Never Enough | Week 5

props. I've come up here every now and then with something my mom saved from my childhood. And I go, my mom always seemed to save this random stuff. She gave me a box, like, right about 25. And when I moved back to Arizona to start church, she goes, here. I've had this. I want you to have it now. This is a big box of stuff she saved. And I opened it, and I go, it I've always shared this, like, as I thought. It's the most random things. I've now realized a pattern in the random stuff she shared. She was always shit saving stuff

that showed how stupid I was as a kid. And I think she wanted because, yeah, you were really dumb on that one. I want you to remember that when you're older. And and and and I got another one right here. It's this, this little plastic toy that she saved. You wonder what it is? It's a it's a communicator from Star Trek.

Scotty, three to beam up. And and and and the reason is I I had a whole set, of that included this. I actually have a picture of the toy set right there. And

and and most of my my friends on our street grew up in a street with tons of kids my age. And, this is before Star Wars, so we actually loved Star Trek. And we would play Star Trek. And and you had to have that. Everybody wanted that because you had to have the phaser, the tricorder,

the, you know, the the cell phone is basically what it is, and an original flip phone right there. And, and then we would go to Mervin's because they sold Star Trek shirts for for kids, little kids.

And and I got to be captain Kirk because I was the only one that would buy the gold one. Everybody wanted blue or red. You know? And so I I I got the gold one, so I got to be captain Kirk. We loved it. Well, the reason she saved this is this isn't the original one with my set.

The original one with my set were out playing with Amy, and I was like and I was like, you know, running around, and my my it fell off my belt. And Scottie Henderson, we all have a Scottie Henderson we grew up around. They just always seem to just get hurt weird or do something dumb accidentally.

He just stepped on it and broke it. And so I was bummed. I needed a new one. I wanted my dad to buy, but you can't get an individual. You'd have to get the whole set again. He's like, I'm not doing that because your friend stepped on it. I'm not buying you a whole set for the piece of plastic. I'm like, but, dad, how can I be captain Kirk? I I I can't go, Scotty, three to beam up. I gotta go, Scotty,

are you up there? You know, it's not gonna work. And he's it it didn't work on him. He wasn't sentimental that way. And and and so I was bummed out.

Well, then a a a few days later, we were, out there trading our, baseball cards. That's how old I am. We would save baseball cards, and then we'd put them in shoe boxes and line them up by stuff. And then we'd sit around, and we would trade. Like, you'd look through someone and say, hey. I want this card. Well, they would take yours and look, okay. I'll trade you. You give me this one, and you can have that one. And so we were doing that, and and my friend had his communicator with him. And

I'm like, I want that. I was like, I go, what do you want for that? I'll trade you a card for that. And he goes, okay. He looks through. He pulls out one card. And I look at it, and I'm like, I'm

not familiar. I turn around on the back because that's the way we always look for. I wanted to see what kind of a career. He's not an all star. Doesn't say anything about that. And I go, man, he doesn't even have a whole season in the major leagues. This is a steal. And it was

for him because here's a picture of the card I traded.

See, I knew who Hank Aaron was, but I was, like, six years old. So Henry Aaron isn't Hank Aaron to me. And and Hank Aaron was the guy I had just seen, like, a year before beat Babe Ruth's home run record. And and and and and and he's one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but I didn't realize that. So I traded

a perfect 10 condition because I took care of my stuff. There's ratings for baseball cards. Mine was a 10. This card was in don't even know how I got it. Think an uncle or someone gave it to me, and I and I kept it in perfect condition. And and and yet I traded this this this 10 for this.

It gets worse. The first time I used this illustration was not long after I opened this box and found it and remembered. It it it was worth one, it sold for $50,000. That was twenty years ago. And then, a few years later, I used it again, and it was worth, like, 150.

And then the last time I used this illustration was about three, four years ago, and it and one had sold for $620,000. One sold about three years ago for $720,000. But here's the thing.

A friend came up to me after the last service. He goes, yeah, but those he looked them up because his son does trading cards. And he goes, those were nines on the 10 scale.

