Watch Out! | Overflow Pt. 2

Breaking Free from the Spirit of Mammon and Finding True Contentment in God. Discover why Jesus talked about money more than almost any other topic and what it reveals about our hearts. Learn about the dangerous spirit of Mammon that promises fulfillment through wealth but never delivers satisfaction. This biblical teaching explores the parable of the rich fool, the psychology of greed, and practical steps to find contentment through simplicity. Understand the difference between serving God versus serving money, and how to break free from consumer culture that keeps us trapped in endless wanting. Find freedom through generous living and discover your identity as a beloved child of God who provides everything you need. Topics covered include biblical stewardship, overcoming greed, practicing contentment, financial freedom, Christian living, spiritual warfare against materialism, and finding joy through generosity. Perfect for anyone struggling with money anxiety, consumer debt, or the constant desire for more. Learn practical steps like pausing before purchases, giving things away, and living beneath your means to create margin for generosity. Discover how generous people are happier people and why contentment is the mark of someone who knows they are safe, provided for, and loved by God. This message addresses the spiritual roots of financial stress and offers hope for those feeling trapped by material desires.


This sermon was recorded at a Sunday morning gathering at Church of the Lookout in Longmont, Colorado.

Speaker: Luke Humbrecht
Series: Overflow
Scripture: Matthew 6:24
YouTube: https://youtu.be/TS8nsZbQzAE

Visit our website
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to the Lookout Weekly Podcast. Church of the Lookout is in Boulder, Colorado, and our vision is Jesus abiding in his presence, growing in his family, and living on his mission to transform the world with awe-inspiring love. Visit us online at the lookout.church.

SPEAKER_03 0:19

Hey guys, uh, if we haven't met yet, my name is Luke, and uh I'm gonna preach at you. I'm gonna preach. Um so this morning, as we continue just in the flow of what God is doing today, we get to open the scriptures and let God address us through the scriptures. How many of you guys are thankful for the scriptures? And uh it's it's a beautiful thing as a community just to be able to create this space for the reading of the scriptures and just inviting the Holy Spirit to address each one of us. And uh and he knows how to get to us, he knows how to divide soul and spirit and speak to the truest part of who we are. So that's what we're gonna do today. If you have your Bible, you can open up to Luke chapter 12. That's where we're gonna be. And let me just um let me just set the stage here. Last week we started a brand new uh teaching series called Overflow, and really it's a series on money and formation and uh and living free is what we're calling it. And the big idea is about this because uh, you know, I I know when you come to church, you the first thing on your mind in the morning is that man, I hope we talk about money at church today. Um, but it's important that we do because this is why Jesus addressed money more than almost any other topic, because he knew that when we start talking about money, we really start talking about the heart. And the heart is what God is after. Amen. And uh and and so one of the big ideas from last week is what we think about money has everything to do with our view of God and the kind of people that we're becoming in the world, right? And so um it we we have to start with, so even before we we start with what we have, we have to start with who God is. And and last week we talked about this fundamental, uh, the fundamental starting place to even broach this topic is our view of God. Do we actually believe that the Father is rich and that he's good towards us? Do we actually believe that the Father is rich? And that belief turns to trust when we choose to lean in through generosity. That's what we do with our lives. And generosity is a way that we trust, that we actually have a father who cares for us and he is rich, and he is good to us. Uh, is anybody with me this morning on that? So, if last week was about trusting the Father, this week we need to look at another powerful voice that also wants us, wants our trust and attempts to compete with God for a place in our life. That's what we have to talk about this week, and this is what Jesus goes toe-to-toe against in the gospel. So I'm gonna open up with a uh a passage. This is Luke chapter 12. It's called the Parable of the Rich Fool, which is the best title ever. The parable of the rich fool. This is Jesus speaking, starting in verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. And Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then he said to him, Watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. And he told them this parable. The ground of a certain rich man yielded in an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich toward God. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let's just take a moment together and quiet our hearts before the Lord, before the Holy Spirit. I just want to honor his presence with us. Amen. Amen. So I watched this movie recently, and it tracked kind of the journey of a rich man and a poor man. And there's this guardian angel of sorts that comes down and tries to give each of them a new perspective about wealth. And this angel really wanted to teach the wealthy man not to live in excess and the poor man not to so desire riches. And so he switched their spots. He touched them, he switched their spots, the rich man became the poor man, the poor man became the rich man. And uh, and as soon as that happened, the rich man just started hating life with whatever, you know, like whatever he was given. But then the poor man became the rich and got his lifestyle, and he started loving life. He's dancing, he's having parties, he's eating food, and then the angel shows up to the poor man now become rich, and he's like, he's like, it's not, it's all it's not all it's cracked up to be, is it? And the rich, the you know, the poor man's like, oh, this is incredible. This is great. I'm so happy. I'm so glad that you did this for me. So the guardian angel's like, oh man. And so then the next scene, uh, the next scene, the two angels are talking, and this guardian angel's talking to another angel and told them what he did. I switched their spots. The other angel's like, he's like, why on earth would you do that? He said, Well, I just wanted to show them that that wealth doesn't solve problems. And the other angel says, and did it work? And he said, Well, money seems to have solved almost all of his problems. And it was just really, and so the rest of the movies, I'm just journeying this out, and of course, that's not where it ended. You know, uh the the you know, they they they journey through that together. But it was it was funny watching it because I was just thinking about that. Almost all of us have heard from from from the beginning, like, money money doesn't solve your problems. All of us kind of at the end of the day, we step back and we think, well, is that is that true? Because I know money doesn't solve all my problems, so it definitely solves my money problems. Which seems to be all my problems. And so we hear those kinds of things, but then our lived experience is like, yeah, but you know. And uh, and so it's really interesting because when Jesus comes in and he steps in and he's intersecting with people's actual lives, the way they think, what motivates them, their loves and desires, this this parable he shares kind of cuts right to the heart. And it's a really interesting parable because it starts with two brothers and they're talking about inheritance. One of them is getting the raw end of the deal. So he uh it's kind of an injustice he's walking through. So he he he rightly goes to Jesus, says, Jesus, you're the son of God. Tell my brother what's up, you know, help me help us figure this out. Something happening here is wrong, right? And so it's one of those things where it's like, man, I I would probably do the same thing. If if I were him, you know, if I was sorting out something, I didn't get what was owed to me. I would probably go to God too and say, Would you help me sort this out? You're the one that can do this. And yet, Jesus looks back to him and says, Hey, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not your judge here. I'm not gonna help you sort out this inheritance problem. He, what Jesus perceives in this man, it's not that he had the wrong cause, but something that Jesus perceived is there was the wrong spirit. He was the right cause, but the wrong spirit. And so when Jesus responds to him, it's it's really interesting because most of us would respond to this kind of situation pastorally with like a, you know, some compassionate, curious questions. Hey, tell me about your, let me hear more about your relationship with your brother and your parents. Tell me about that. When did that, you know, tell me about this complicated relationship and let's go back to what this inheritance means to you? That's not what Jesus does. He cuts right to the heart of it and he says back to this man, he says, Hey, you, watch out. He says, watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed, because life does not consist in abundance of possessions. So this is when when Jesus looks at you and tells you to watch out, that's uh that's serious words. And he says, Listen, there's all kinds of greeds, many kinds of greeds. And you need to be on your guard because it's after you. You don't even know what's at work. You think this is about inheritance, it's not. It's about your relationship with possessions. That's what Jesus is getting at. And everyone's like, whoa, right? So greed, this kind of word greed, is one of our favorite words. Greed, you know, the other parts of the Bible talk about covetousness, to covet, to want what we don't have. It's to want something you don't have, like lust, but for things. It's an insatiable desire for more than we have and more than we need. And uh and and the counterintuitive insight Jesus understands, and modern psychology also confirms that the more we get, the more we want. This is a real thing. The more we get, the more we want. We actually train our desires to keep reaching. Psychologists call it the hedonic treadmill. Ecclesiastes calls it a chasing after the wind. It's a concept pursuit that promises to fulfill, but it never quite does. It never quite leaves us with enough. And so the formula our culture sells us is this more money equals more happiness. And and uh but but we find it's not simply true past a basic threshold. There is a threshold where, yeah, yeah, more money actually solves some of the basic