Relate Community Church
Relate Community Church
Summer in the Forge – Week 8 – Do not Steal
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Protection that brings blessing on our relationships/life
You shall not steal. Exodus 20:15
Simple / Done
Steal: gānab – take for nothing, thievery, deceit
Stealing the truth about someone / taking reputation
**Me 25 – Lose prevention - Church/donation boxes
Sat 5am – stake out, camcorder, confront – kid in box
pretend load, needy people //Go sin no more // Back next week
**asked my mom steal // Never did anything wrong
What mom doesn’t know… Everyday part of life.
Stealing is about gaining something at
someone else’s unwilling expense.
Stuff, possessions, passwords, company, returning wrong items,
Not reporting income / taxes – they don’t need it!
Adam and Eve in the garden – eat every tree – not one //
why we steal???
1. We Lack contentment.
We crave for more – better = $1 good / $2 better, vacay, wife
LIE - If I get more, I’ll be satisfied
God’s solution: Contentment – let the portion he gives satisfy
Single, 1 kid, income, business,
You can live frustrated or content
Contentment – trust God – he knows need & will provide.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:6-10
**Treadmill – walking/ keeping up with expectations.
Don’t start with greed/love of money – but reasonable
Want comfortable, kids better life, security
Comparing numbers: his house / > numbers! Clothes, money
Not evil, but sneaky = (Paul) want to get rich, fall into trap
Trap is in the wanting, not the having
Speeding up – at 5, need 6, etc.- Comfort, options, Amazon
sweating, striving, spending, = still be in the exact same place.
*Take remote - At some point, not choosing speed anymore
Rat race isn’t you are lazy, but exhausted by things can’t satisfy
Contentment is stepping off
“Contentment is when my soul is no longer
controlled by what I do not have.”
Grateful for what God has given
We lack contentment because we don’t trust God as Provider.
God is trustworthy – won’t let you down = MY SOURCE
Won’t give everything you want, but will what you need
Not because you are good, but you’re his kids
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Not my politics, the economy, my job, my situation
What is your source?? – job, him, US econ, wits, edu., self/steal
We lack contentment because we don’t trust God’s Timing.
Steal now, God is late
**Friends who are late? Late for church today…
I’m always on time… a Christian
God is not on our time – but always at the right time.
** parking lot – 2 yrs. - Set close June 30th – $248k. //
Bank/Lenders/Title Company??? Canceled 2x, meet lunch
God is doing something bigger than you understand.
2. We don’t love people enough.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
**Think of someone you love most – won’t steal from them
Won’t steal their joy, peace, supply, reputation, protect them!
*person you least love – love them the same as self.
3. We don’t recognize that Trust is a Test.
**Never robbed a bank – but fill soda water cup
Kids are <11, food in store, x samples,
We think only the big stuff matters
If you will treat the little things like big things,
God will give you big stuff like it’s small stuff.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? Luke 16:10
*Old man in our church – throw change in the yard…
It’s a test – one day caught the cable guy filling his pockets
Free cable for a while – so proud.
The enemy setting you up and the cost of your integrity???
$2 worth of soda, $5 pen work, clocking in early, sharing passwords, copying homework, chipotle movie,
Practical application / wrap it up
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Ephesians 4:28
1. Quit Stealing.
2. Work Hard
Hard work is worship to unto the Lord.
*Represent God all day everyday
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23
Not – doesn’t affect them, they don’t care / God cares
3. Give Generously
Not about what you can get, but what you can give.
God has better life for us // not more stuff.
The opposite of stealing isn’t not taking things…
Honesty, contentment, hard work, generosity
Most famous thieves in Bible – crosses next to Jesus.
One doubled down / other repented = recognized
Jesus generously, graciously laid down his life.
Ask the Holy Spirit / convict me
Pray - Salvation
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All right, good morning, everybody, and welcome to church. Let's give it up one time for the Lord. We have a good choir. Lots of things, lots of things to praise the Lord about. But amen. We're gonna get this straight right here. Alright. Man, thank you guys.