And I go, yours was a 10. I go, oh, absolutely perfect condition. The uncle that gave it to me and and he said, take good care of this. I don't know what he meant, so I just did. And and and so mine was a 10. He goes, a 10 right now is valued at $2,250,000. $2,250,000, but I have this.

Spock, I've made a terrible decision.

So my mom saved it.

Thanks, mom. Happy Mother's Day. And now it sits here. And you know what? It's actually a good reminder and sums up exactly what the book of Ecclesiastes is trying to talk about. Solomon went on this quest to try to find out anything under the sun, that meant of the earthly world, from our perspective,

can it provide ultimate fulfillment? And he found out no. And what he ended up doing is basically

pursuing idolatry, trying to take things that that that and make them fulfill a longing in a place only God is supposed to fulfill and belong.

And that's what idolatry is. When you take anything, even a good thing, and make it the God thing, it's a bad thing. And God doesn't like idolatry not because he's angry at us because you're so stupid. He's angry at us because he's, like, not angry. He's more like sad because he goes, you realize when you pursue that, you're missing out on what real life is.

And that's what chapter three verse 11, we looked at it the first week. It says, God planted eternity in our hearts when he created us. But yet we still don't understand what he's doing from one minute to the next. What that means is we do always want more.

We long for more. We were built to long for more, but not more of this world. The more we always long for is that eternal. And then we try to fulfill the eternal longing with the temporal things, and then we end up frustrated and fearful and because it's never enough. It can't do it.

And what he's saying is when he went on this experiment, he's noticed that we as humans do this, and all we're doing is we are trading something of eternal value that keeps growing in value as you trust God for something plastic. And here's my point. When I was seven, this meant so much to me.

And I guarantee, if you look through your life, there is something that you're running after that you wanna have. And maybe you got it, and it's becoming more like this. But now you have this new thing. Well, was stupid. You were seven. You didn't want what's my communicator today? What's yours? What is the plastic thing?

And today is literally the topic that I believe is the number one struggle for Christians in our culture. It's the number one idol that even as following God, we can turn it into an idol, and that is money. That is money. You know, we talked about politics last week. Might as well follow it up with money. But

that's because that's what he does. That's where the book goes. And and and and and and and as we look at the idea of money, it's if we look at it wrong, it's really connected to worship.

And what we're gonna see in Ecclesiastes chapter five, what Solomon's talking about, and then we'll get a little clarity in a New Testament passage right before we close out, is this big idea. Wealth is never enough to give us what only worship can.

Because what we do with money and how we see money, it it affects our worship. And really, worship is the key. And worship isn't just coming into a room, singing some songs, and doing some stuff. Worship is our whole lifestyle. Worship is describing where the worship is about remaining in a in a relationship

with Christ, and it's remaining in his love, living from his love. And we're gonna see that because he attaches that to the futility of wealth.

In in in starting off in this first few verses, he starts to talk about he's gonna show that when our worship drifts and we don't really have that I heart of worship, money then becomes a functional savior for us. And that's where we struggle. So he is talking to people that believe in God.

Bottom line though, he's talking to people that believe in God, but they choose to actively not believe God. And I think that's a struggle many of us have. So here here it goes, starting in verse one. As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. Man, you think I say aggressive things.

He's like, sit down and shut up. What he's saying is not that we don't talk. He's saying, our posture when we come into worship, are you here to listen to God? Not just hear about him. Not just hear some information. Not just get a feeling. To literally listen to him. That's what he's talking about. To apply, to draw close,

to become like Jesus. He says it is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don't make rash promises, and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth, so let your words be few. Too much activity gives you a restless dreams. Too many words make you a fool.

When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It's better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. Don't let your mouth make you sin, and don't defend yourself by telling the temple messenger that promises

you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved. Talk is cheap like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. Now if you understand the culture, that sounds like it's saying something a little bit scarier or weirder to us. It's still serious.

