James 1 verse 16. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:11.160 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:14.780 coming down from the Father of lights, 00:25:14.780 --> 00:25:23.740 with whom there is no variation or shadow due to its change. 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:29.560 So let's look at what we've received. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:32.020 Let's look at money. 00:25:32.760 --> 00:25:34.060 Let's look at our gifts. 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:35.940 Let's look at our families. 00:25:36.600 --> 00:25:37.800 Let's look at our lives. 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:41.900 Let's look at our time and ask ourselves this question. 00:25:42.520 --> 00:25:48.700 If it's been the sin, the love of money and the sin that accompanies it, 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:54.020 then let's look at the positive and see the love of God and the call to stewardship. 00:25:55.020 --> 00:25:57.140 The love of God and the call to stewardship. 00:25:57.860 --> 00:26:07.620 This is what God gives us as God blesses, as God provides in for each one of us as he sees fit. 00:26:08.020 --> 00:26:16.580 Because while we've seen the behaviors and the patterns of those who love money and respond sinfully, 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:21.220 what is mine is mine, or what is yours is mine as well. 00:26:22.300 --> 00:26:27.920 Stewardship says this, all that I have is God's. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:36.000 And God allows me, calls me, and commands me to be a manager of it. 00:26:36.600 --> 00:26:37.720 To be a manager of it. 00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:43.100 So stewardship says, all that I have is a gift from the Lord. 00:26:43.780 --> 00:26:47.140 And I want to please him with it. 00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:57.900 I want him to see with what I have done and his response to me is that I used it for his name and for his glory. 00:26:58.220 --> 00:27:05.040 That I used it not in selfish pursuit of myself, but what I used it was in selfless pursuit of the gospel. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.100 That I was a steward. 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:12.940 And so the illustration that James rolls with is the issue of money. 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:18.640 So let's talk in closing about the behaviors of stewardship when it comes to money. 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:21.240 So what do we do with what we have? 00:27:22.320 --> 00:27:22.920 What do we do? 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:26.280 Maybe we're in high school and we've got that first job. 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:30.620 About said Chick-fil-A because it feels like every high schooler works at Chick-fil-A, right? 00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:32.360 But it's good, man. 00:27:32.580 --> 00:27:35.200 That line's four miles long and you're out of there in five minutes. 00:27:35.260 --> 00:27:35.900 I'm just telling you. 00:27:36.140 --> 00:27:37.120 I don't know how they do it. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.340 Right? 00:27:38.860 --> 00:27:45.880 One day, this is side note, side note completely, but you're going to go to a Clemson, Carolina football game and Highway Patrol's not going to be out there. 00:27:46.320 --> 00:27:48.760 But it's going to be a thousand Chick-fil-A teenagers. 00:27:49.120 --> 00:27:53.040 And they're going to have everybody out of that stadium in less than five minutes. 00:27:53.100 --> 00:27:53.340 All right? 00:27:53.360 --> 00:27:53.880 They can do it. 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:54.300 They can do it. 00:27:54.300 --> 00:27:54.640 I don't know how. 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:56.000 All right. 00:27:56.660 --> 00:28:06.760 So whether you're in high school with your first job, you're getting into your career, you see that check that you didn't know you could make that much money, 00:28:08.060 --> 00:28:13.180 or you see that check and you didn't know you could make so little, and you're wondering, wait a minute, wait a minute. 00:28:13.260 --> 00:28:18.200 They said this salary, but I see all of these negatives that are on one side of this check, right? 00:28:19.560 --> 00:28:25.500 You're retired, living up off of what you've saved and what you're being given. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:27.820 What are the behaviors of stewardship? 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:33.380 This has been where I just sat down with the Lord this weekend, just wrestled. 00:28:34.280 --> 00:28:41.260 Talking and thinking through others that I see this in their life, looking at Scripture, and I found five practices. 00:28:41.560 --> 00:28:46.820 This isn't, please hear me, this isn't one of these where it's like, man, just do these and your heart will be good. 00:28:47.560 --> 00:28:53.700 But I will say, when I see these existing in the areas of my life is when I know that I glorify God the best. 00:28:53.760 --> 00:28:53.880 Amen? 00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:57.220 Number one, tithe. 