Heaven In Your Money [LIVE] 10/25/2026

Grace, wait, it's so good to see you all. Happy Sunday. Come on, 9/30. Are you excited to be in the house of the Lord? Hallelujah. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. Our days are few and they rest in your hands. Teach us to make each one count. Come, let us worship the God who has carried us this far. Let us worship the Lord together. Eternal God, our Father. You showed Moses the land from the mountaintop and laid him to rest with your own hands. Our days are brief, but your love endures. Teach us to love you with all our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves so that our short lives are spent on what last? In Jesus' mighty name we pray, come on, 9/30. Amen. It's so good to see you all. Rep your viewing online or your in person for the first time. Welcome to Grace Way. Come on, it's time to worship Jesus. Come on. (upbeat music) (gentle music) (gentle music)

♪ He shames every high it all ♪ ♪ He rains with our rival ♪ ♪ He goes by the name of ♪ ♪ You sing it ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Jehovah ♪ ♪ He speaks into nothing ♪ ♪ And darkness goes running ♪ ♪ He goes by the name of ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Jehovah ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ All our praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise belongs to Him ♪ ♪ Come on, with the clapping of your hand ♪ ♪ This is how we're gonna praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His bones will be silenced ♪ ♪ He's fighting for Zion ♪ ♪ Oh, there's no other by my name ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Jehovah ♪ ♪ His heart never fires ♪ ♪ His eyes are like fire ♪ ♪ There's no other God ♪ ♪ Come on, you sing it ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Jehovah ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ All our praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise belongs to Him ♪

♪ Come on, you sing it ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ All the name, all the name ♪ ♪ You sing it ♪ ♪ All the praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ All the praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ Belowing ♪ ♪ Let me see you clap those hands ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, all you people ♪ ♪ And shout out to God with the voice of triumph ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ That's what Jehovah, Nissi means ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Come on, Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Run by hell, you'll find it ♪ ♪ Jehovah, I'm by hell, you'll find it ♪ ♪ Jehovah, I'm by hell, you'll find it ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi fight your battle ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, I'm by hell, you'll find it ♪

♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Chire, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi, I need your need ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Nissi, I need your need ♪ [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

(upbeat music) ♪ Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkness can ♪ ♪ Come on, the resurrection and the life ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, your name ♪ ♪ Can save your name, can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the stormy still ♪ ♪ You never fail, you never will ♪ ♪ Jesus, come on, Jesus, the bread of God ♪ ♪ Help us, the Lord in every world ♪ ♪ The first, the last, the same ♪ ♪ Come on, say, Jesus, Jesus, the King ♪ ♪ Oh, well, the grace ♪ ♪ Oh, and who will forever end the name above ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Come on, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ That keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Sing, Jesus, be the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Sing, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, be the name ♪

♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪

♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪

♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ ♪ Lord, the name that keeps on the flooring ♪ As we get started, don't just watch the service, jump in, worship, pray, and listen, and ask God to speak to you. I believe he has something he wants to say to you today. (upbeat music) ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ ♪ When he's like a rear ♪ ♪ A tender my way ♪ me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul, it is well, it is well, with my soul, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well,

it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, it is well, With your love He has saved me. With his heart He has raised me. To God be the glory for the things He has done. With his love He has saved me. With his heart He has saved me. With his heart He has saved me. With his heart He has saved me. With his heart He has saved me. With his heart He has saved me. With his heart He has raised me. To God be the glory for the things. To God be the glory for the things. With his heart He has saved me. He has done. Amen, amen, amen. Come on church, let's pray together. God, we thank you for all that you have done. We thank you, Lord, that in every valley you've been with us, we thank you, Lord, that in every struggle it has still been well. We thank you, Lord, that your yoke is easy and that your burden is light, Lord. I pray for my brothers and for my sisters right now who are hurting, who are struggling, that you would be near to them, that you would show your goodness to them. Lord, we thank you that your mercy was new to us this morning. We thank you that grace abounds, we're sin of browns, grace does much more abound. We thank you, Lord, that you are long-suffering and that you are persistent and that you are forgiving and that no matter how far we stray, Lord, you can always bring us back home. You're waiting for us to come back home.

