Fresh Fire, Part 4: Choose Wisely
Type: Sunday Morning Service
Series: Fresh Fire
Sermon: Part 4: Choose Wisely
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
Money is more than a financial issue; it reveals what the heart truly values. Jesus teaches that earthly wealth is temporary and unreliable, but investing in eternal things brings lasting freedom and joy. When God is recognized as the true owner and source, money becomes a tool for generosity rather than a master that enslaves.
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Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
Money and the Heart
Money often feels like a practical concern, but Scripture reveals it as a deeply spiritual matter. What people pursue with their resources shows where their trust, hope, and identity are anchored. When money becomes the focus, it quietly takes a place that belongs to God alone.
Temporary Treasure Versus Eternal Treasure
Earthly possessions are fragile by nature. Wear, loss, inflation, and theft eventually diminish everything accumulated on this side of eternity. Jesus invites a different approach—investing in treasures that cannot be destroyed and that last beyond this life, reshaping priorities toward what truly endures.
Why the Heart Follows the Treasure
Jesus explains that the heart naturally follows whatever is valued most. Dreams, decisions, and desires all flow from this center of life. Guarding the heart, therefore, requires honest reflection about where time, energy, and money are consistently directed.
The Spiritual Eye Test
Spiritual vision determines the direction of life. When focus is limited to the present moment, darkness follows in the form of dissatisfaction and greed. Clear spiritual vision, however, produces generosity, contentment, and purpose rooted in eternity.
Generosity as a Path to Freedom
Generosity is not loss; it is spiritual health. Gratitude for what God has already provided leads to compassion for others and joy in giving. Using money to bless people transforms temporary resources into eternal investments.
Choosing the Right Master
Money promises security but never delivers lasting peace. Scripture warns that devotion to wealth competes directly with devotion to God. True freedom comes when God alone is trusted as provider, owner, and guide for every resource entrusted to human hands.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
Purpose
This discussion is designed to help the group explore how money connects to the heart, identify spiritual blind spots, and discover the freedom that comes from trusting God as the true owner.
Opening Icebreaker (5 minutes)
Choose one or two:
What emotion do you most associate with money: peace, stress, freedom, fear, or pressure?
What is one message about money you absorbed growing up—good or bad?
Why do you think money stirs such strong reactions in people?
Scripture Reading (5 minutes)
Read Matthew 6:19–24 together.
Ask the group to listen for words or phrases that stand out or feel challenging.
Discussion 1: Treasure and the Heart (8–10 minutes)
Key idea: The heart always follows what we value most.
Questions:
Why does Jesus warn against storing up treasure on earth?
What makes earthly treasure feel secure even though it never truly is?
How would you describe “treasure in heaven” in everyday terms?
What are some subtle ways good things can become ultimate things?
Reflection:
Where do you tend to invest the most—time, money, energy, or attention—and what might that say about your priorities?
Discussion 2: The Eye Test (8–10 minutes)
Key idea: Spiritual vision determines life direction.
Read Matthew 6:22–23.
Questions:
What do you think Jesus means by a “good eye” and a “bad eye”?
How does nearsighted living show up in our culture?
Which warning signs connected most with you: comparison, dissatisfaction, entitlement, or chasing happiness through stuff?
What does farsighted, kingdom-focused living look like in daily decisions?
Discussion 3: Generosity and Gratitude (6–7 minutes)
Key idea: Generosity is a sign of spiritual health.
Questions:
Why is generosity so closely tied to freedom and joy?
How does gratitude change the way we view what we already have?
In what ways can money be used as a tool for eternal impact rather than personal security?
Discussion 4: Choosing a Master (6–7 minutes)
Key idea: Money is a terrible master but a useful servant.
Read Matthew 6:24.
Questions:
Why do you think Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money?
How does money promise things only God can truly give?
What does it look like, practically, to live as a steward rather than an owner?