Welcome And Summer Check-In
SPEAKER_02Very cool. They're looking at me wondering, what is going on here? Well, today is uh uh an awesome day to be at church in the middle of summertime. How many of y'all are feeling good about the summer already? Okay, how many of you are too hot already? That maybe that's hey. Good thing is though, if you have a teenager, they're going for a whole week. That's good. All right, we're gonna dive right into uh the series, week number eight. How many of you guys are enjoying this series? We're in the forge, we're letting God work on us, we're letting him sharpen and strengthen. And uh he the Holy Spirit can do work that we cannot do. It's it's more than willpower, it's it's the work that he does on the inside of us as he molds and makes and shapes us. Ah, what a good day. You guys look good, feels good. Some of you guys have been displaced off the back row, we're no longer back row people. You're that's all right. Oh man. I noticed some of y'all got here extra early this morning and were already in the back row before they put the stanchion up. They'll ask you to move. It's okay. No hurt feelings. We just want to be together. It feels good, it looks good. All right. I want to take just a second and look at the camera and welcome everybody who's watching online. Um, we are so thankful that you joined us today, that you've clicked in and are worshiping together with us. I believe that God has something for all of us today in his word, and we'll open up and share. Let's do this. Let's let everybody online let them know how much we care about them by putting our hands together real quick. All right, and if you're in the house today and this is a little bit of an it feels unusual. I don't know why this service feels unusual. So if you're new, not every service is like this, but uh it's it's good to have you, and uh we're gonna make it through. So here we go. Week number eight. There are just two weeks left in the series. I hope that you are taking notes, and I hope that you are uh diligently digging into the Ten Commandments and what that looks like in our lives as God shapes and molds. And um it's not about a prison that God wants to put us in. When we follow his commandments, when we're obedient and walk in the way that he wants us to, what it actually does, it protects
The Forge Series And Relationships
SPEAKER_02our relationships. And the first four commandments we've looked over the last few weeks. The first four commandments are very clear that they protect our relationship with God, and then the last six are about protecting our relationships with each other. And so we're we're getting very intentional about protecting our relationships, and we're not just doing things because uh that's what it says. Even though we're gonna do it, if God asks us to do something, we're gonna trust him enough to do it. But we're digging in and we're learning the why, because when it settles into us that God is trying to protect us and that God is uh he has an intentional purpose for our relationships and how they fit together, then it starts to make sense. Okay, that's why I need to do this. Okay, that's that makes total sense, and it starts to become second nature to us to follow his commands and bring not just protect our relationships, but bring uh blessing into. I want my relationship with God to be blessed. I want it to be favored, I want it to be the best that it can be. I want to be living an abundant life every moment of every day. That doesn't mean I don't struggle, but it means that I'm where he wants me. Amen. I want my relationship with you, with my wife, with every other person to be blessed. And the way that I do that is by keeping God's commandments. And so before we dive into week number eight and do not steal, I want to take just one second and just give you a warning. I haven't done this throughout the series for 10 weeks, for eight weeks. I have not given you this, but today I'm giving you a little bit of a warning, and that is the the youth will be back next week. But if you are a family that sometimes brings your kids in and you let your kids sit with you during service, next week is probably not the week to do that. Because we're gonna be discussing, it's gonna be uh an adult-themed message. We're gonna be talking about adult subjects, meaning uh as we dive into the wonderful, uh, beautiful discussion about adultery. You might not want your kids here. Because we're talking about marriage and sex and adultery and fornication, all those great things, right? You might want to leave your kids in the um in our wonderful kids program, relate kids, is a is a beautiful thing. So this week we're gonna look at Exodus chapter 20, verse 15. Pull out your notes, pull out your Bibles. We are gonna dig in today. We're a note-taking church. This might be one of the shortest of the commandments of the 10. Here it is, verse 15. You shall not steal. We can simplify it a little bit more than that. In another version, it says, do not steal. So I wish that was enough to just say, hey, don't steal. Sermon's
Do Not Steal, Defined Wider
SPEAKER_02over. That's uh that's week number eight, but we're gonna dig into it and unpack it because I need you to. I think the more we understand it, the more we comprehend it, the more it makes sense and we unpack it and it it fits into our comprehension, then we it it does become part of us, part of the way we think, part of our filter, part of our and so we're gonna dig into that today. The word steal is uh a Greek word take for nothing, thievery or deceit. And deceit is a weird word to fit with, in fact, that feels like another another message altogether. Don't lie. You shall not lie. Bear false witness. But what happens with stealing is that I cannot just uh it's possible for me to not just steal your stuff, it's possible for me to steal your reputation, it's possible for me to steal your joy, it's possible for me to not tell the truth about you, and then I've taken your truth. So there's a an element where I'm changing things around me in a way that is um it's not fair, it's not loving, it's not, it's not God's intention for us. And so uh this week, as I was thinking about uh stealing, we live in a world where stealing, you think, well, this is not a big deal. It is, it is a very, very big deal. This affects you, it affects me, it affects all of us. And I'll never forget when I was maybe 20 years ago, about 25, 20 or so years ago, for our church, and uh part of my job was uh loss prevention, which sounds weird for a church, but it we we had several thrift stores and we had several hundred donation boxes where we're picking people are donating things, and a very odd thing happened that you would not think would happen, but it