I pray now, Lord, as we have sung to you and prayed to you, as we have given to you, as we have observed the Lord's Supper now as we open your word, that you would speak to us. We pray against the enemy, Lord, who wants to steal, kill, and destroy, to take the seed of the truth of your word and pull it from our lives, from our grasp. Lord, we pray against Him in the name of Jesus and we trust that you are going to speak and we ask that you would find a people who are obedient, who are surrendered, who are glad to say yes to whatever you call us to do. We love you, we thank you, and in Jesus' name, come on, all God's people said, amen and amen. Hey, welcome to church. So good to see you all. Take a few minutes, pass some peace, encourage someone around you and then grab your seat. [ Pause ] >> All right, family, how are you today? [ Applause ] So, so then, huh? All right, let's try it again. Come on, you're at church. How are you today? [ Applause ] There you go. There you go. Hey, if you are a guest, thanks for being here. So honored to have you. My name's Tim. I'm the lead pastor here. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being present with us. Pray God's blessing on you. If you're watching us online, man, love you. Let me also just say if you are of sound, mind, and body and in Kansas City, we got another service.

Come on, somebody. Church, you want to see some more people? (audience applauding) Listen, I love that you're watching online. I do, but we need you here and you need to be here. There's nothing like it. If you are not in Kansas City and you are watching somewhere in the country, somewhere in the world, man, God bless you. I hope things are well. Let us know how we can serve you. And in church, say hello to the men at Crossroads and at Ozarks, we love you, fellas, praying for you. Excited about what God is doing. One of the things that is happening is we are sending a missions team today. Team, why don't you come on up. Show them some love as they come up right now. Appreciate you. (audience applauding) All right, all right. This is a team that is headed off to the Yucatan. All right, hey, hey, hey, hey. Don't let me hang in, sis, come on. What's up, brother? Our Global Network Director, Ricardo Rodriguez, actually runs a hospital in the Yucatan overseas, a network of churches and pastors about 120 churches. And so this team is gonna be headed down

to serve that ministry and that region. Let me just explain to you. Whenever we send a missions team, we are sending them to something that God is already doing. They're not taking God with them. God's already in Mexico, amen? And so we're going, and we always ask the leader, we don't wanna be a burden, we don't wanna show up, we don't want you to be frustrated that we're coming or feel like you have to do something different than you have been doing to accommodate us. We wanna accelerate what you are doing. And so any of these missions trips, these people have taken their time, their finances, their vacation, they're leaving their families to go be a part of what God is doing in the Yucatan Peninsula. And so first off, we just wanna say thank you for your willingness to do that. We appreciate you. And secondly, we wanna make sure that we cover them in prayer, that we pray against the enemy and the name of Jesus and that they not only serve that ministry, but see the future kingdom of God coming to the present in the Yucatan. So why don't you stand up, let's lift a hand and let's pray for this team as we send them. Lord, we thank you that you are working in every tongue, tribe and nation and we thank you, Lord,

that we get to be ambassadors, witnesses. We get to bring your future kingdom into the present. And so I pray, Lord, for this team. I pray, Lord, that you would bless them. I pray, Lord, that you would bless their sacrifice, their willingness to put you first and to go and to serve. I pray, Lord, that you would bless the ministry at San Lucas and there in the Yucatan for those churches and for those pastors. I pray that you would bless them exceeding abundantly above what they could ask or think, that you would bring your kingdom to those places that you would push back the darkness. Lord, I pray for grace, I pray for covering, I pray for you to be in the details of travel and logistics and relationships. We pray against the enemy of God and the name of Jesus, everything that he intends can be of no effect. You can't speak, you can't show up, you can't distract, you can't discourage. We trust, Lord, that you are doing a good work and we're grateful to be a part of it. So we pray for this team as we send them and we look forward to hearing what you are up to and the ways that we are able to be a part, let it be for your glory, Lord, and for our good. We thank him, we love it. And in Jesus' name, all God's people said, amen and amen. Appreciate y'all.

All right, y'all can go ahead and have a seat. Another thing that we're excited about here, real quickly, I've been talking about the community center, just creating a space for our community to come, be served, have some safe space. Phase one is in progress. Rather than me talking to you about it, I want to invite you to go up and see it. So if you walk out the front doors and kind of look to your left, you're gonna see a tan building kind of up the hill. That is what has been known as the point, soon to be known as the Graceway Community Center. I'd love for you to go up and see phase one. Yeah, you can give God a hand for that. All right. (audience applauds) So I want to thank you just for your prayers, for your generosity, for your continued prayers and generosity, but I'd love for you to go up and see it. And as you're up there, I'd like for you to do two things. Number one, love for you to pray for the people that are gonna come into that space. Love for you to pray to God and in the name of Jesus against what the enemy is trying to do in Raytown and in Kansas City. Come on, let's ask God to use that place for influence, for his presence, for his good to be a light to this neighborhood. We get to be a part of that, all right?