What he's really describing is we need to approach God and be here. Like, when we come to worship together, are we really here to connect to the God who loves us? Worship him. Can and which means to bow before him. When he says we're the he's the creator, we're the creation,

he's saying, and put him in the right place to realize the useless words means you're not here to say, well, God, I want this. God, I want that. And that meaningless activities means, why did this? I decided to show up church. I did that. And then he says and then you say and make promises. That's making valid. And you know what? You're right, God. You have this emotional moment. I do. I need to do what you want me to do. And then you walk out and you don't do it. Even though he loves you and he gets you through, you make a promise. Temple managers say, hey, you made a vow. You you said that that you were gonna give this Lord. He's like, I well, made a mistake. I'm not gonna do it. I mean, don't be a flake. Don't say I'm gonna half serve God and give to God and do all that. And then the second something happens or you feel better about it or whatever, it's basically don't

approach God in a contractual way. It's not about I do this, you give me that. It's not about I need to come here and what do I get from you, God? In other words, there's a term that we use in our western culture here of churches. It's called consumer Christians.

It's basically their version of it. A consumer Christian means your whole decision on coming to church is, hey, think I just need some stuff for my family. Need it's not necessarily that the things you want are bad things, but you just make them the priority. And when you come in, if you turn worship into an emotional thing or a preference thing. I'm not gonna sing right now to God because I don't like the songs or I don't like the volume.

It's not about us. It's about him. We're singing happy birthday. That's the dumbest song ever written and nobody likes it. And are you gonna stand at your best friend, your wife's birthday, right next to her? And when everyone's singing happy birthday, go. Try it and see how she acts.

And when she says, why didn't you sing? It was my birthday. I don't like this song, and I don't like singing. It didn't relate to me, and everyone was singing too loud. It's not about us. That's what it means. It means what's your heart when you come in here?

Is it just I gotta check this off the list, and if I come and do this, then maybe God's gonna give me what I really want? That's what it's saying. Am I just sitting here, I gotta get in here, hurry up, get out of here? Is my heart gonna be I'm gonna get up and leave when Ellie comes back out as the host?

Where do you have to go that you have to leave a minute and a half earlier than everyone else? That's disrespectful. You're like, well, I have to go to work. Well, if if you have to leave a minute and half early, that means you're already late, so you might as well wait the other minute and a half. It's

what is our heart attitude for when we come in the room? And then we're gonna see, worship is more than the reason we struggle in this room is how you worship God during the week determines how you worship him on the weekend. Because worship isn't an event. It's a relationship.

And that's what he's saying. And then he immediately connects that to money because he knows that money distracts us from that. It disconnects us from that. And even though we come and say we believe in God, we don't believe God when it comes to money.

And that Matthew six actually puts this together. Jesus says, you can't serve God and money at the same time. And so what what as I read this and we start talking about this, one thing I'm gonna ask that your heart posture can can contain itself, God is not trying to take anything from you.

He's trying to give me and you. He's trying to give us a gift. We'll see what that is by the end when he asks us to to honor him with our money. It's a gift he's giving us. When we make it God, we resent being asked to give. And then we're stuck and we don't get to get the gift of what he means by asking us to do this.

I want the same thing that God wants. I am not just trying to get you to give more money. I'm not.

I want us to get this right because I want us to experience what's on the other side of that, what real worship does. What it really gives is then we get that satisfying longing that we're really after, the eternal relationship with the God who loves us. Because here's what he says.

Don't be surprised, verse eight, if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from the higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

And he's he did make another swipe back at government. He he he's saying government is good for what it's supposed to be, but don't count on it to change the world in in in the in in the right way. Even the kings will milk the land for his own profit.

Then verse 10, goes back to everybody now. Those who love money will never have enough. That's why we call this never enough because that's what all of these things are. Why? Never enough. It says love of money. That word for love there, so you understand, means a deep attachment and dependence on and a devotion to.

It's not just you're going and getting a bunch of money. You could have this love of money and not even be making that much money. It's when it's your heart's attachment is, I rely on money to produce and provide for me things that only God can. And if that's you, you'll never have enough.