needs we have, but the research is clear that the more we accumulate, the more neurotic, isolated, and fearful we become. If you've ever watched the show hoarders, you know exactly what I mean. You can accumulate all you want, but at some time it just there's a grip on our heart. Have you ever daydreamed about winning the lottery in this room? All right, I'm not gonna ask you to wait and raise your hand. I will not ask anybody who's bought a Powerball ticket this last year. That is not something I will ask. But you guys have heard the stats on this. The Certified Financial Planner Board says this roughly one in three lottery winners ends up declaring bankruptcy within three to five years of winning the lottery. Okay? Not because they didn't get enough, but because more was not the answer to what was actually wrong inside of their life. They thought the answer to the problem was this. That was not actually what was driving them. So we have to look at what drives us from the inside out. And Jesus makes it very clear, we'll get this into this in a second. We can have different kinds of masters in our life that inform the way we relate to wealth. Now, this isn't to say wealth is bad. I want to be very clear. Scriptures clearly talk about the importance of stewardship, multiplying what's been given to us for the benefit of kingdom work, right? And some actually have the spiritual gift of creating wealth and developing wealth in the marketplace. And that's it's awesome. Jesus was actually buried in the tomb of rich man who created a space for God. And so there is so much to be said about the stewardship and the creation of wealth and the force of good that it can do in this world. But that being said, Jesus' message to the wealthy and those pursuing wealth can be summed up in two words. Watch out. You better watch out. And when you look at the whole body of Jesus' teaching about wealth, you will be hard pressed to find a whole lot of positive things he had to say. Okay? So let me just give you a sampling of some encouraging pep talks by Jesus. Let's take a look at this. Encouraging pep talks by Jesus. Like we said, watch out, be in your guard. He also said this it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Okay? He says, Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. He says, Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth. He says, You cannot serve both God and mammon. We'll get to that in a second. He says, Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and then come follow me. So, yeah, a lot of encouraging things that we meditate on day in and day out. We wake up and just, you know, we put that on a coffee cup, right? A rich man cannot go through the eye of a needle. So let me just ask a question of us today. Who here is rich? Okay, yeah, okay, okay, yeah. So it's kind of a trick question, all right? The hard part in a sermon like this is that when we read scriptures, and particularly Jesus' teachings about wealth and riches, we almost never think he's talking to us because nobody here feels rich. So many people don't feel rich. Maybe you're more self-aware and you realize your place in the world and you raise your hand. That's cool, that's awesome. Most of us never think of ourselves as rich. So when Jesus talks to the rich, he's like, oh, we're always thinking, man, I hope that person heard that from Jesus. We do the same thing with the Pharisees. We never think we're the Pharisees in the script. We always think we're the good guy. We think we're never we think we're the rich guy or the wealthy guy. We always think we're like, we're the ones, like we've got, I I know how it actually works. He's talking to those, and I hope those greedy rich people actually read this at some point and Jesus sorts them out. We don't feel rich because we know people who are richer than we are. And so it's all kind of relative, right? But just to set to level set this, the reality is you're uh if if you're a middle class, you're richer than top 10% of the world. Okay? So if you're kind of like solidly middle class, you're richer than top 10% of the world. Get this. If you have running water, a refrigerator, electricity, Wi-Fi, a place to park your car, you're in like the top 60 to 80 percent. I mean, you have it more than like uh, I mean, like over 80% of the entire world, just to have the basic threshold of what we consider. Now, in America, the reason we don't feel rich is because the standard of living is often quite quite a lot higher. And so it's so much of it is about comparison to our neighbor and to what we feel like we deserve. But can we just acknowledge we live in Colorado, all right? In 2026, the United States of America. We live in a very specific, the most affluent time in history. So this this sermon, what I'm not saying is that we don't have actually have needs. Um, we do have needs, and I don't want to belittle that. Some of you need a car, that's a real need. Some of you need a job, that's a real need. But I do want to acknowledge that this sermon is being preached in a specific context. And in in our time, in our location, it's not the same as the rest of the world. Furthermore, this here's one of the other things that we have against us when we read about greed in the scripture. Okay? I promise you this gets encouraging here in a second. The other problem with greed is that in almost no part of culture is there a critique of greed and the unbridled pursuit of wealth. We