Trust God as provider

The Good Life

TLK 2

Bottom Line: The good life is fully experienced when we trust the good shepherd as our provider

Intro

Last week we started a new series called, “the good life” → launching from John 10:10… Jesus calls himself the good shepherd who desires to give his prized creation the good life→ that was his mission, to seek and save the lost and bring them to life

But he also reminds us that there is a thief who is seeking to steal, kill, destroy… he does this by counterfeiting the real and passing it off as true… so we built this foundation of understanding that the decisions we make come from one of two paths…. Counterfeit wisdom vs true wisdom… last week slides on this

Now we are going to be looking at specific areas of our lives each week in which we have to make the choice to life the true good life or the counterfeit one… whose wisdom am i going to live by

I am a guy who does not like to put things off, especially when I know it is something that is hard to tackle… so right off the bat, we are going to be tackling the one thing that most of us try to avoid when having spiritual conversations because we think it is awkward, socially unacceptable, and way to personal for anyone else to speak into. MONEY/FINANCES

Before we move any further, I know I have only been here since March… I am still earning trust with a lot of you… most people would call me insane for even attempting what is about to happen, but ultimately I care too much about what God has called me to do, which is to shepherd you in truth and love, to just ignore this… here is what i want you to here first, we are fine… lights are on, staff is paid, ministry is being done… the gospel is gaining ground in our area of influence… That’s not what this is about… I’m not after your money

More importantly, God is not after your money… He is after something… and that something is directly tied to the good life he has given to you if you are in Christ

Truth

Proverbs 3:5-10→ background on Soloman and Proverbs

V. 5→ surrender trust to God→ move from trusting your own heart (passions, desires, flesh) to trusting in God’s heart→ only done when we allow God to give us a new heart… one with His spirit leading not ours…. Gospel

V. 6→ Know Him→ John 10→ know his voice, listen to it and the good life will come

V. 7→ just a reminder→ wisdom is not found in you separate from God

V. 8→ surrender to the Lord→ the good life will come

God is doing something here under the surface that if we miss can derail us from understanding what is coming next→ the good life is fully experienced when we completely trust God

Fully surrender control to Him… how do we know we have done this?

If then statement in the text… if you trust… then you will… and here is the then part

V. 9→ reference to the old testament commandment of tithing

Tenth→ in O. T. they did not use money to provide for their lives but rather goods, services, produce, and livestock

There were actually three tithes that God’s people were required to give

V. 10→ when you put God first financially→ he will provide

There is something more going on here than tithing… this is way bigger than whether you but something in the boxes in the back or giving online

The good life is fully experienced when we completely trust God

God comes in and says, here is the test to now if this is really a reality for you or just talk

Who do you trust to provide for you? → God says, “Kyle, show me your banking statements, and i’ll show you what you believe is most real/true.”

This is important to understand because God is teaching us a truth about reality that we cannot miss

Money is not just material, it is spiritual→ it claims to provide the way only God can completely

It says→ I can provide safety, security, and significance unlike anything else in this world→ i can satisfy your soul if you just trust me

The underlying lie that the thief wants you to believe is that there is such a thing as difference between sacred and secular→ if money is just material than why does Jesus teach about it more than almost anything else he taught about?

Matthew 6:24→ refers to it as a master→ something that’s wants to control you, to satisfy you.. To own you

Why does God command in the O. T. to tithe? Why does Jesus talk about it so much?

Because it is competing for the very thing God desires… your soul, your allegiance, your trust… and He knows the counterfeit provider is trying to pull you away from your creator, pull you away from the good life

We aren’t under the old law any more… new covenant… So I don't have to worry about this anymore… You are not commanded to tithe 10%... Jesus does set the expectation of giving though… We arent under the commands of the law because Jesus came to fulfill the law

Matthew 5:17→ fulfill→ to complete, fill full, to correctly interpret, reveal full meaning… “you have heard it said… but I say.” → Grace never lowers the bar

Matthew 6:19-21→ your giving was never about God wanting a tenth, or a third, your money→ God is not after your money, he is after you heart→ your complete being… he understands that money is so closely tied to what you hold to be most true

Two things God wants us to know about money

God wants nothing from financially, but everything for you spiritually…Money says it can satisfy, that it can provide, but truly only I can→ it is not about earning favor or gaining recognition… it is about who owns your soul

God wants you to be wise in how use the resources he has given you→ when money is correctly viewed as spiritual, investing it becomes exponentially more important

Matthew 6:19-20→ show me your bank statements and I’ll show you what you believe

We finance what our hearts find to be most true→ do you find the mission of Jesus to be most true? Our mission here at Crossroads→ reality is it does take money to do ministry

Only 21% of Christians give 10% or more to their local church→ their home family

Set-up Schindler's list video→ I believe God is trying to keep us from experiencing a moment similar to what Oskar experiences here→ i should have… I wasted… When we see money through the Biblical lens we have no choice but to come to the realization that it is actually not at all about percentages in giving, it is about the Provider we are trusting

Jesus explains it this way→ Matthew 6:25-33

The good life is fully experienced when we trust the Good Shepherd as our provider

Application

So where do we go from here?

Two things first→ 1) this is only for believers→ first thing is to accept the free gift God has given for the salvation of your life, then we can navigate this later … 2) 10% is a good starting point but never meant to be the check mark→ how can I continue to grow my trust in the provider→ this is where I am at!

One of these three things are your next step→ must be done in prayer with the Lord→ 2 Corinthians tells us not to give under compulsion or without joy but out of response to the God who gave everything for us… take some time to process with God

Start somewhere→ 2-5% consistently

Begin to grow→ 10% consistently

Sacrificially give → above 10% and move

Imagine how the gospel could advance… how much kingdom work could be done if we trusted our provider?

Imagine the peace and joy you would experience surrendering this part of your life to the provider.