So there's a team up there waiting to see you after the service. Before you take off, just pull into that lot, go in, take a look at it, take pictures, put it on all the socials as the kids say these days. And let's continue to be a part of what God is doing. Today is gonna be, it's gonna be a lot, all right? I wanna teach you through some things, some areas that we are stuck as a culture and as people. And so let's ask God to be at work as we continue our series heaven on our floor. We love you. Lord, I pray now that your Holy Spirit would speak, be present, rest on us. Speak Lord in power and in an authority. Give your people the wisdom to have ears to hear and eyes to see, to be obedient to you, to surrender to your kingdom as it has come and it is coming. We love you, we thank you, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen, and amen. If you have a Bible, get over to Malachi chapter one. Our topic today is at the forefront of the American mind, especially in the times in which we live. We think about this, we work for this, we worry about this, we make an enormous amount of decisions because of it, in some cases we even worship it. I don't need to explain to you the importance of our topic, but I do wanna help you bring heaven into your money. Yeah, yeah.

Now I know what you're thinking, especially if you're a guest, every time I go to church all the pastors do is they talk about money. So let me say two things about that. Number one, for those of you who are a part of this church, you know that's not true. If you don't wanna take my word for it, go to YouTube, go to visitgraceway.org and just look at the things we've talked about. Secondly, I need you to be clear that your money has nothing to do with green paper with dead guys on or the digits that you see on your computer screen. And that's to do with your heart. And I think that the most powerful idolatrous force in our country is around money. It's around money and what money brings. And I just wanna say to you, if you can't trust me to talk to you about your idols, you shouldn't trust me to talk to you about your blessings. And so we're gonna talk about money today and the way that God talks about it because the truth is for many of us, our experience has been anything but heavenly. It's actually been a... Okay, y'all asked for it. It's been a hell of an experience. Not in a profane way, but in a way that is absent the rule and reign of God.

We got pressure, we got anxiety, we got cost to living. Look how much eggs are. We have debt, we have conflict in our relationships. We have this constant feeling that there's always a little bit more month than there is money. And what's interesting is that if you stop somebody and say, "Why are you struggling?" A lot of us, we don't know. We don't know why we're struggling. The truth is we think we're handling our money normally. And by normally, we mean how we were raised or how we see other people handling their money. And so we make the same decisions, pursue the same goals, use the same measure of success, the same standards as everybody else and think we're gonna get a different result. But the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, has its own culture, its own priorities, its own way of doing things. And those ways are, if not different, most often diametrically opposed to the way that the world thinks about it. I wanna say again, I am not saying there aren't many cultures. I am not saying be blind to cultures and blind to color. I am not saying that, that's not in the Bible. I am saying whatever culture you're a part of, there is beauty and there is brokenness and you as a Christian are called to bring heaven to it. And heaven has its own culture, its own constitution.

Culture thinks about, cultures think about money differently. If you've traveled at all, you see this. You go to different places and go, oh, that's interesting. I remember going to a place in Southeast Asia and I walked into what was literally a cinder block about as big as here to the end of the stage and dirt floors and the guy had the latest iPhone and the biggest screen TV that I had ever seen. And I was like, this is a nice little theater you have in here. He's like, yeah, he thinks differently about money. Well, maybe not differently about money than the way you do, right? I go to different places and you can see with your eyes, oh, they think about their stuff differently. And I'll tell you that part of our problem is trying to experience heaven's peace with the world's principles. You can't get heaven's peace without heaven's principles. And so I want you to have heaven in your money and I want to teach you how to get the heck out of the hell you've been living in around your stuff. Is that fair? They are back in the holy land The sacrifices have resumed, but something is off God's people are showing up in body, but not in spirit. They are apathetic. They are indifferent They are going through the motions their hearts are no longer engaged And so Malachi comes to them and confronts they're indifferent. It is the prophetic job of a prophet or a pastor to confront indifference and apathy in God's people and