And if you feel like you never have enough, being asked to being generous is a threat to you. That's what it's saying. We'll never have enough. We won't use it the way God wants us to. And he goes, how meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness. The more you have, the more people help come help

come to help you spend it. Just have kids. That'll prove that point. My kids are all coming over to celebrate their mom for Mother's Day, and she's the one that bought all the steak, and she's cooking that for us. Probably because we're all here, and she doesn't wanna have to wait that long to eat. But,

and she likes her steak seasoned the way she likes it. So so what good is wealth, except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers? People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But a rich seldom get a good night's sleep.

There's another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. See, when you hoard it, it's because you think I need more. Money then is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost.

In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's children. We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us. And this too is a very serious problem. People

leave this world no better off than they came. All their hard work is for nothing, like working for the wind. Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud, frustrated, discouraged, and angry. Who lives under a cloud of being frustrated, discouraged, and angry? People that rely on the money.

If you're frustrated and discouraged and angry about money all the time, it's probably because you've made it an idol. That's why you're frustrated. It's not that you need more. It's what you're trying to get from it. It's how we're using it.

Even so, I've noticed one thing at least that is good. He gives an answer. It's good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, that short life and under the sun, and then to accept their lot. It sounds negative. Lot and and and this gift,

it means this, and it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. Enjoy your work and accept your lot in life. This is indeed a gift from God. That lot might means I take what he gave me, I do with it what he asked me to do, and then I just enjoy it.

He says when we do it that way, that's a gift because God keeps such people. God does this. He'll provide for you that joy, the thing. He says he keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they make make no time to brood over the past.

And there's other passages in New Testament talk about you could add to not only brooding over the past, you also don't constantly worry about the future. There's a gift in this. But if the problem that we're struggling over is not that we don't have enough, it's that we want something out of it it'll never give. And so

and it goes back to that worship. Because it's basically Psalm is saying that when worship drifts, money becomes our functional savior. We say we believe in God, but we believe money. We don't believe God. And that's the struggle. In other words, there's three things here I just wanna point out really quick

and what this passage just said. It says what we think and how we get it wrong. And there's the three things. The first thing is we think more money will satisfy us. We think more will satisfy. Well, that verse where it says loves proves it won't. It becomes a dependence. And the truth is money does not remove appetite.

It multiplies it. Money's like junk food. It's chips and salsa all over again. It never satisfies. It creates desire for more. We we once we get some, we mourn. And you know why? Because enough always moves.

When I say when I get here, that'll be enough, it always moves. Think about when you first moved out. What was enough for you? If I just get to this, you felt like and then for a moment that's what I mean. That's what the sad thing about this. Any idol gives a momentary feeling of good and security.

It's just not that one we're longing for. It doesn't give that eternal longing. It doesn't. It's just a temporary fix. The same thing that drugs and alcohol and food and all these things do that when we abuse, when we try to get something out of them quickly, it never lasts because it takes more to get the same feeling.

Because if you think about that first time you felt like you're set, that first time after you moved out and you you finally got your own car and and you and you could get your own place to live, remember how excited you were and how much you loved what you had? What if you had to go live in that same apartment

and drive that same car right now? You'd be like, God hates me.

That's the problem. Enough moves. It moves. It moves. And here's a good quote. You heard the the quote, money talks? That's not the problem. The problem isn't that money talks. It's that it promises. It makes promises it doesn't keep. And we keep falling for it. We keep falling for it.

And then we end up even going past the what we have, and we get in debt. And then that makes it even more impossible to do what God wants us to do, or at least seeming so, it makes it harder.

It it it won't satisfy us. Why do we think it'll satisfy us? Because that's the second point he was talking about. Because it's because we think money will give us security and peace. That's really what we think.

The reason we think it'll satisfy is it'll finally, when I get to this point, awesome security. I can have peace of mind because I'm not so worried over the finances all the time. We keep thinking that, but that's one of those promises it never does.