Thrift Box Thefts And Excuses
SPEAKER_02was consistent that people would steal, not just steal from the boxes, they would steal the whole boxes. They would steal you see the box on the side of the road where you put your donations, they go to like Goodwillers. We had those boxes everywhere, and people would take the whole box and then paint it and put their name on it and then move it, and then they would take donations. Not only that, but I would wake up on Saturday mornings and I would go and have my stakeout. I'd have my camcorder. Those days we had a camcorder, little camcorder. I'm gonna record who I'm gonna stop this stealing. And you know what I found? I found that people were not just casually stealing, that families would pull up, and five o'clock in the morning, the box is full on a Saturday morning of just stuff, random things that we would give away, and then they would pull in right beside it, and then they would put their kids inside the box. Little kids climbing in the box. That's why nowadays they have uh prevention, you they have bars and stuff that you can't just climb in there very easily. They put their kids 20 years ago, but they're putting their kids in there, pushing stuff out. And so my job, I'd film them, and then I would drive over because I was parked across the street in my stakeout. I'd drive over there, pull in. As soon as I'd pull in, uh they they were so smart. The the kids would jump out, and then they would just instantly they would stop from taking the bag, they would turn around and start taking it back like they were donating stuff. I'm like, I I already filmed you, I already I've been watching you, and then the conversation would turn to uh, well, this is for needy people, right? We're needy. This is for poor people, we're poor. Yes, it's for poor. I would try to explain to them you can come there, there's an easy way for you to get stuff, but they were trying to uh take advantage of the system and stealing things without the proper channels. We were giving away everything, and so my conversation would be you can just put it back, you're not in trouble. I'm not gonna uh if you don't go, we're gonna call the police, but just put it back, let's go, don't come back. Essentially, go and send no more, but then next week it'd be the same people back. My point that I'm belaboring a little bit is that sometimes we justify, maybe it's for the poor people, or maybe it's just this is the way things work, or that uh we don't have a conscience over certain things because it has become routine, or it's just a normal uh it's a normal function of the way that we live. I asked my mom this, I thought, surely when I was little, I must have got caught stealing something at some point, but I couldn't remember. And I asked my mom this as we were just talking about uh the good old days, and she said, You never, you never, not only did you not steal anything, you never did anything wrong when you were little. So I'm just letting you guys know that I was not breaking any commandments. But what I thought was what my mom doesn't know doesn't hurt her. So it does become a part of everyday life that we just we get root, it becomes a routine. It becomes part of us that we just all that, and I'm gonna show you in just a few minutes. I'm I'm not trying to convict you. I'm trying to I'm trying to open our eyes so that we can see where's the line, where are we supposed to be living, where how can I best protect the relationship between myself and God and my relationship between myself and other people. So here, stealing is about gaining something at someone else's unwilling expense. I think that's a good definition for us this morning as we start the conversation around what is stealing and how do I not steal? Because it could be stuff, but it also could be uh the password that we get from someone else for our uh not just a social media account, but streaming accounts, and we share things. Maybe it's not that it's not perfectly legal, but it's it's not gonna send me to jail. So who really or maybe who really cares? Nobody cares if I do this. Maybe it's taking from some taking something from a company so big that it doesn't affect them, they don't care. Why would it's not that big of a deal? Maybe it's not returning uh items. I it's it's also a very weird thing that happens in the church that people borrow stuff from church like tables and chairs and equipment and etc. And then we never see it again. It's uh it sounds crazy that we'd have to keep a ledger of who takes what. Some of you guys right now are feeling convicted because you know you have a table in your garage that says relate right on the bottom of it. Why is it that we allow ourselves? Paul talks about our consciences being seared, and this feels like a thing that doesn't matter that much, but it should. Our integrity is worth more, should be worth more than the small little things we think don't matter. But in life it feels like we always need another, we always need more, we always need the thing that we can't have, or the thing that's not easily accessible, or maybe it is a thing that's easily accessible, and we just steal it anyway. Why is that? Why is it that that's part of human nature? I think we see that in the very first part of the Bible when Adam and Eve are in the garden, and God says, You can have all this, but not this. One thing, you can have everything in the garden except one thing. What did they need? The one thing. Don't eat from this tree, and then not too long later, they eat from the tree. Because something in us says, Ah, I can't have that. I'm gonna figure out how to get that. I'm gonna figure out, I'm gonna figure out how to get it, even I can't afford it, even can't be bought. Okay, so I want to give you uh a few examples or a few details of why we steal. Why is this part of us? The first thing I think is the most uh powerful one, I think it's the most valuable one to us. Why do we steal? Why is this part of us? Um why is it part of our sin nature? Number one, we lack contentment. Everybody say the word contentment. This is something that I promise you, you have a big problem with it. I have a big problem with it because we live in a country that has um majored