00:28:58.320 --> 00:28:58.680 Tithe. 00:28:59.560 --> 00:29:04.980 This isn't going to be a message about tithing, but we talk about money and we talk about the Bible, so we've got to talk about it. 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:06.020 Tithe. 00:29:06.820 --> 00:29:08.760 10% to the church. 00:29:09.580 --> 00:29:10.080 Here's the deal. 00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:12.000 We don't command it, God does. 00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:14.840 And when you don't do it, it's sin. 00:29:15.820 --> 00:29:16.260 That's it. 00:29:17.300 --> 00:29:17.700 Tithe. 00:29:18.520 --> 00:29:21.900 God says, I give you this, and here's your response back to your church. 00:29:22.540 --> 00:29:22.900 Tithe. 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:24.120 Tithe. 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:25.840 And here's the deal. 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:29.720 God doesn't need your money or my money. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:31.040 But let me tell you this. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.320 I need God to have it. 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.720 I need God to have it. 00:29:35.360 --> 00:29:37.540 And I need God to work in that. 00:29:37.620 --> 00:29:39.140 So number one, tithe. 00:29:39.820 --> 00:29:40.260 Tithe. 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:42.260 Number two, give. 00:29:43.220 --> 00:29:43.500 Give. 00:29:44.760 --> 00:29:45.700 You tithe your church. 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:48.060 Give to where the Lord leads you. 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:49.300 Give. 00:29:50.300 --> 00:29:55.700 As God allows you, as God calls you to, give others to as he leads. 00:29:56.020 --> 00:29:57.220 Be Melvin Lord. 00:29:58.560 --> 00:29:59.600 I'm not doing this for you. 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:01.340 I'm doing this for him. 00:30:02.060 --> 00:30:04.120 And what you do with it is between you and the Lord. 00:30:04.580 --> 00:30:06.780 But what I'm doing with it right now is between me and him. 00:30:07.780 --> 00:30:08.060 Give. 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:10.940 Live generously. 00:30:11.820 --> 00:30:15.100 Have that be who you are in life. 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:18.440 Number three, be responsible. 00:30:19.620 --> 00:30:25.580 I think oftentimes people hear, be generous, and they think that's permission to be irresponsible. 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:27.260 No, be responsible. 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:28.640 Be responsible. 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:29.760 Right? 00:30:30.760 --> 00:30:31.420 Pay your bills. 00:30:32.760 --> 00:30:35.880 If you said that you're going to buy something, pay for it. 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:37.320 Be responsible. 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:39.040 Pay your bills. 00:30:39.780 --> 00:30:41.860 And Jesus says, pay your taxes. 00:30:42.260 --> 00:30:43.380 You can take that up with him, right? 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.600 Be responsible. 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:48.560 Number four, spend less than you make. 00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:50.340 Spend less than you make. 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:52.180 A struggle. 00:30:53.020 --> 00:30:58.820 I think sometimes we blame a younger generation for this, but studies show, regardless of age, 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:01.000 that this is our tendency. 00:31:02.760 --> 00:31:08.680 Spend less than you make, because most times we spend more than we make. 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:14.640 And the freedom that comes when we're not dependent on week to week to run that account to zero, 00:31:14.860 --> 00:31:16.460 but to trust God and do what we do. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:21.940 And find, find the humility and the contentment of that. 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:26.800 And lastly, lastly, save. 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:28.640 Save. 00:31:29.780 --> 00:31:30.820 Save and invest. 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:35.400 I love looking and listening to Dave Ramsey. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:39.760 I know we got some people that are passionate about Dave Ramsey here. 00:31:39.820 --> 00:31:40.560 They listen to his podcast. 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:41.280 They've read all his books. 00:31:41.360 --> 00:31:41.960 He's all those things. 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:43.900 Like, I'm not there yet, right? 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:45.380 But I love Dave Ramsey. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:47.900 I love the wisdom that he brings with money. 