That's when he says, the more we have, the harder it is to rest. The more we have, the more people will come to spend it. He didn't just mean family people coming and trying to be moochers like an entourage.

The more you have, the more people come spend it. Because the more you have, the more things need to be repaired, the more things break down. My wife and I had been saving money because we wanted to fix up our house. We like our house, but we wanted he's 25 years old. We wanted to do some fun remodeling,

you know, some bathrooms that kids destroyed over the years while they lived in it, you know, and stuff like that. Well, all of a sudden, last summer, my my my AC went out. So there went a whole chunk of the money we had saved.

Then we find out our windows are trash, got leaks and all this stuff, so we had to get all new windows. I thought I was scared when I had to pay for the stinking air conditioning. I did not know that putting glass on your house to look through cost so much money. Next,

I think I'm watching all my neighbors getting their roofs fixed. And I'm like, god, man. Our house is the same age. And and I know the HOA is gonna tell us to paint our house pretty soon. I'm gonna have spent every penny I've saved to do fun remodeling just keeping my house functional.

That's what it means. More people will come to help you spend your money. It's like you gotta keep things up. The more you have, the more it costs. So you think, I got peace now that I have my million dollar house that I finally bought, and then you get your taxes.

It's it's crazy. It's it's not. It will not give peace because markets change, value change. And here's the thing. What we build our security on reveals what we truly worship.

What you and I build our security on is what we're worshiping. And ask yourself this. This is what I say. If if money is my security,

if if money is my security, then loss of it is my apocalypse.

If money is my security, any backwards motion is an apocalypse to me. And if money is your security, a pastor is saying, hey, God says you should give. Well, giving means money goes out and doesn't come in. I went backwards if I give. That's an apocalypse. And so when you hear someone talking about it,

you're thinking that I'm trying to nuke you.

Does that make sense? That's the struggle. That's the struggle.

Because the reality is we think it'll satisfy us because we think it'll give us peace and security, but it won't. Because what is really revealing is that we think money will solve what is really a hard issue. All of our anger and frustration over money isn't even about how much money you have.

God is telling you it's a deeper issue. It's revealing a longing in your heart that money won't give you. But we keep trying. And so that's the struggle. It's this heart issue. In other words, it enslaves us. That's the problem with idolatry. Trusting God, first his love, but then obeying him, is not enslaving.

That actually frees us to enjoy life. But we don't see it that way. We think the money will free us, the stuff. But the truth is is this, is the stuff we own eventually owns us.

That's exactly what I was talking about with other coping mechanism. You drink alcohol because you just wanna forget. It feels good. It's like, I just maybe you don't have issues or problems. You're just like, oh, it makes me feel good. What happens when you're an alcoholic?

It's because you had to drink more and more to feel good again. And more and more just starts to make your health bad. It starts to make you throw up. You start to wake up and blackout. You start it ruins relationships. What what went from just helping me feel a little bit better now makes you feel terrible

and is owning you. That is what money does to us if we don't trust God in how he says to use it. It's a heart issue. So the reason Solomon goes after this is because this is the one he connected to worship. He said, fear God. Don't do this. Why fear God? What does that mean? Fear God means I understand that he created me.

I don't come in here to argue and get mad at him on why is he not doing this or doing that. I need to trust that he loves me, and the cross proves that he loves us.

It proves it. And I need to understand that he built me. He built you. He knows what'll work. He knows what'll give us lasting joy.

He knows what'll give us peace and security. And it's him. He's not a means to an end. That's what the people were doing in worship. Do you treat your relationship with God as a means to an end? You come into your worship, you do all the good things, you're running around, you're doing the activity, but you think it's because then I'm gonna get what I really want.

He's not the means to the end. He is the end, and he is the only means. And that's what it means. And without that, you're never gonna get what you're looking for with your money. It's never gonna happen. And you'll go on being frustrated. You'll go on being struggle

because it's a heart issue. It's a heart issue for me too. And you don't think we have a problem with this? Drive up Power Road and count how many storage units you pass. Right by my house, there's three. Two are right next to each other, and you can see the other one across the street.