Discontentment And The Need For More
SPEAKER_02in helping deteriorate people's contentment. Because if people are satisfied, then they don't buy anything. If people are content with what they have, they don't buy the next product, they don't shop, they don't stimulate the economy, they don't spend, and so we're discontent. We are marketed to be discontent, and so we're good customers and we spend and we like more. We like more is better. If I have it, I don't feel satisfied and I don't feel secure unless I have multiple items. In fact, we've we've gone so far as to hey, what if a storm comes? What if the lights go out? What if we run out of toilet paper and you need a hoard of toilet paper somewhere hidden in your house? What if there's a what if a zombie attacks? Like there's people thinking about things that will never happen, but we're strategizing. Well, I gotta have some stuff back in case the world ends. I need to back up all this. And we we build security, not based on reality, but based on the one in a million chance, which I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm saying that it's never enough because once you have that, once you build up your reserves for the zombie attack that will never come, then you'll think of something else that I gotta prepare. I have to depend on myself because no one's gonna help me when the world ends. I'm using that as an extreme example. So even because we all do the same thing, I've I gotta, I gotta think through all the things. Here's the problem. That's a lie. The lie that if I get more, then I'll be satisfied. If I can just cover all my bases and if I can just keep my, if I can just create uh a firm foundation, then that then my family will be secure. Can I tell you that that's not where the security comes from? God's solution is contentment. God's solution is that the portion he gives me, that I'm satisfied with it, and he is enough for me. That what he gives me is enough, and if I don't have enough, when I get there, he'll help me. Maybe that looks like what's in your bank account, and so we work over and above. Work ourselves to the bone. We hustle and strive and struggle, and we never the work never stops. Last week we talked about Sabbath, we talked about rest. How many of you here were last were here last week? If you weren't, I'm telling you, it's the most broken commandment. It's the it's not just broken, it's ignored. And I won't reteach it now, but I need you to know this that that this the same one of the same problems with why we don't rest, why we don't sabbath, why we ignore that commandment altogether is because we are not content because we have to go, we have to build, we have to buy, we have to, we need more. It's not enough. We pray that God would give us a uh a child, a son, or a daughter, and then we have one, and now it's not enough. We need two. We got four kids, and that's not enough. We wanted ten kids. God, we can't be satisfied, but there comes an element of where the money that's in my bank account, the job that I have, it's not that I can't continue to grow and continue to walk, but the discontentment is so it affects me so much that I can't be satisfied. I can never rest, my soul is never at rest, my heart, my mind, my thoughts are never at rest because I've got to have more. I'm anxious and nervous and upset because I don't have what I could have, and so I'm frustrated. And so contentment is trusting God and believing that he knows what I need when I need it. Come on, somebody, and that he'll provide for me. That doesn't mean I don't do what I need to do, that doesn't mean that I'm not faithful and that I don't show up to work when I need to show up to work and that I'm not persistent and work hard, sure. I want to read you 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 6 through 10. Watch this. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Everybody say great gain. That's contentment. That sounds bad. That sounds like it's backwards. It sounds like it's conflicting. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Not working myself to the bone so that I have everything there is to have, and I and my my my Amazon cart is empty because I have bought everything. That would be great gain. No, it's saying that godliness with contentment. I'm content, I'm sat. God, you have satisfied me. You are enough. I've done what I can do, I've lived my life, and now day seven, I can rest because six was enough. And yet, what do we say? If only we had another day in the week, if only I had another hour in the day. No, 24 is enough, six is enough to work, and then we rest. Because there has to be a line that says it's enough. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that. Those who want to get rich, watch this, those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and in into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Not money, but the love of money and wanting to get rich. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. So today I have this uh beautiful treadmill. So I'm gonna ask Leo, come up and help me for a second. And Leo is gonna jump on this treadmill, and I'm gonna give he can do it better than me. Here you go. Yep. If we can figure that out, and he is going to be a picture of what. What happens whenever we begin this work
The Treadmill Trap Illustration