just call it success. Okay? So somebody is ambitious and makes a lot of money, we call them successful even though their marriage is falling apart and their kids are completely estranged for them. And we're like, oh man, but that's just, but man, they're they're just high achievers, right? We we have a hard time locating greed in our culture because we just know it as entrepreneurialism, we have we herald it as hard work, and this is the cost, this is the cost required for that kind of wealth. There's a lot of collateral damage, but man, that that that individual is a high achieving individual. And so it's we even in our culture, we don't have a lot to draw from because we've kind of glossed over it and and enthroned it as a uh as a virtue, right? And and furthermore, in the church, uh we don't have a lot of language to talk about greed in the church. Like being a pastor for many years now, I'm in a unique position where uh a lot of people come and confess different things. You know, I've I've heard a lot of people confess different things. I've heard people confess lust and anger and pride and jealousy. I've heard people confess very atrocious things, but never once, at least as I've been a pastor, has ever anybody ever come to me and said, you know what? I'm just struggling with greed in my life. I'm just I'm I'm finding myself very greedy and just longing for more than what I have. And and and and I think part of that is because we've unconsciously adopted spending norms in one of the most materialistic cultures in human history, and we don't even feel it anymore. Can we just acknowledge that for a second? So we have to reconcile our relationship with this. There's some sins that we're way aware of, but like greed and gluttony and some of these things, we just have no normal understanding of what's right and wrong. And I think what enhances that in the culture that we live in, it's the water that we're swimming in. And so, and and so for that case, this is where we have to invite the Holy Spirit to show us where our lives need to be aligned with the way of the Father and the kingdom of God. Are we are we together on that? And so the rich fool is the portrait. And the story, this parable of the rich fool that Jesus tells to these this brother that's fighting for his inheritance. He tells a parable of a farmer, and this farmer's not evil, he's a successful farmer. He has a genuinely good problem. Too much grain and not enough storage. That's a great problem to have. But his solution is is rational by every worldly metric. He's like, I gotta build bigger barns, I gotta secure, I gotta secure the future, and when I do, I can retire early, I can enjoy life, I will eat, drink, and be merry. So just catch this. Listen to this, though. The point Jesus is getting at is this God doesn't call him a fool for being rich, he calls him a fool for being rich toward himself and poor toward God. It wasn't a condemnation of wealth per se, but he's saying you are using your wealth to be rich toward yourself, but not rich toward God. And why is that? Because his desire was fueled by the wrong spirit. Underneath all money is a spirit. Okay? So this is one thing that we have to remember. In the scriptures, at least the way Jesus uh addresses it, money is never neutral. We think that money is just neutral. It's just a tool, it's just math, just numbers on a screen, and I move around numbers, I transfer from this account to this account, and some of it, sometimes it goes away fast, sometimes it comes in. We just think that it's math and formulas, but Jesus used a very specific word when he talked about money and wealth. And we looked at this last week. I want to dive into this. Matthew chapter 6, verse 24. Here's what Jesus said No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. He says, You cannot serve God and money. Now, some of you know this. That word money in many translations is not actually translated to money. They they did that because we know what money means, but in the original language, it was this word mammon, which is not actually a word, it's a name. It's a name. And the name Mammon is an Aramaic word that the Syrians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians used for a demonic god of wealth rooted in Babel itself. It was the original monument monument to the to human self-sufficiency. And so, Matthew, when he when Matthew was writing, he left it untranslated because it wasn't just a word, it was a spirit, it was a force. I want to take a look at this quick this quick video that that double-clicks on this for a second. Let's see this.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Mammon. You are not able to serve God and mammon. Mammon refers to one's possessions like money, wealth, property. In the New Testament, only Jesus uses the word mammon. He describes mammon as a burdensome ruler seeking to lure humans into its own control. Mammon comes from an Aramaic word, mammon, that means trustworthy. It's describing wealth as something that tempts you to trust in it for security and happiness, which it can't really give you in the long run. Jesus remained suspicious of Mammon because of its tendency to tempt and corrupt us. But he also said that it can be used to help people. Instead of trusting in mammon, use it to generously care for others and build good relationships, which is gaining true wealth. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true wealth to you?