And two of the three are climate controlled. How much stuff do we need that we can't just have our 2,500 to 4,000 square foot house? I need more climate controlled area to store more stuff that I never use or never look at. Why do I need all of that stuff?

I mean, unless you have a really stupid kid and you wanna save a lot of stuff, you don't need it, do we? That's on top of I know. I know. I know the secret. I know all of it. Most of us in this room probably can't even put a car in our garage. You already got too much stuff in there. And yet, I want more stuff.

One guy, I read an article that was talking about this. He went and he had several storage

units. He built up he had several of them. He's had them for twenty years, twenty five years. He got all the stuff and it appraised, and he hadn't even didn't even remember what was in them. And he found out that over the twenty years, he spent 10 times what the stuff is worth just storing it.

So not only do we have a stuff issue, we kinda have a stupidity issue. Well, at least that guy did. I mean, what we think is normal is not normal from God's point of view.

And it's because it's a heart issue. We somehow think that's gonna do something. Bottom line is this, if all of our money does, if all we do with it is use it to upgrade our lifestyle, we're missing the point. We're missing the point.

If all we ever do is upgrade our standard of living, we've missed the point. God says the answer is to remain in him, and to remain in him is to obey him. He says he says, store your treasures in heaven, not at U Haul. And and and and in doing that, he's he's he's just saying, he's like, we we we can

he's saying the way to really get what we are looking for you want peace? You want contentment? You want the all the things that you think money's gonna give you, but it's only causing more of the the the downside? He says raise your standard of giving, not your standard of living, and see what happens. Because giving

is a gift. He gives us money and says enjoy it, but enjoy it responsibly. Meaning,

do it the way I said to use it. And what the bible clearly says is he says giving is first and foremost. The bible says clearly this tithe. Tithe means a tenth, by the way. And it was always a standard of test. And it's not a test of us. It's a test of the Lord. He goes, test me on this.

Give me your first and best, your first tenth, your best. Not not gift afterwards, not tip afterwards. He says it doesn't work. The gift he's giving us for only works if you do it this way.

First and best. First and best is the only way we will enjoy the gift that he gave us of giving. Here's why. Giving is the weapon he gave us that kills the idolatry of money. The only way you can kill it is to see that you don't need it,

is to see that you don't depend on it. And the only way you can do that is when it doesn't make any sense. I'm gonna give God first and worry about the and let him take care of the rest. That's the only way.

If you give on the back end, you may be, yeah, God, you're giving some money. You're That's the activity. It says the mindless offerings and the activity. I'm doing this stuff, but I'm still doing it in my trust of money. I only give based on what I think I can give because I gotta serve my God money first. I gotta serve the stuff. I gotta take care of this.

I gotta keep this. If I have a little leftover, I'll do it. That doesn't do anything with the idol. God says when he asks us to tithe, he's not taking something from us. He's handing us a dagger that'll stab that idol in the heart. And when we get rid of the idol, you stop having the fear and the worry and the frustration

and the fights with your spouse. It fixes the heart. It's a gift that we get to do. And not only does he get us away, he gives us something. See, we always imagine giving, especially if we're from the idle moment.

I see is the money driving out of my driveway. It's an apocalypse. I went backwards when I give to God. But what you don't see is the trailer attached to it, and that is the fear, the frustration,

the lack of contentment, the desire to always have to get more, the fact that I get into debt because I want more so fast, I'll go beyond, and all of those frustrations and fights and things, that goes too. And then he sends a car, a truck in, and he unloads peace, stability, security, contentment, joy.

Tithing is not something God is taking. It's a weapon he's giving us. But it only works if you really go all in. The act of giving him the full amount up front is what is the faith. It's you are testing God. Because you're like, oh, God, if you don't show up It

lets you see that it's not the money that provides. It's not the stuff.