Personal Reflection (3–4 minutes)
Invite quiet reflection:
Where might God be asking me to trust Him more with my finances?
What is one small, obedient step I could take this week?
Optional sharing if time allows.
Action Step (Clear and Simple)
This week, take one intentional step toward generosity or trust—give first, express gratitude, or choose contentment—and pray that God would shape your heart through it.
Closing Prayer
Thank God for His provision, ask for wisdom and freedom, and invite Him to realign hearts toward eternal treasure.
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Matthew 6:19–24 comes from the Sermon on the Mount, delivered to a first-century Jewish audience living under Roman occupation. Wealth was unstable, heavily taxed, and vulnerable to theft, making Jesus’ words about temporary treasure immediately relatable. When Jesus contrasted earthly wealth with heavenly treasure, He was challenging a culture where survival often depended on storing goods while also confronting religious assumptions that prosperity automatically signaled God’s favor.
Psalm 119:162 reflects Israel’s deep reverence for God’s Word during a time when Scripture was memorized, sung, and treasured as life itself. Proverbs 4:23 and Proverbs 3:9 come from wisdom literature aimed at forming godly character in daily living, including finances. Luke 16:9 and 1 Timothy 6 address early Christian communities navigating wealth within the Roman economy, warning believers not to let money replace God as their ultimate trust.
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Introduction:
Talk about favorite toys and what happens when they break or get lost.
Scripture:
Matthew 6:20 – “Store up treasures in heaven.”
Craft:
Create a “treasure box” labeled “Heaven,” and fill it with paper hearts listing ways to love others.
Game:
Treasure hunt where kids find clues about kindness, sharing, and gratitude.
Discussion Questions:
What are things that last forever?
How can we use what we have to help others?
Why does God care about our hearts?
Wrap-up Prayer:
Thank God for everything He gives and ask for help to be generous and thankful.
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Good morning. I'm going to address the elephant in the room right away. I'm going to be talking about money today. And when a pastor says the word money, there's a couple of different reactions that take place. Some people's hearts just start beating super fast. Others, their worst nightmare has just come upon them. If you're a guest today, you might be thinking, sure enough, I knew they always preach on money. The one time I come, I love it. Let me just let you know this is my first mention of a sermon on money since I've been here and that's been 13 months now and so if anything I might I don't know if you're clapping because I haven't preached on it or that I am starting to preach on it. That's a little mysterious right there. I'm not quite sure. But let me tell you something. Money has always been people's favorite subject as long as it's not talked about it. We've been singing about it for decades. I went back, I found songs in the 50s and the 60s and the 70s and all the way up to today that all talk about money. Next to love, money's probably the number one thing sung about in pop culture and it might be because people love their money. Who remember this one? Money, money, money. Yeah, yeah. That was from the OJs in 1973. And I don't know if you've ever looked at the words. I mean, it talks about the love of money and how evil money is and what people are willing to do for money. It's kind of a scary thing. And you might say, Pastor, people aren't willing to do that much for money. Well, there was a book that came out 20 years ago. Listen, 20 years ago. And in this book, they asked, what would you be willing to do for 10 million $10 million. 25% of the people said they had abandoned their family for $10 million. Listen, that was 20 years ago. It sounds like it's probably 50% today. Half of you would disappear on me. I'm kidding. It listed all these other weird things that people were willing to do for money. As I was listening to that song about Jesus' name today, I think God put something in my mind. He wants to assuage everybody's fear and guilt right up front. And this is what God wants you to know. He doesn't want your money. He doesn't want to take your money. He wants to break your chains. Okay? He wants to liberate. He wants to free. He wants you to just be free to use this tool that God has placed in our hands for His praise for His glory, and that includes taking care of you. Willie Nelson wrote this, If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time. Even Ariana Grande, I mean, she wrote this song called Seven Rings. Does anybody know about this song? I mean, I actually looked up the words on this song, and I was shocked. She was just bragging in this song how much money she makes. And she communicates that