SPEAKER_03 21:53

Yeah. So so mammon is just kind of like this force that when when you know. What when money is used to do what it's meant to be done, it can participate with creating wealth and generosity in the kingdom of God. But when we submit to this the spirit of mammon, mammon has all kinds of effects. It's been the for the force of all kinds of human injustice on a long uh on a large scale. It's it's behind all human trafficking and slavery and these global racial hierarchies and stuff. Mammon and the desire, the unbridled pursuit of wealth, has led to all kinds of problems on a large scale, but even on a personal scale. Because mammon just doesn't just want your dollars, it actually wants to master you, it wants to father you, it wants to be a counterfeit father in your life. It makes the same promises that a good father will make, and that, you know, you almost take any of the promises that God makes to his people. And mammon will try to say the same thing, like, hey, I'll take care of you, I will make you suffer, I will make you secure, I'll give you, I'll give you respect, I will promise you not harm, but a good future, a bright and a good future. Those are the types of things that Mammon tries to say to us. But mammon promises a life that only God can deliver. Okay? And in the church, we have to understand this. We think about the war and the spirit that's going on all around us. This is one of the big ones, and it has to do with living free, living not in control by the way of the world, but by the Spirit of God, living in alignment with the very nature of who God is and who we are in Him. And this is why Jesus says you'll end up hating the one and loving the other. Mammon doesn't just compete with God, it turns you against God. This is what mammon does over time. And it has gripped the hearts of way too many people. And even in the church, because we are so underdeveloped in the way that we know how mammon works in our life and our culture, we have let it inform the way we think, the way we behave. So let me just show you. So if mammon is competing with God as master in your life, and by the way, I'll point this out. This is serious enough. This is the only other false God that Jesus actually names precisely outside of Satan. This is the only one he actually gives a name. Watch out. Do you cannot serve God and mammon? You're gonna choose one or the other, but don't think you're gonna find this cool blend of the two. This is where he just cuts. He cuts right through the center and said, This is about the condition of the heart, this is about your freedom. Okay? So here's what mammon sounds like. Mammon says, You're behind. Everyone else has more than you. You should have all this figured out by now. Any doesn't sound familiar to anybody. That's that's what mammon sounds like. But the father says, There is no one to catch up to, and I will meet you right where you are. Mammon says, Don't let off the gas. You can rest when you have enough. The father says, You can rest because I am enough. The wrong one? Let's stay on that one there. Let's stay on that one. Mammon says, You earned this. Nobody handed you anything. Don't let anyone touch what's yours. And the father says, Every good gift, every good gift you have came for me, and I delight in showing you my goodness. Mammon says, if you give it away, you'll regret it. That's what Mammon says. But the father says, I will supply all of your needs according to my glorious riches. A couple more. Mammon says, just a little bit more, and you'll be happy. Just a little bit more, man. John D. Rockefeller was the one that says, How much is enough? He said, just a little bit more. The father says, the children in my house are full of joy and lack for nothing. Mammon says, if people knew what you actually have or don't have, they wouldn't respect you. The father says, you are not what you possess, you are my beloved. Mammon says, you can't afford to be generous. Just wait into the future when you get that raise and when things settle down. The father says, generous is who I am and it's who you are because it's your new nature. Isn't that interesting? Mammon love, mammon loves generosity in the future. Mammon's a huge fan of future generosity. It's coming, dude. One of these days. One of these days. I know this is coming. When I sell that house and I get that raise, when I, whatever, and I get the thing, this comes. Once the medical stuff chills out, once all this, listen, I'm