SPEAKER_02or this uh this walk towards more? And so the world convinces us through commercials and through marketing and through uh peer pressure and uh the building of the economy that we have to have more, we need to buy more, and so we get on this track and we start walking, we start reaching, we start taking steps in the same way that everybody does. So don't just imagine one person, yeah, we're all walking on the same track, we gotta have more, we're working ourselves and we're going somewhere. That's way too slow, brother. Yeah, let's get let's there you go. All right, we're we're we're at a good pace. I don't know what that looks like about three miles an hour. That's good, good, good. And so what happens is we're walking in life because we know we need to build a family, we know we we have desires, we have hopes, we have dreams, we have efforts that need to be accomplished so we get a job. In fact, when I hear teenagers talk about they don't have uh they don't have time to do anything, and they don't have a job, and they don't have any hobbies, and they just sit around all day. I'm like, they just wish they could get a job so they could have something to do. I'm like, listen, once you get a job, you're gonna start paying for this, and you've got to get transportation. It create, it's a it's a chain reaction of all of your your life never ends after that. You're just gonna be the next thing and the next thing, and you're never gonna have what you have right now. And they're not even here for me to preach this to them. So they just we all know as adults what this looks like, so we start. We start this process, we start the grind of being an adult to where we have to get things and take care of things and make sure that the plates don't stop spinning. And I don't think it starts as a love of money or greed, it starts with reasonable, like I need a car, I want to start my life, I wanna I want to be an adult, I want to be productive, I want to have a life that matters. And then we start reaching for you know what? If I have it going pretty good, this is a great pace, but if I want to be comfortable, why don't you just pump it up a little bit? Okay, all right, then that might get me to comfort. You look less comfortable though, now he's still smiling though, so I want my kids to have a better life, so we pump it up a little bit. I want security for the future because I have enough for like this week, and maybe I can work to have something for next week or next month or next year or 10 years from now or 20 or 50 years. What am I gonna do when I retire? And I'm just 20 years old. We're thinking of all the things that we have to take care of, or else, and so, oh, better pump it up just a little bit more. Okay, all right, all right. And we start comparing the numbers and we start comparing the clothes that I'm wearing to the guy who's on the treadmill next to me, and he's running faster, but his clothes are better, so I better pump it up a little bit. And so, what happens is I don't think it's evil, I think that the devil is sneaky, and Paul says it this way for those who want to get rich, they fall into a trap. It's not the the the problem is not in the being rich, the problem is the wanting. And so, as he's looking around, he starts to want, and it goes beyond the fact that at some point we lose control of the machine and someone else starts pumping. Let's just see how high we can go here. That looks good. You should be able to do that for another 40 or 50 years, and we're speeding up, and here's the problem: the race that we're in is not against, it's not the race that God has called us to. This is not the race that God said, I've made you for this. Godliness with contentment is great gain. And the change, here's the problem: the running. I wonder how long you could go, brother. I don't he knows we don't have that much time. Here's what contentment looks like. Contentment is not, I'll just settle here. Contentment is you step off. And you start asking God, what do you want in my life? I'm not telling you to let your life crash. You take a deep breath and you take a rest, and it might be a Sabbath. I want to pause this right here. All right, we're gonna shut this down. Thank you, Leo. Y'all give him a hand. Contentment is when my soul is no longer controlled by what I do not have. Contentment is not it is not letting the pace of life and everything else around me control what I go after and what I need next and pushing for more. It's being grateful for what God has given me. And why don't we do that? Why can't we be content? Here's two quick things. Number one, we lack contentment because we don't trust God as our provider. And so we think I have to provide for me, and I have to provide for me in five five minutes, five weeks, five months, five years, fifty years. I have to be the one. And you we are dependent on ourselves, we're self-sufficient, but God is our provider and God is my source. And if I don't trust Him, I trust myself. That's why I don't take a seventh-day rest. That's why I don't take a Sabbath. That's why I don't take a breath. That's why I work a hundred hours a week and don't ever see my kids is because I don't trust God, I trust me. Putting my faith and I'm putting my trust in myself. Trusting God is believing that He'll give me everything I need. Not everything I want, but figuring out where the line between want and need is, and I'm not gonna steal more time, and I'm not gonna steal more stuff, and I'm not gonna steal things that my life shouldn't have in them to begin with. Philippians 4.19 says, and my God will meet all your needs, he'll supply all of your needs according to what? The riches of his glory. He'll supply according to the riches of his glory, not according to my politics, not according to the economy that I live in, not according to my job, not according to what I can find and take and hustle my way into. So who is your source? What is your source? Are you your provider? Is your boss your provider? Is a sneaky idea your provider? Or is it him? Here's the second reason that we don't trust God and and we're not satisfied with what we