those people who say that money can't solve your problems, they must not have enough. And I'm like, wow, what a materialistic attitude that is. So yes, we sing about money. We chase after money. We worry about money. We argue with our spouse and our kids about money. And this is what it tells me. Money's bigger than finances. Money is really an issue of the heart. And if we settle this issue, a lot in our Christian life begins to go in the right direction. That's why Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 6 are so important. Jesus wants us to reframe our treasure so that it'll be focused more on heavenly things than earthly things. And if we do that, then we can rightfully handle this thing called money. in our lives today. He begins in Matthew 6, verse 19, and this is what it says. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. As I was looking at that and meditating on it this week, I think the first thing that popped into my mind was this idea that people are treasure hunters. We like good deals. We like seeking for things that are important to us. How many of you have ever collected anything? You're collectors. Stamp collectors, baseball card collectors, coin collectors, beanie baby collectors. And I'm looking at this beautiful woman in the front row over here. About 20 years ago, we had to start collecting Beanie Babies. They were the coolest. They were the best. They were going to appreciate and value. We were going to be rich someday. We actually went to McDonald's on a regular basis because they were doing mini Beanie Babies and the Happy Meals. And I bought probably 700 Happy Meals. Now, I had a lot of kids, so they ate most of them, just so you know. But you know where those beanie babies are today? Garbage can. We sold them. Lost them. They tore. They got ruined. That's what Jesus is telling us in these first two verses. He's saying that we all have a choice. We can invest in the temporary or we can invest in the eternal. And the temporary is things on this planet, even though some things on this planet actually go to the next world. Or we can invest in heavenly things. And Jesus is really, really honest. He says, you know when you invest in earthly things, that earthly things don't have a good record. Moths get into your closets and can eat your clothes and they'll be completely ruined. Rust begins to wear things out sooner rather than later. I just moved into a brand new house. And it is one of the wonderful, It's the third home that I've owned over the course of my life. And I'm not going to make the mistake I made the first two times. The first two times I bought a new house and it was shiny and beautiful. And I thought it would stay that way. But guess what? I grabbed a little painting that we had in one room. And as I swung around, the painting clipped the wall. And I made a big gash in the wall. Before you know it, I'm going to have to repaint. Before you know it, we're going to have to put new carpet in. Here in Florida, if your roof isn't 10 years old or younger, you might have to put a new roof on your house. Home ownership is not what it's cracked up to be. Because wear and tear attacks everything you own. Automobiles get wrecked. And I mean, we lived in the house for one week and we already got ants. Welcome to Florida, right? I mean, they're coming from all over the place. We've had some guy out to try and get rid of all of those things. Well, Jesus says there's even a worse culprit out there. Yes, there's wear and tear. Yes, there's accidents and ruin. But he says there's also thieves. And thieves break in and steal. And I found just in the last couple years, there's a thief called inflation that is robbing me of my purchasing power. I used to go to that restaurant called McDonald's and buy a value meal. I don't know if you remember this, just 20 some years ago, $2.99. It's like $12.99 right now. It didn't double in price. It didn't triple in price. It's quadrupled in price. Inflation is robbing me blind. Taxes are robbing me blind. Who can say amen? I mean, is the government ever satisfied? I mean, they want more and more and more. Did you know the average American, over 50% of their income now goes to taxes? You might think, no, Pastor Allen, I pay the lowest federal level. No, no, no. I'm just saying taxes overall. If you have cable, you're paying taxes. If you pay utilities, you're paying taxes. If you own a phone, you're paying taxes. You pay taxes when you buy the phone for the phone. You pay taxes on the service. You pay taxes on everything. It's over and over and over again. They are robbing us blind. And then there are literal thieves who break in and steal. There are corporate raiders. There are people who steal from stores. I mean, In California right now, it's getting out of control. I'm telling you, they passed a law that if people steal under 1,000, it's no big deal. They're doing it in Virginia right now. Did you hear about this? They've just