Malachi does that and the book is structured around a series of arguments between God and the people of Israel God makes a statement and they Argue you and God answers what is under and in their hearts not just what is coming out of their mouth I want to show you three of them today. The first thing is God reminds his people that he loves them Malachi one and verse two I have loved you says the Lord before God addresses Disobedience he reminds his people that they are loved, you know, I think sometimes when we think about God's Confronting or pointing out our disobedience we get defensive because we think that God is trying to take something from us God almost always leads not with correction. He leads with love Let me remind you who I am. Let me remind you how I feel about you. Let me remind you Who I am and that I'm coming to you in love. I'm not petty. I'm not punitive. I'm not trying to harm you I'm trying to help you. I don't need something from you. I got something for you and so God starts the book and says I love you I want to say to you today that if you're in a place right now where you are afraid to come back to God Maybe the church has misrepresented or maybe your background has misrepresented You are not coming to a God who's looking to squash you. You are coming back to a God who loves you and God's people say at the end of verse two, how have you loved us? Hello They're living in the evidence of God's faithfulness. They're not in exile. They're in the Holy Land God's taking care of what they need the temple is working, you know Sometimes we look at what we don't have and we step over what God has done Sometimes we're so consumed with what they have or what we wish we had that we focus on the opportunity We miss instead of the house that's full because of God's faithfulness We think about the pressure we're facing and we focus on the pressure instead of looking at God's Sustenance and providence in our life and when if you're anything like me, I get myself in that spot where I'm looking at what I Don't have instead of what I do I tend to look at what I do have and say I did this I built this What I have y'all you aren't doing your job God. So this is what I have so I got to figure out how to Can I say this before I get any further when God's ways bump into your ways? Okay in your heart in your mind in your home in your work in your marriage with your kids and your money Don't let it turn into a power struggle with God you can't win Don't don't say to God. I don't think you're right. Don't say to God. I think you've misjudged this

Understand that God is right and that God loves you And in some of you, I wish you weren't yeah, I wish you didn't have such a high-paying tolerance You're not going to end around God. You're not gonna get to the end of your life and go turns out God wasn't right No, it turns out God loves you and God's right and you are fighting against yourself Because God wants you to come home to repent and to trust him so God starts and he says I love you and the people say how you love this and Verse 6 he confronts the way his people have dishonored him a son honored as his father and a servant his master If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I'm a master, where is my fears has the Lord of hosts to you? Oh priests who despise my name, but you say how we despise your name And he answers them by offering polluted food upon my altar, but you say how have we polluted you? By saying that the Lord's table may be despised when you offer blind animals and sacrifices that not evil and when you offer those that Are lame or sick is that not evil? You have to understand that over under covenantal mosaic law God was trying to paint a picture and so he said I want you to bring me the best of what you have I want you to bring me a lamb without blemish why two reasons number one because there was going to come a day where there was going to who had to be spotless to take away the sins of the world. It's a picture that's being painted. And secondly, God is saying, I want you to put me first, so I want you to bring your best. And Israel had begun to bring God what it didn't want. And God says, would you invite the governor to your house and offer him what you're giving me, somebody that you want approval from? Would you dishonor them with your leftovers? - They were giving to God what was left over and before you get too judgy. When we give God whatever time, energy, attention, remains after everything else gets done.

When we give God what is left over after the bills are paid, the Amazon bill has come in and the Jordans have been bought. God doesn't say, thank you for what you left over for me, He says, you dishonor me. Because honor isn't demonstrated by what we say is important. You over, we overestimate and underestimate our words at the same time. God says, don't come into my house and sing to me and then dishonor me. I'll come into my house and say amen or come on somebody or slap your neighbor during the sermon. No, prioritize me. Honor isn't demonstrated by what you say, it's demonstrated by what you prioritize. What gets first and what gets last? Thirdly, God confronts His people about withholding what belongs to Him. Malachi three and verse eight. Will man rob God yet you are robbing me? But you say, how have we robbed you? And He answers in your tithes and your contributions. Under the covenant law of God, the people had specific responsibilities to support the temple's work, the ministry of God, the Levites, the priests and to create a space in the temple where those who needed help could come and find the help that they needed and they have begun to neglect that responsibility.

And so God comes to them and He doesn't talk about their finances, He talks about their faith. Because you talk to me about your faith but you show me your faith by your finances. They are acting as though what God had entrusted to them was theirs and God says, you're robbing me. You're robbing me. Do you know that in 2025 and 2026, there's a study that goes out and that Kansas City was on the top 10 list that we don't want to be on? Crime per capita, we are number seven, most crime in a city in these United States or yet to be United States of America. And the number one and two by a mile is theft, larceny theft, auto theft, it's the primary crime. And you all know this, you see this, you see these crimes happen, you say, I can't go to that part of town anymore, I can't do what I need to do, I'm afraid I'll get robbed, I'll get hurt. We talk about it and we lament it and we call city council and we tweet about it or ex about it or whatever it's called these days, right? But I imagine that God would say, there's a crime that's occurring that nobody's talking about. And those that are perpetrating it are showing up to a place on Sundays and they're Sunday best.