have. It's because we don't trust God's timing. Well, God didn't show up, so I have to go out and do this. God, you said you would, but I can I I I and we think that discontentment is actually God providing because, oh, well, I didn't have, and if I just take this, isn't that just like God giving it to me? He showed me how I could. So we steal now because God is late. We all have we all have late people in our lives. We all know people who are late to everything. We all know some of them you're waiting on them to show up to church right now. You're like, they said they were gonna be here. God is not on our time, God's on his time, but he's always on the right time. And if I trust God's provision and if I trust God's timing, I want to share something with you guys that is this is so crazy. So when we purchased this building, we bought the building after six and a half years of being uh portable, and the whole time I'm thinking, God, you said start a church. You said do all these things, and we did, and six and a half years later, we're still setting up and tearing down, we're still like where's the building? Where's our property? Where's our church? Where I'm thinking,
Trusting God’s Timing With Property
SPEAKER_02God, you are so late. And I'm the one, and you some of you guys in the room, we're the ones that have to show up on Sunday morning and then work so hard for hours and then change clothes because we sweated through all of our clothes and then have to have church. I thought, God, you have the you are so late here. He gave us this building, and then we have struggled with the parking lot. And some of you guys are thinking you got dirty on the way in today because the parking lot is a mess. We know that. We know it's it's even bigger of a mess when it's raining, and so we've been praying, God, and there there's some um legal issues. There's the it's uh property boundaries, and um there's there's a lot going on. If I could show you a map on the screen, it would you no one would understand it because it's multiple maps, and we're not just one property at the moment, we're actually three properties. It's about three acres, and we don't have time to go into all the details, but I can tell you this that um we purchased outright for cash the first acre, and then the second acre was given to us by a wonderful neighbor who blessed us and said, We don't want you to pay anything. Actually, there was like a $10 fee to transfer the property and he paid it. So we were so thankful that the second acre, the third acre, we finally, after three years, we've been working towards getting the park so that we can develop the property. We're working, working, working, and on June 30th, we were set to close on the loan and get the property, everything was settled. Well, okay, June 30th, we'll finally get this settled, and we were set to purchase the third acre for $248,000. Beautiful. Um, that's not the price we wanted to pay, but it took us three years just to get to the point where we could buy it or where we had everything in order. And then about 10 days before uh the closing, we get a phone call that, hey, there's a problem with the closing, we're not gonna close. And this is like several, there's already been several delays, and I'm like, God, what is happening? What are you doing? I felt like we're we're approaching the finish line, and every time we get to the finish line, I felt like I was Charlie Brown getting ready to kick the football, and then the kick football's moved. We get that close to June 30th, we're 10 days away, and then they call and say, Hey, we're not gonna have the closing on June 30th, we're gonna figure it out. At that point, I could not get a hold of anyone, not an email, not a text, not a phone call. No one would tell me why we are not closing on this property. And so three days before the the closing comes, we get a phone call. Hey, uh, we we're actually in a bit of a mix around, and the church that was selling us the property said, Hey, we have a new pastor, and the pastor wants to talk to you and try to sort all this out. And I thought, now we have to start from, we have worked for three years, and we have to start over. We're starting the whole conversation over back at square one and negotiating because we negotiated the price from $600,000 to $248,000. And I thought, you know what? They probably are gonna hit us back and say that they no longer will accept that we got a new pastor, new board. All this is changing. We're they're they're shutting down the closing. Finally, on the 30th, it works out that I meet with the pastor on the 30th, and he sits down, and a crazy, crazy, crazy thing happens, especially if you've been following this story, the ups and downs, the hills and valleys of our parking lot. Sitting across the table from at the Mexican food restaurant with Angela and I, and he and his wife were sitting there. Everybody, we're just meeting each other for the first time, and then with tears in his eyes, he said, Listen, we have a problem. And um, he said, of all the things that have happened, we know all that has happened. But listen, I've talked to the board and we don't want to sell the property to you. And I thought, oh no. He said, We want to give it to you. Isn't it amazing that throughout every moment of that conversation until the last bit, now we're working through the le legal parts of it, and we've been discussing and working through, and by the end of this month, we should have the deed. We should have a piece of paper in our hand. Um isn't it amazing, though, that through no part over the last three years of thinking, oh, we have the this property, it's settled, everything, but except except we haven't, we've been in turmoil and struggle, and what are we doing with this property? And then up until the last minute on the 30th at lunch, whenever he tells me that, it's almost impossible to see what God is doing. That's one of the problems with life is that when we're living it, it doesn't often make sense. We're struggling, we're fighting until God shows up, until God shows up and his timing is I'm saying, God, your timing is perfect. God, thank you. I feel like the idiot because I'm the one that said, God, where are you at? I feel like the one who it was getting ahead of God and the whole the whole time he's working, the whole time he's showing up, the whole time he's moving and preparing, and we get ahead of God and we jump ahead of God and end up stealing what we should never should have put our hand on in the first place. So we have to trust God and be content with what we have. Number two, the second reason that we steal is because we don't love people enough. Matthew 22 says this teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? And Jesus replied, Jesus says, which like essentially of the Ten Commandments, which is the which is the most important, which is the greatest? And here's Jesus' response Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