not belittling the feeling of a crunch in your life, but I'm saying, anytime we reserve the nature of who God has made us to be for another day, we have participated with the power of mammon. So generosity is how we break its hold because we're saying, I am not waiting for you to tell me when it's right to be generous. I have a father who is rich, and every good thing that he's given to me, he's given to me for the benefit of the world that he's put me in. And so all of this, again, can you see how this comes? It's not just about money, it's about a father and it's about sons and daughters. Can you see that? It's about identity, really, at the end of the day. It's not just about managing things, it's about identity first and foremost. That's what we have to start here. An orphan, listen, an orphan hoards because no one is providing. An orphan compares because significance is scarce. An orphan defers generosity because there may not be enough, but a beloved child of a good and rich father lives differently, not recklessly, not naively, but freely, open-handedly, hardworking. That's the thing, we do work hard. God has called us to labor well. We take our jobs and we labor faithfully as unto the Lord to be a force of good in the world, right? With whatever He's given to us. We are diligent to make the most of every opportunity, but listen, but with a subtle joy that doesn't depend on the balance of the bank account. And that's what we call content. Who wants to be content? Content is the biblical word for this kind of happiness. There's a level of happiness that is available in the Lord, in the kingdom of God, and it's called I am content. It just sounds so just say, I am content. Doesn't it sound so good? Just say it. It's freeing because this is what we're this is the life we're called to be, to be content. It doesn't mean we don't have goals and dreams and whatever. Have all the dreams, but I'm content. And this is the the writers in the New Testament talk about this. Paul, in particular, Philippians chapter 4, verse 11, he says this. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need, and then the killer. I can do all things to him who gives me strength. Now we always take that last part, and that's the one, that's the one we quote right before we do something super hard. About to run a marathon. I can do all things through Christ. You know what he's actually talking about? You know what you need strength for? You need strength to be content. That's what he's talking about. You know what God wants to strengthen you for? To be content with whatever he has given to you right now. Because that's what breaks the power. Whatever. I'm hungry, I'm content. I'm in abundance. Hey, I got more than I need right now. Praise God. I'm wealthy? Great, I'm content. I'm living in the world of my good father. What a beautiful world. There is a way of being in Christ that just allows us to live with that kind of freedom. Because when we live free, we can go wherever God is calling us to go. We're not just pulled back and forth. We're not moving around. Contentment is the mark of one who is safe, provided for, and loved. That's what we love about children, right? Just children. I think about my kids. They're just content. They're not worried about, like, they're just content. It's not contentment, it's not a personality trait. It's the temperament, it's the lifestyle, it's the inner formation of the heart. It's something that we choose to cooperate with on a day-to-day basis. It is a gift from God. He gives us strength to be rooted in the reality of who he is and who we are in him. So I could keep going. There's so much on this. Oh, I want to keep going, but I'm going to kill you guys if I keep going. The way that we practice contentment, though. Okay, let me just read one more scripture. Or two. Just, you know, whatever, man. We'll be out of here by two o'clock. It's gonna be great. Um 1 Timothy, this is great. Just read this, this isn't gonna be on the screen. This is 1 Timothy 6. He said, this is Paul writing to his spiritual son Timothy. Listen to this, just listen to the words. Close your eyes. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. And he continues in verse 17. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Wow. How beautiful is that! Watch out, be careful, be sure to be rich towards God, to be rich in good works, so that you can take hold of that which is truly life. I think that's what all we want, all we want.