put some laws forward because they had a new election recently, I guess, and they want there to be no jail time for robbers and rapists. Think of this. It's getting absolutely crazy. crazy. I was probably 25 or 26. And I thought it was time for me to live the high life. Has anybody ever thought that in their own minds? I mean, I was, you know, I got saved at eight or nine years of age. And I grew up in America. So somewhere along the line, the cultural and philosophical ideas of what it means to be important, of what it means to be an American, seeped into my mind. And I wanted to buy myself a watch. Not a Timex. Not a Swatch watch. I went and bought myself a Maurice Lacroix. You probably don't even know what it is, do you? You probably don't even care. Well, it is an extremely expensive French watch. I had diamonds on my watch. And one day, as I was getting ready for water baptisms like we had today, I had to take my watch off along with my wedding ring, and I placed it on the piano while I'm dunking people, making sure my watch doesn't get wet. And I forget it there. Just until after the service, okay? I went back into my office. I came back about five minutes after service was over. And my watch was gone. I had spent too much money on that thing. Listen, I have never purchased a watch since. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I made a decision right then. I don't need a watch that bad. If I want to keep time, I will wake up in the morning to my alarm clock. The clock's on them anyway. And I'm not saying watches are bad. What I'm saying is be careful where you invest your money. Who can say amen? Jesus' heavenly treasure is better. It's better than gold itself. I mean, listen to what the psalmist says in 119, 162. I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure. Have you discovered yet in your own life that the The Bible is an eternal treasure. This is something that the Scripture tells us that is actually going to last forever. Why would I invest in a watch so much money when I can buy a Bible and the more I learn it, I'm going to know this forever and ever and ever and ever? It's more than that. The Bible itself is also a treasure map in and of itself. It helps you to understand the real, real, important things in life. There are treasures that the Bible talks about like forgiveness. Have you experienced God's forgiveness? It's a beautiful treasure, but it doesn't stop with you and I. We're then supposed to extend this treasure to other people so that they too can know Jesus Christ. Who can say amen? I mean, our great mission in life is to lead other people to Christ because people are the greatest treasure on this planet. Every single soul has eternal value. And every good work, every gracious word that you extend towards another human being is an investment in heaven. And when they come to know Jesus Christ, it is such a beautiful treasure that will be there with you someday that we will never be able to deny how great it is to have led someone to Jesus Christ. If you've never done it, please, I implore you, make it a part of the mission of your life. Jesus tells us in the very next verse that here's the key. This is the thing that we all need to understand. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It's really important to remember it's not saying that your heart goes after anything other than what you value the most in life. What you think will bring you happiness. What you think will bring satisfaction. The heart is literally the center of your identity. It's where you store your hopes, your goals, your dreams. It's the birthplace of your passions, decisions, and thoughts. And Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23 says, Because of this, guard your heart above everything else. For it literally determines the course of your life, the direction of your life, the consequences of your life are a result of what your heart leans towards. Now, when we go on into the next couple of verses here in Matthew chapter 6, it appears like Jesus is changing the subject. Because if you've got an NIV, a New King James Version, a King James Bible and NLT. If you have any of these, there will be subject headings. And the first heading will be something like eternal treasure. The next heading will be the I. And the next treasure will be ownership or something like that. These will be the subheadings. What's important to understand is these subheadings are not inspired by God. They're written by men. Because Jesus, in talking, does not change His thought here. All three of these little mini stories, all three of these little parables are talking about the exact same thing. Here's the idea. Your heart always, say always, it always follows your treasure. So in verses 22 and 23, He gives us a test. I call it the eye test. You might call it the spiritual eye test. I want you to look up here on the screen because I've been doing a lot of this lately. I go to the doctor and they say, can you, they cover one eye. Can you read the top line? And I'll go, E. They'll go, can you read the second line? And I'll go, no. You need surgery. I had surgery. Things are going way better now. So all of a sudden I can get down to like the fourth or fifth line with the eye that they said I couldn't see out of just two weeks. But listen to the spiritual eye test. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? What's important for us to see here is when Jesus is saying, your eye is the lamp of the body. And what he's saying is there is a physical eye that listens to your spiritual eye, which is your heart. In other words, he talked about heart when it came to treasure. He's still talking about heart right now. And he's saying that if your eye is good, it's going to be bright light and it's going to lead you down a good path. If your eye is bad or if your your heart is clinging to the wrong things in life. You will go down the wrong path and it will bring darkness into your living experience. And so he's saying you can determine this quite easily because a bad eye is a nearsighted person spiritually speaking. A bad eye produces nearsighted living. A bad eye focuses on the here and now. It focuses on me, myself, and I. Here are some of the symptoms of a bad idea. Always wanting more. Never being satisfied with what you have. Envious of what other people get and wondering why you don't have it. Feeling entitled. I deserve. When buying something actually makes you feel Good about yourself. You're going down the wrong direction. When you think happiness comes from accumulating stuff. Back in 1989, there was a popular song that came out and it went like this. I want money. Lots and lots of money. I want the pie in the sky. Anybody remember this? I want money. Here's the last line of every verse. Money brings me love, peace, and happiness. How sad. How sad. And how untrue it is. The diagnosis to this condition is something that I call stuffitis. It's the chronic condition of always accumulating and never being satisfied. I've moved six times in the last nine years. And as much as I take the Bible, I pray, I try and get inoculated against this thing called stuffitis, I've moved six times in nine years and stuff seems to be following me around the country. Because every time I move, I go, Robin, where'd all this stuff come from? And I mean, it's not that the founder of Amazon and my wife aren't best friends. Stuff. Most of us don't even think of ourselves as materialistic. We just think we need that. Or we think that we have good taste. But materialism leads to a more serious condition that I've heard explained by Ed Young Jr. as cirrhosis of the giver. This is when you spend all your money keeping up with the Joneses, going into credit card debt. When the spirit of stingy takes And a lot of times, if the pastor doesn't handle the communication on money appropriately, we get offended at the pastor, not at ourselves. Not at what's really going on deep down inside. Greed is what the Bible calls it. And the Bible says that greed is nothing more than a form of idolatry. The good news is Jesus doesn't just diagnose. He heals. Who can say amen? And so there are also signs that you are healthy when it comes to how you handle money. A good eye, I describe it as farsighted living. In the Greek here, this word for good is hapless. And it means single. It means whole. It means sound. Another word that's closely related to haplos is haplotis. And it is used in the New Testament primarily with the idea of generosity. So what's going on here is Jesus is using a medical term to try and get us to understand that we can be spiritually sick if we're not generous people. Generosity is one of the keys of life. And the signs that your eyes are good, number one, starts with contentment with what you have. Here's what is so interesting. There was a man, his name was Danny, and he needed some money, so he went and robbed a bank. And he got away with $6,000, but they eventually caught him. They arrested him, and he went to jail for a number of years. Now, here's what's ironic. The gun that he used to commit the crime was an antique that was handed down from his great-grandfather, and it was worth over $100,000. This is what I think. I think we don't know how much we have. I think we're not fully aware of how God has blessed us. And one of the ways to making sure that that takes place on a regular basis is we need to count our blessings and name them one by one. Counting your blessings literally changes your perspective towards God and towards other people. I mean, the scripture actually tells us that we need to count them. We need to be grateful. When you're grateful, you're happier. You're healthier. And listen to this. They found that you offer more grace to other people. Compassion. If you're just compassionate towards other people, this is a mark of Jesus Christ. He was compassionate. Luke chapter 16 verse 9 says this. This is what I think is really cool. Here's the lesson. Use your worldly resources, money, to benefit others and to make friends. Then when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. In other words, money can be used to invest in heaven someday. Who can say amen? Number three, we need to settle the ownership issue. Matthew goes on in verse 24, and this is the last verse. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon or God and money, as many translations say. So I'm looking at this and I'm going, of all the rivals to God that Jesus could mention, why does he mention money? He doesn't mention lust. He doesn't mention He mentions money. And then it kind of dawns on me. Could it be that this is the main struggle many people have in life? To trust God or to trust themselves in their money? Could it be that this is one of the main deceptions of the enemy? Could it be that money is so seductive in nature that Jesus and Paul have seen many people's lives ruined by this constant pursuit of money, money, money. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy, but people who long to be rich fall into temptation, and they're trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Watch this. And some people craving money have wandered from the true faith and pierce themselves with many sorrows. Hear me. Jesus nor Paul is saying money's evil. He's saying money is a terrible master. Money is a terrible owner. Money likes to pretend it's God. Money offers you security, hope, peace of mind, real living, but it never keeps its promises. in the end. Do not be fooled. Do not be tricked. I mean, I used to pastor in Las Vegas, and I'd have to preach against the evils of gambling on a regular basis. I'd say, don't gamble. It's wrong. And people would say, pastor, it's just a form of entertainment. Don't be fooled by that. Here's one of our mottos from Las Vegas. Say it after me. The lottery is for Losers. Did you know that they did not build those beautiful buildings in Las Vegas because the house loses? The house wins. Again and again and again. Don't fall for it. When money becomes your master, you will never have enough. When money becomes your master, you'll be afraid to give even small amounts. When money becomes your mastery, you will sacrifice health and relationships for money's sake. When money becomes your mastery, you will probably become deeply in debt. Over 80% of Americans owe more than they own. Four out of five. This isn't to make you feel bad if that's one of you, okay? It's to tell you there's a way out in Jesus' name. Who can say amen? There's a way out of this bondage, and it is to follow God. God is the only worthy master. He tells us in Psalm 24, 1, the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. He says, I own you and I own the money too. I own you because I made you. If you're a Christian, I own you because I paid a price for you, a ransom for you. You're not your own. You belong to him. He loves you that much. So we need to do a couple of things. as I wrap this thing up here in choosing God's way which is found in the treasure of the Word of God. Number one, recognize God as your source. If you recognize God as your source, you will never sacrifice your health again for money. Because it's not your two jobs. It's not your hard work. It's not your ingenuity that gets you rich. It's God. Deuteronomy. Chapter 8, verse 18. but remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. He gives you the talents, the skills, the ingenuity, all of those things. So if that is true, then our responsibility is to respond to God as a steward would respond to an owner. You don't know what I mean. Okay? I, straight out of college, I managed a couple of stores with the Sherwin-Williams paint company. And it was a great start in the business world. Was working my way up. But one thing I realized that the more faithful I was, the more I would get promotions. And so let me give you a couple of examples. So we would sell, let's say, $5,000 worth of paint one day. And I would add up all the cash, all the checks, all the credit card receipts, and I would take it to a bank, and I would deposit it in their account, not my account. Right? Who's been a manager of a store out here? Let me see your hands. You've been a manager. Yeah, the money's not yours, right? It belongs to the company. And so when you take it to the bank, you put it in their checking account, not your own checking account. So if your checking account has your name on it, realize that it's just a DBA. God really owns your money too. Who can say amen? 1 Corinthians 4 says this, moreover it is required in stewards that we be found faithful. And if we're going to be faithful, we have to follow Proverbs chapter 3 verse 9 which says, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income. Say first. See here's where it gets sticky. Here's where it gets challenging. Here's where it gets hard. God says he wants