Loving People And Passing Trust Tests
SPEAKER_02commandment. So that's number one, and the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself. This is where we get the idea that the Ten Commandments protect our relationship with God because I love Him, I'm keeping His commandments, but also I'm loving people and I'm protecting my relationship with them. He says, All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. So, what does that look like practically for us that we don't love people enough? That means I'm taking things from someone without even thinking of them. I'm thinking of me. I know what I need. And he it's so crazy that the commandment says, love your neighbor how? As yourself. That means I don't put me over you. That means that I don't value this object or this stuff being in my possession more than yours, and that goes the same. Some of this is gonna hurt your feelings. This is gonna hurt some of your feelings that that goes equal for a company that people work for and people own, and that I don't see them as some nameless thing, and I'm not gonna steal something from Walmart just because it's never gonna affect Walmart. I'm not gonna steal something from Amazon. You think it's impossible to steal from Amazon. So Amazon donates things to us, and I have learned that there are lots of ways to steal from Amazon. And I'm not gonna tell you those ways right now, or else you'd be tempted. Think of the person that you love the most. The people who are at the the depth of your heart, you would never hurt them, you'd never steal from them, you'd never take any. In fact, you would hurt before you let them have pain. We don't love, we don't love but a few people that way. And then there's people who are in a totally different category where we say, Well, I wouldn't wish to wish that I'm a worst enemy, but we would. There are some people that you would put over in that I wish the worst enemy stuff on them. And this commandment is saying that I've got to love them. I have to love you enough to not take anything from you. Not your not your reputation, not say, not make some baseless accusations online and just comment this and oh, they're trash. Because I'm taking something from you that's not mine to take. And so whenever I'm scrolling through social media, it's a really difficult thing to not disconnect someone's personal relationship and the love that I should have for you because you're just some name on a page. We have to love people. Number three, and this is a hard one, we don't recognize that trust is a test. Well, I've never robbed a bank, I've never killed anyone, so I should be good. So we think automatically the Ten Commandments, and so we think that I've never done any of the big stuff, I'm actually a good person deep down. Wait a second. If you start reading, when you actually start reading the Bible and digging into the Bible, what you're gonna see is that often the little things matter so much more than the big things.
SPEAKER_01Are you taking advantage?
SPEAKER_02I'm not so I'm not I'm not here to push your buttons and ask you, have you, you know, have you robbed a bank and stolen a car or stolen some major thing? I'm asking you, or do you take advantage and maybe you're that person who walks through Sam's Club or Costco and you're I don't know if this is stealing or not, but if you walk past the sample table and you take a sample and then you circle back about ten times. We think the the big stuff is the only thing God cares about. I'm trying to think of stuff that hits us every day. If you'll treat the the little things like big things, then God will give you the big stuff like the little stuff. Because he'll trust you enough to say you can be trusted with small things, here's the big things. Jesus said it this way in Luke 16: whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So the little thing actually matters more than the big thing. Because I never get to the big thing if I can't be trusted with the small stuff. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you've not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? And so you might be thinking, well, it was only 10 cents worth. I got a water cup at the restaurant and then I filled it with soda, but it didn't really affect anybody because it was really only worth about 25 cents. So your integrity was worth 25 cents. Your integrity was worth the stack of post-it notes that you took from work. Or the in your integrity was worth something so small. How about we stand up and say my integrity is worth more than that? And I'm not gonna steal five cents, and I'm not gonna steal $50, and I'm not gonna steal, I'm not gonna steal the big stuff or the small stuff. Copying homework. I have a whole list, but I'm not gonna read them. Because you already know. So how do we I wanna I wanna wrap this up right now and we're gonna close. I'm just gonna give you three quick things that how what is the solution to this? How do we live and keep this commandment and do not steal? It's very simple, actually. Ephesians 4 28 says it all in one in one verse. Anyone who has been stealing must no longer steal, but must work, doing something useful with their hands that they may have something to share with those in need.