SPEAKER_03 33:23

So all of these things, it does take a fortitude, but it does take practice as we've been talking about. We have to actually live into there's a way to live into contentment. If we keep it up here of like, that's a great idea that I'll try out someday, it just never works like that. How do we practice contentment? Well, the practice is simplicity. Simplicity is how we practice contentment, declaring that we have enough. G.K. Chesterton, here's how he said it. There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more, but the other is to desire less. I just want to offer you this the latter of those two options is ri is is easier and cheaper. If you want enough in your life, either get more or desire less. And throughout church history, Christians globally, historically and globally, the way that we practice being both good stewards, but just living into the flow of God is resisting the accumulation of more, but choosing to live simple life beneath our means so that we can have the margin in our lives. Simplicity is choosing to refrain from additional purchases that are not necessary or in excess. How many of us have things in our homes that we have but we don't necessarily need? Just walk into my garage, right? One of the things that early on in marriage that Megan and I worked on, this is one of our first conscious decisions. When we first got married, we obviously had nothing. I moved in, she already had a house and I was really into that. Oh, that's what, you know, like I was like, dang, she's got it together. And so I married her, moved into her house, brought in like two totes of all of my belongings, right? Nothing. And and you know, and we start making a list of all the things that we need around the house. We're like looking around, like, oh my gosh. You know, and the temptation was like, well, we we got this house, we've got to furnish it, we gotta do all these things. The temptation, when you don't have anything, there is there is a pro there is a solution for that in our culture. It's called 0% interest for the first 24 months, and then like 95% interest after that. So that's the solution in our culture. Like, oh, we'll solve that problem for you. We're gonna give you this tiny little rectangle, just have at it, right? Start your why don't you start your marriage off right? Don't wait. This is too important, just let it go into the future without the things that you need. You know, there's all this messaging around that kind of stuff. But we made a very early-on commitment. We're not just gonna go out and buy all these things, we're gonna make a list, and we both just made a list together. Here's the things that we need and things that we want. Some of them were necessities, some of them were just desires. We needed like a grill, we needed like, you know, a couch and some furnishings. She also wanted a puppy and I wanted a guitar, right? So there's things like that. So we made a list, but we just made a commitment. We're not gonna just run out and buy these things because we think that we deserve them. We're gonna submit this before the Lord and we're gonna ask him to just start checking these things off one at a time. And that's what we did. We made this thing, and it was amazing in the first year of marriage how God started providing all of these things at just highly discounted rates or just people that's donated things to us, and then it just allowed us to trust him. We're not gonna take things into our own hands to try to follow the spirit of mammon that that causes me to reach beyond my means in order to get what I think that I deserve for happiness. But rather, I'm going to entrust my wants and needs to God and let him provide one at a time. And tell you, we've never gone back. We've never been loaded with consumer debt and credit cards and crippling interest because of that, because we made a decision very early on. We're gonna live beneath our means, we're gonna live on a pastor's salary, we're gonna live on what we're gonna do what we can do and trust that God is gonna provide. I'm telling you, he's provided every step of the way. Every step of the way. And that's no, that's no element of pride. I'm just saying it is a very, I learned very early on, it's a freeing thing to do things God's way. Now, if that's not the situation you're in, there's no shame. There's always a step forward. But what I just want to say to you though is to know the difference. This starts with knowing the difference between our father and the spirit of mammon and what they want from us. And we just start to change the way we think, and you can make a decision today. I am not going to do what the world does. I'm gonna live content. A couple really practical things that I would just encourage us with. How do you practice simplicity? It's and what I was saying is like it's not that you don't take vacations, it's not I'm not saying you don't get nice things. I'm just saying there is a there is a level of awareness and a level of guardedness in our heart, and just not assuming that possessions do nothing to us, they do something to us. So here's a few very simple things. Number one what if you made a pause before you purchase? Anyone who has an Amazon account knows what I'm talking about. Did you buy that? You've probably bought three things while you're sitting in the sermon, some of you. Buy it now, have it delivered to my house tomorrow morning, the whole thing. You don't even think about it. It's getting easier and easier. You just click a button, it shows up at your doorstep. Listen, uh what if we don't commit until we just say, all right, let me just sit with this for a second. Is