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:53.880 But what I love about Dave Ramsey the most, it's not that Dave Ramsey has helped marriages, 00:31:54.560 --> 00:31:55.460 because he has. 00:31:56.620 --> 00:32:02.120 As men and women fight over debt and spending, and we've seen it destroy marriage after marriage 00:32:02.120 --> 00:32:02.700 after marriage. 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:05.780 I love that he does that, but that's not what I love the most about Dave Ramsey. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:10.100 What I love the most about the teaching of Dave Ramsey is this. 00:32:10.360 --> 00:32:18.160 He is pro-saving and pro-investing, and he's pro-accumulating wealth. 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:24.520 So when the time comes, you can live a life that blesses others and glorifies God. 00:32:25.320 --> 00:32:30.420 That the more that we have, the more that we can give, the more work that we can fund, 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:36.180 the more that we contribute in there, and the more that it's the heart of God for us to do that. 00:32:37.080 --> 00:32:41.260 And this is what it means for us to be stewards. 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:44.380 You can't be a steward. 00:32:45.340 --> 00:32:49.660 You can't be a steward with what God has blessed you with 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:56.220 if you love the gift that he's given you more than him. 00:32:57.340 --> 00:33:03.700 You can't love the gift more than the giver and glorify the giver. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:06.960 And that's the heart of this. 00:33:08.140 --> 00:33:10.940 It's like I started out with you this morning. 00:33:12.380 --> 00:33:15.720 This isn't just a warning to the rich. 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:24.380 It's the warning of all of us who have the heart that seeks themselves above the Lord. 00:33:25.300 --> 00:33:25.880 Would you pray with me? 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.100 God, I come to you this morning. 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:38.220 We're thanking you so much for the power and the truth of the application of your word. 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:43.160 Lord, we've seen so many times in our life, 00:33:44.380 --> 00:33:49.380 would the pursuit and the love of money above all things destroy so much? 00:33:49.380 --> 00:33:59.720 It weakens the character of the man or the woman who has it. 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:04.980 When there's a deep love for money, 00:34:05.580 --> 00:34:09.520 it causes all sorts of pursuits 00:34:09.520 --> 00:34:12.300 that are not righteous, 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:13.260 that are not of you. 00:34:15.540 --> 00:34:17.180 But God, you give. 00:34:21.620 --> 00:34:23.580 You give us so many things. 00:34:26.220 --> 00:34:28.020 All good gifts come from you. 00:34:31.020 --> 00:34:34.180 And Lord, I pray with what you've blessed us with, 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:36.420 with our money, 00:34:37.200 --> 00:34:39.000 with our lives, 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:40.920 with our families, 00:34:41.680 --> 00:34:43.860 with our talents, 00:34:44.540 --> 00:34:46.400 with our time, 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:53.060 Lord, that we would not be the object of how we use those, 00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:55.740 but that you would be. 00:35:01.260 --> 00:35:02.940 So with every part 00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:05.780 of everything 00:35:05.780 --> 00:35:08.600 that we think is ours, 00:35:10.120 --> 00:35:11.820 Lord, could we come to you today 00:35:11.820 --> 00:35:12.840 and say, 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:14.320 it's not mine, 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:15.640 it's yours. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:22.700 And thank you for entrusting me with it. 00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:27.020 And now let me use it 00:35:27.020 --> 00:35:28.720 in a way 00:35:28.720 --> 00:35:30.460 that glorifies you. 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:32.660 Let me use it 00:35:32.660 --> 00:35:33.480 in a way 00:35:33.480 --> 00:35:34.920 that brings people 00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:36.060 to know you. 00:35:37.220 --> 00:35:38.500 Let me use it 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:39.760 in a way 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:41.920 that reflects Christ. 00:35:42.660 --> 00:35:43.580 Let me use it 00:35:43.580 --> 00:35:44.320 in a way 00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:45.700 that builds contentment 00:35:45.700 --> 00:35:46.600 in my heart 00:35:46.600 --> 00:35:47.220 with Jesus. 00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:49.640 Let me use it 00:35:49.640 --> 00:35:51.520 in a way 00:35:51.520 --> 00:35:52.920 that shows the world 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:54.660 that I am 00:35:54.660 --> 00:35:55.360 a follower 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:56.800 of Jesus Christ. 