Quit Stealing, Work Hard, Give
SPEAKER_02So, number one is really simple, and I won't say a lot about it, but if you have been stealing something, if there's some part where the Holy Spirit has said, hey, this might be an area where you need to pay attention, just tapping you on the shoulder and saying, This, this is the thing I'm concerned about in your life. Would you be willing to protect your integrity and say, okay, maybe it feels like it's not over the line, it feels like it's something so small, but I'm just in case. I'm gonna run from sin. I'm gonna be far enough away that I can't even be put in that light. Number one, quit stealing. And number two, he says, but must work doing something useful with their own hands. And I'll invite the band to join me. We'll get ready to close. But this is us working, working hard. In fact, the scripture tells us that we have to work as unto the Lord. That means whatever I'm doing, I'm doing it as unto the Lord. Colossians 3.23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. That means when I show up at work, uh, eight o'clock in the morning, six o'clock in the morning, whatever time, I'm not just clocking in to take care of myself. I'm there working for the Lord because He's my supply, He's my provider. I'm living life on purpose for Him, and everything that I do is for Him. And I'm representing God in everything that I do. When I show up to help my neighbor. Yesterday, you guys did such an incredible job at serve day. But we weren't there to represent relate church, we were there to represent the Lord. We had more serve day opportunities yesterday, and more people serving yesterday than I think. Any other survey before. People all over the city doing incredible things, but not because it helps us. Not because it helps the church. In fact, we did not, we intentionally did not do all the things and then try to invite all those people to church. Because that's not what we were there for. We were there to serve, we were there to pour out value and love. Because we're doing it for the Lord, not for them. Maybe it doesn't affect me. Maybe it doesn't affect a company or a person if I steal something, but God cares. And finally, here's the last point. And that is that we're going to give generously. Scripture says that we have to stop stealing, work hard, and then share with those who are in need. So our lives become about what we can give and not what we can take. And if my life is filled with generosity, if I'm pouring out my life not just on serve day, one day a year, we have serve days every month, and we're helping our neighbors and we're helping our family and we're helping our friends and we're helping people who are in need that we don't even know. Because we're generous people. We're not people who take, we're not people who value what we can get more than what we can give. So I want you to understand this, and then we're gonna close, and that's the opposite of stealing isn't not taking things. The opposite of stealing isn't that I'm not out there taking things. It's honesty and contentment and hard work and generosity and pouring out my life to make a difference in someone else's life. I'm not taking, I'm giving. I'm giving my life. And Jesus did that better than anybody else. He laid down his life to give it for his friends and for the people that would come in generations and for us. Would you stand up on your feet and as we close? We're gonna worship. And I just want you to allow your heart to begin to turn toward what the Holy Spirit is telling you and teaching you and showing you right now and what commitments need to be made so that, God, I want to live a life of honesty and contentment so that you satisfy me. Show me where. Show me where I need to stop stealing, stop taking, stop needing more than you can give. Let's worship.
SPEAKER_01Who am I seeking that with the Lord and too? Who am I seeking that with the Lord and do?
SPEAKER_02Amen, amen. I want us to close with just a decision to trust in God. God, I'm gonna trust you with my life, with providing for me, with my future. I'm not gonna depend on myself. The greatest decision that you or anybody will ever make is to choose to follow Jesus and to make him your source, to make to make him the Lord and your Savior. And that means you depend on him. And you to be a Jesus follower is to say, I'm not gonna follow myself, but I'm gonna follow Jesus. So I want you to I'm gonna invite you to say this prayer with me, and we're just gonna commit our lives to him. Would you say this out loud with me? Dear Jesus, today I choose to follow you. I choose to surrender my life. I don't
Decision Prayer And Next Steps
SPEAKER_02want to be in control. So forgive me of doing things my way. Forgive me for following my flesh. Forgive me for looking to other things to satisfy me. So from this day forward, I will trust you and I will follow you as you lead for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's put our hands together. Thank you. So thankful that you said that prayer. If you did, we'd love to hear about it. You can check the box on the connect card. Otherwise, God bless you guys. We love you, and we will see you next week. Have a blessed one.