Money is a great gift. It's a terrible God. And then you know what else He does? He takes what we give and He produces fruit. And it transforms lives for all of eternity. The gospel spreads. We the church has the ability to help take care of each other. We can take care of people. We can do what we're supposed to do.

God multiplies what we give. He takes this and turns it into a Hank Aaron card, rookie card in value. We give him this, and he makes it exponentially and infinitely more valuable. And we get to be a part of that. It's a gift. And it's all about this gift of remaining in the Lord. I wanna read this passage here. Jesus,

the night before he was crucified, was talking to disciples, giving him some last words. And in chapter 15,

he talks about how he's the true vine. And what he describes here is what it really means to be a disciple. What he's describing is what worship really is. When we do this, we will come in here and engage in a different way. When we do this, we will choose to tithe and give first. If we fight this,

we won't. Because if we spend all of our time just here for an hour in this meaningless kind of because I feel a bit better and feel good, and then I go out there and I just act the way I always do and stay devoted to the things I am and get distracted by all these idols, nothing's gonna be different.

So what it comes down to is what Jesus says here.

He says this. Here's the answer. I'm the true grapevine, and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You've already been pruned and purified by the message I've given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For you are, as a for you

for a branch, sorry, cannot produce a fruit produce fruit if it's severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes. I'm the vine. You are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing. He didn't say apart from me, you can do a little. Nothing. Nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered in a pile to be burned. But he's not threatening. He's saying that's just what's gonna happen.

He's saying when a branch is not attached to the vine, it's not getting the sap and the juice in the real life. It's going to dry up and die. That's all he's saying. He's saying this is gonna be the result. I'm not gonna do something to you. You're just going to die. It's just not gonna work.

He says, but if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want and you'll be granted. Stop. So many people love that verse. I come to church. I've asked Jesus. He didn't give me everything I want. Did you read the whole passage?

When you remain in him, you can ask for anything. Because if you're attached, guess what you're gonna ask for? What you need to follow him. What you need to be a disciple. In other words, I'm gonna teach you a secret. I'm gonna teach you right now how to get everything you ever wanted. Write this on your refrigerator,

even if it's not working like mine isn't right now. Other people are gonna come help me spend my money.

You wanna know how to get what you want? Here it is. If I want what God wants, I always get what I want.

If church for you is get God to give you what you want, and it's not tied into you remaining in Him and being obedient to Him, you're trying to get God to go your way. We sang a song at the worship night. Everyone was hands up. We're all into it. And we love singing that line, you go before me.

And the Bible says all the time, the Old Testament, the Lord God goes before me. We love it. That means he he's ahead of me. He's going He's clearing the way. But here's the thing we don't think about. He's only going before you if you're walking behind him.

Did that was much deeper and much more of a throat punch than you think it was. I'll say it again. God is not going before you if you're not following him. He's going a different direction. The goal is not pray to God, God, get in front of me.

I'm going this way. Please get in front of me. Please and he's like, but I've asked you to do this. I mean, some of us, you're praying about stuff like, god, I I can't understand the money thing. I can't do understand. Why can't I get I need a better job again. Do you tithe? Do you serve?

Are you doing the things he said to do? We're asking for stuff disconnected from listening to the stuff he already told us. It won't work. It never will. He says, I have loved you.

In verse nine, even as the father has loved me. That's the key. Remain in my love. Remaining in his, remaining his love. It's not saying, okay. He told me to do all this stuff. That word remain means to stay where you're planted, to sit where you're planted.

When God when I become a Christian, he's planted me in his love. He says stay in that. It's not like, oh, I get it, Bill. You're saying I gotta do all these things, then God will love me. And so I I even though I don't wanna do it, I don't wanna serve. I don't wanna give. I don't wanna honor God with my money. I don't wanna trust him. I wanna believe in him, but I don't wanna believe him. But I guess you're right. I better do this. So you hold on to this, and you white knuckle it. I hate this, but I'm gonna do it because God said I should do it. That's not what it's saying.