the first. He doesn't want the leftovers. He doesn't want the last 1%. He wants the first. And so I'm going to present what the word says and you make a determination what you think. Okay? Because I don't want to inflict legalism on anybody. I don't want to put undue pressure. on anybody. Remember, the whole purpose of this sermon is to liberate. It's to give you a glimpse into godly finances and how they're spent rather than worldly finances. Listen to me. The world has a system when it comes to money, and it works. I'm just letting you know it works. Cheat people, take advantage of people, rip people off, you will make money in this world. God's system, works better. And it works better because he takes care of your needs and he takes care of other people and he takes care of the church and we're investing in heaven all at the same time. Who can say amen? His system is so much better. So three little things to remember as we wrap up. Number one, give first. If we're in a generous mentality, giving first will be our It might not be natural the first couple of times you do it, but I guarantee you, you will start getting thrilled by giving. You might say, Pastor, how much should I give? I'm going to leave that up to you, even though the Bible does have an idea. Who knows what that is? 10%. So one of the arguments I hear all the time is this, that's legalism. That's from the old That doesn't apply to today. And I'm thinking, well, let's just weigh that out. Okay? In the Sermon on the Mount, where we're coming from right now, Jesus tells all the people that are listening, and remember, they're all Jews, so they're all followers of God. He says, you know, the Bible says do not murder? And they're all going, yeah, I've never murdered anybody. He goes, I don't want you to be angry either. Wait, wait, wait. That's not even possible. Under grace, it's possible. Then he says, you know, you've heard it said, do not commit adultery. We've never committed adultery. Well, I don't even think you should look at a woman with a lustful eye. And all of a sudden, they're going, wait a minute, we can't do that. He's going, under grace, he can do that. So what do you think Jesus was thinking when he started talking about money? He doesn't have to go back and say tithe 10% because based upon grace the standard rises. It doesn't get lowered. It's not, remember outside of Jesus none of this life is possible anyway. Are you hearing me? I cannot resist temptation without the grace of Jesus Christ. It's His grace is sufficient. Not Pastor Tom's holiness. Not Pastor Tom's strength. Not Pastor Tom's ability to risk this temptation. It's his grace is sufficient. This is why Zerubbabel in the Old Testament says, grace! Grace! And the mountain will fall down. Are you hearing me? So if you feel like this is too hard to do, just yell at the mountain and say grace. Yell at the mountain and say, God, I can't do it. But with you, All things are possible. So number one is give first. Number two is save wisely. I think Ramsey says pay God, pay yourself. You know? And so you give away whatever you can. Your goal should be 10%. Tithes and offerings. Then save 10%. This is my personal recommendation. 5% into retirement, 5% into the rainy day fund. Once the rainy day fund is sufficient, then all 10% goes into retirement. All right? Listen, listen, listen. Don't make the mistake so many of us have made. With Sherwin-Williams, I was able to put away thousands of dollars into a retirement account. And 10 years later in my 30s, I had to have that money. So I withdrew it. If you've ever withdrawn from a retirement account, it is the biggest I had to pay a penalty. I had to pay excess taxes. And then guess what? After I used the money for the urgent need, it was gone. I have calculated in the past I would have literally probably a quarter of a million dollars in the bank had I not withdrawn that. And now I have zero. And it paid for something that wasn't even that important. Pay God. Pay yourself. And then finally, spend responsibly. Would you stand with me, please? All I mean is the other 80% should be spent on housing and clothing and food and entertainments included, not counting gambling, just so you know. Someday you're gonna be gone and all your money's gonna go to somebody else. And they're not gonna care what you thought. They're not gonna care what you did with it. It's all gonna belong to somebody else. Hopefully you're able to leave it to your children or your grandchildren or something like that. But the way this government's going, they're probably gonna take all that too. I'm serious. And so I just want you to really think about what was said today. Because remember, the series is entitled Fresh Fire. And how we handle our money is really an indicator of how much passion we have for the things of God. And so I just want to challenge you to allow God to do a miracle in your lives, Expand your capacity to give and to bless His kingdom.