this something I something I need? Is this an excess? Is there something else driving this underneath? I'm not saying you need to be burdened down with complicated decision making all day. I'm just saying the the the ability to pause and to say, God, where are you in this and what is my responsibility here? That's how you that's how you demonstrate a prayerfulness and attentiveness before God. Number two, resist consumer debt on at every place you can. There's some types of debt that are hard to avoid. Resist consumer debt ruthlessly because it will cripple us when we get into that place. And three, one very easy thing to live a simple life. Just get used to giving things away. It's one of my favorite things to do. One of my favorite things to do is to find things I no longer need and just get them away, because I'm tired of taking care of the things I don't need and maintaining things I don't need. But just like getting in the habit of who else needs what I don't need any longer. And we start to right-size our lives before God. And listen, here's the point the point is not the act, the point isn't uh just giving things away. The point is freedom in our heart. Noticing and cooperating with freedom and a good father who wants us to live free. And I will point out that in general, generous people are happier people. But I have yet to meet a miserable, generous person. I'm not kidding you. They probably exist. I'm sure that they're out there for a variety of reasons. I just haven't met one. There is almost a direct correlation between the two. Generous people tend to smile more, they tend to be lighter in their presence in a room. They tend to bear good fruit that people enjoy being around. It's just the people in my life that I really enjoy being around are typically generous people. Not just because I'm the recipient of it, it's because they live free. There's a freedom because it's a flow of life, right? I think it's what God wants for all of us because that's how He is. He's just happy and generous. He's good. And he wants us to be good. So, that being said, let's just take a moment be with each other. I'm gonna have Travis sing here. And we're just let's just become aware of the presence of God here together. Then just a few reflection questions, and we'll be out for the day. Yeah, let's just let's sing. I just want to invite you across the room. I'm gonna invite you to close your eyes and just consider this question as I walk through what the voice of mammon sounds like and the voice of God. Maybe some of these statements suck out to you. Maybe when you lie in bed at night, you hear a voice that says, you're on your own. You better get what you can while you can. You'll never have enough. God really isn't gonna come through. These are the kinds of thoughts I just like. If any or anything like that, maybe if that's you, I just want you to name that. And I want to invite you just to renounce that. That this is not the voice of my father, this is the voice of mammon. This is the voice of the enemy, the evil one. And I'm not gonna partner with that anymore. God, we renounce, we repent of any ways that we've fallen for the trap, we've fallen for the messaging of mammon. And it's gripped us, it's kept us from moving forward, it's kept us enslaved and enslaving others, even. Forgive us, Father, where that's happened. And we receive the voice of the Father today. I speak the voice of the Father over sons and daughters here today, that you are beloved, you are provided for, you are free. God knows your needs, He cares for every single one of them. You are not alone. There's room for you at the table of God, and there's more than enough in the household of God. Let that truth enter in, Jesus. Let's stand together across the room. Father, we thank you today that you're retraining us how to think and how to live into your kingdom. I thank you that you have called us because you do want to entrust us with wealth, but with wealth that honors your name, God, and the things that you entrust us with, that it wouldn't cripple us at the end of the day. I just thank you for a fortitude and the strength to live with content hearts, generous, simple, satisfied in you, God. I thank you, Father, for freedom in the house of God. Let it start here. Let it start with us today, Lord Jesus, and where we are. We need help. I thank you to help us to reach out, to lean on each other for all of the needs that we have. I just want to invite the ministry team as well. We're gonna have our ministry team members on the sides of the room and up front. These are people you can entrust to you can trust to pray with. And listen, if you're going through a financial challenge in your life, maybe you need a job. Maybe a very real thing. So I talked to a friend, their car just broke down. They need a car. That's a real thing. It's not a superficial thing. You have real needs in your life. Go pray with somebody about it in the presence of the Father and this trust that God wants to move on your behalf today. Amen. Amen. Listen, as we go here today, we're going in the goodness of the Father. I think we have a we have a missions community potluck in the back. Do we not? Tell me. Okay, we have a missions community after after the service. If you want to join a potluck in the theater, and as we go out, I'm sure you have graduation parties and all the things. We're going not empty-handed, we're going full with the fullness of God in our lives. Amen. So may the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you. May He lift his countenance over you and give you rest. Amen, church. Go in the peace and the strength of the kingdom of God.