Remain in his love is the first step. Meaning, every time you get scared, every time you get frustrated, every time you don't understand what God is doing, you look to the cross and you remember how much he loves you.

Center your heart. And that's why we worship. Worship is to come and remember his love. And then listen to what he says. Listen so you can love him. He says, remain in my love. And then he explains what it means. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love. Just as I obey my commandments,

thy my father's commandments remain in his love. And verse 11 is the key. He says, here's why I'm telling you to do this. Not as a threat, not because you better. He says, I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.

The way to find joy, especially if you're always concerned about money, give first, give best, trust and enjoy the rest.

Kill the idol and watch the joy show up. You might have less. Your standard of living might go backwards. But the standard of your mental peace, your heart at peace, your marriage at peace, and seeing what God will do with what you trusted him with, that's where you'll find joy. You'll find it in him.

And that's that's the same for all of the things we've been talking about in this series. Every one of them.

Find the joy by remaining. It's exactly what this card said to me. This is weird. I got this note

Thursday. It was sitting on my desk, my my table back there. And I had been studying my notes, and my bible was open, but I was late for a meeting. My assistant had just sat up there and just said, pastor Bill. I grabbed it. I threw it in this passage that I just read and shut the bible

and and and and and and and went about my business. Well, yesterday morning, I got up, and I was opening up to review my my sermon before I came over. And I go, oh, yeah. This is note. I should read it. It's crazy what God does sometimes. You read this note. She started off just wanting to thank me.

Thank me for starting this church. God did it. But she just was thank you. Because she said she'd been a Christian, come to church, but never really grew in her faith. And then she says, I'm coming up on my first year anniversary here at Rock Point. Every day, I thank God for bringing me and for your prayers.

I've grown so much in my faith because of this amazing church. And listen to what she says she's done here. I'm a part of a circle, that's what we call small group, community. She grows in community. I've studied Jude and Proverbs and the Bible. I talk to God and pray to God every day. Know Jesus personally.

I work on my relationship with him, and I have an amazing group of ladies who support me, prayer for me, encourage my relationship with Jesus. I enjoy serving God. She goes and lives intentionally. Helping Rock Point become a great place to be. I try to meet a new person every week. And this is the part that got me.

I want to be a part of someone's baptism story. Go point people to Jesus, the mission.

The foundations class, that was our class that if you don't know how to spend time with the Lord, we'll show you. She says it was amazing and has been a pleasure watching pastor Hunter grow this past year. Probably should've left that part out because now his head's gonna grow too. And

then she finished, it's really nice to be home.

Is being a part of the body of Christ home for you? Or is it just a meeting you go to?

And then she added a PS.

I've been just gifting occasionally to the church, but the past few months, I've been officially tithing. And then she wrote in capital, Amen.

The thing that Amen. You know what that word means in the in the Greek? I believe. Not I believe in.

Not I believe it can. It simply says, I believe. When we end a prayer with amen, that means I believe. Does your life and your worship just say, I believe in God? Or does it say, amen? I believe God. Because that's the difference. She wrote with joy. Joy is on the other side of remaining. Joy is on the other side of stop

just believing in God and going through some motions and actually believe him. And for many of us, the number one issue in this room is you need to start believing him with money. That's the missing piece. I want so desperately for you to break free from this idol.

And there's a liar of all lies that's whispering ears don't trust them. They're just trying to get money because you feel bad, you feel shame, you feel insecure, you feel frustrated, you feel like that's an apocalypse, I can't do that. And where's God is, why didn't he do this? Just believe him.

And I guarantee, you say amen, joy will show up. Because money is never enough. And Jesus is more than enough. Father, I thank you, Lord. Thank you for how much you love us. I thank you that you are more than enough. So, Lord, help us. Help us to stop trading away eternal value of things for plastic toys.

For me and for everyone in this room, help us our lives to be a life of amen worship. We believe. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Hey, I love you guys.

Thank you so much for joining us for church online this weekend. Make sure to stay up to date with everything happening here at Rock Point on our social media or by visiting rockpoint.io.