00:35:59.160 --> 00:35:59.760 And Lord, 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:00.920 may we not be 00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:03.340 the rich young ruler 00:36:03.340 --> 00:36:05.660 who walks out of here sad 00:36:05.660 --> 00:36:10.140 because we cling to 00:36:10.140 --> 00:36:13.660 what we sinfully love. 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:17.240 But can we be 00:36:17.240 --> 00:36:19.920 the rich young ruler 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:22.600 who walks out of here 00:36:22.600 --> 00:36:24.180 saying, 00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:24.560 Jesus, 00:36:24.640 --> 00:36:25.000 I'm gonna 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.920 I'm gonna obey you. 00:36:29.620 --> 00:36:30.900 Whatever it is 00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:33.400 I set to the side 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:36.660 out of the great importance 00:36:36.660 --> 00:36:38.380 of following you. 00:36:45.660 --> 00:36:46.160 Jesus, 00:36:46.280 --> 00:36:47.180 I pray for every 00:36:47.180 --> 00:36:48.840 person who's here. 00:36:50.580 --> 00:36:51.900 We know the idols 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:52.580 of our heart. 00:36:54.680 --> 00:36:55.240 Lord, 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:56.400 I pray that this morning 00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.500 we'd repent of them. 00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:01.160 Seeking to deeper 00:37:01.160 --> 00:37:03.080 our relationship. 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:06.320 Seeking to deeper 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:09.240 our obedience to you. 00:37:09.240 --> 00:37:11.980 no matter what it is. 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:15.500 And Lord, 00:37:15.560 --> 00:37:16.320 I pray that there's 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:17.560 anyone here this morning 00:37:17.560 --> 00:37:20.280 that they would say 00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:22.420 that they don't have 00:37:22.420 --> 00:37:23.520 a relationship with you. 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:25.920 They'd say this morning 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:28.860 that I'm my own Savior. 00:37:30.600 --> 00:37:31.540 Religious thought 00:37:31.540 --> 00:37:32.720 is my Savior. 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:36.760 That anything else 00:37:36.760 --> 00:37:37.260 other than you, 00:37:37.340 --> 00:37:37.400 Lord, 00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:38.440 that they would surrender 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:38.760 that. 00:37:39.600 --> 00:37:41.100 That they would admit 00:37:41.100 --> 00:37:42.560 that they're a sinner. 00:37:44.540 --> 00:37:46.000 Or that they would believe 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:47.300 that Jesus Christ 00:37:47.300 --> 00:37:49.040 is the Son of God 00:37:49.040 --> 00:37:50.540 who died on the cross 00:37:50.540 --> 00:37:51.600 for their sins 00:37:51.600 --> 00:37:53.280 and rose from the tomb 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:54.240 so that we may have 00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:55.200 life in Him 00:37:55.200 --> 00:37:56.340 and confess Him 00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:57.100 as Lord and Savior. 00:37:59.200 --> 00:38:00.340 And then in that moment 00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:02.000 Lord, 00:38:02.040 --> 00:38:02.760 that today would be 00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:04.480 the day of their salvation. 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:06.580 And we can celebrate 00:38:06.580 --> 00:38:07.200 that with Him. 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:09.380 Let us in Jesus 00:38:09.380 --> 00:38:09.960 do we pray. 00:38:10.580 --> 00:38:10.960 Amen. 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:11.060 Amen. 00:38:22.540 --> 00:38:25.960 Thanks again for listening 00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:27.080 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:38:27.080 --> 00:38:27.880 weekly podcast. 00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:29.400 We hope that you enjoyed 00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:30.700 listening to this week's message. 00:38:31.180 --> 00:38:32.260 If you'd like to learn more 00:38:32.260 --> 00:38:33.100 about who we are 00:38:33.100 --> 00:38:34.720 or explore additional resources, 00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:36.180 visit us online 00:38:36.180 --> 00:38:39.760 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:41.220 or by searching for 00:38:41.220 --> 00:38:41.980 Willow Ridge Church 00:38:41.980 --> 00:38:43.280 on Facebook and Instagram. 00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:54.260 Willow Ridge Church 00:38:54.260 --> 00:38:54.720 Willow Ridge Church 00:38:54.720 --> 00:38:55.020 Willow Ridge Church 00:38:55.020 --> 00:38:55.220 Willow Ridge Church 00:38:55.220 --> 00:38:55.660 Willow Ridge Church