And they're singing to me and they're praying to me and they're observing the Lord's Supper, but they're robbing me blind. And they think that what I have given them is theirs to do what they want and not only is it dishonoring, it is theft. So I wanna give you three very practical things today to help you with your money. Number one, God owns it and you manage it. God owns it and you manage it. Let me show it to you, Psalm 50, for every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hill and all that moves in the field is mine, God says. You see, I don't know anything about hills or fields or what, okay, fair enough. Haggai two and verse eight, the silver is mine, the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. Say silver, that's a diminished commodity in gold, you know what, okay, fair enough. Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell in it. Anything missed in that? And just in case, let me give you one, this is just a bonus. for all things come from you. And of your own, we have given. Here's what David says, I love this.

He says, when you give to God, it's like the kid who asked his parent for money to buy him a Christmas gift. Have you had this happen? For some reason, I had in my head that out of the goodness and love and my kid's hearts for me, they were gonna go get a job when Christmas came along. Did y'all think this or was this just me? They were gonna get a job, I don't know what they were gonna do, I don't know if it was gonna be legal, I don't care, right? But they were gonna work to get some money so that with their own money, they can buy me something for Christmas, something expensive and beautiful that I could wear on the stage and brag about to y'all, right? That's not what happened. My kids come to me and they say, "Dad, how much money we got for Christmas?" To which I like Bill Cosby, am I still allowed to talk about Bill Cosby, would say, "Your mother and I have money, you have nothing." Right? No, no, no, seriously, Dad, and I would say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, seriously, Dad." And I gave them money to buy me something. Can I tell you, you're giving the God ain't giving, it's returning. 'Cause it's all God's and if it all belongs to God,

then it should all come under his authority. The question that I get so often is, "How much money do I need to give to God?" It's the wrong question. If you understand that it all belongs to God, the question isn't how much. The question is, how does God, whose it is, want me to manage, what is his? First Corinthians 4, more over it is required of a steward that they be found faithful. Let me help you, because some of y'all, you have built careers and businesses, worked your way through difficult circumstances, developed skills, got educated, been disciplined, sacrificed, and I don't hear me, I don't wanna diminish any of that. I don't need to diminish any of that to make this point. I do, though, want you to think about what made those accomplishments possible. Every person has something that is a representation of God's faithfulness to them. Let me show you, we got any strength in the room today, strength in it, come on up. Can you bring it up? No, you're not the one that I'm looking for. There she is. I love you dearly, but not on there. Okay, here comes strength. So strength is what God gives us, so we have the ability to work.

And says, can you just empty that out and put it right there? So God gives us strength. How about wisdom? Can I any wisdom in the room today? I love that you were like, I'm strong. (laughing) How about wisdom? Here comes wisdom. Wisdom is the ability that we have that God gives us to make good decisions. How about intellect? Hey, intellect in the room today, here comes intellect. Intellect is the ability that God gives us to think and to understand. How about health? Yeah, health. Here comes health. The ability that we have to function, that God gives us to function. You woke up today, you stood up on two, even if they're creaking knees, right? Oxygen came into your lungs, thought came through your brain, you were able to see where the bathroom was, right? How about opportunity? Any opportunity in the room today? Here comes opportunity. Yeah, these are the doors that God opens to us. Have you ever had this experience

where God gives you an opportunity, bumps you into something and you go, "How did that happen?" I know how it happened. How about relationships? Any relationships in the room? Here comes relationships. Yes, sir. Relationships got an amazing afro. That's awesome. I love it, brother. I love it. These are the people who have helped us succeed. How about creativity? Any creativity? Here comes creativity. Creativity wearing a chief's jersey. The ability to imagine, to make, to build, to see something that doesn't exist. How about favor? We have any favor in the room today? Yes. This is the blessing that you cannot manufacture. That you go, "I didn't deserve that." And yet God gave it to you. How about resilience? Any resilience? Well, here comes resilience. The ability to endure difficult seasons, difficult relationships.

How about providence? Any providence? Here comes providence. Yeah. Look at everything. And the truth is, I could go on and on and on about what God brings into our life. But this is just a little bit of what God brings to us that we accumulate. Are you with me? Show our characteristics some love here this morning. Y'all can go that way. Thank you so much. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. So here's how this works. God brings all these things into our life, and we can say that the table is God's grace. Right? This all sits on God's grace, and all of these things give us the ability to make some cash. Right? And it's easy when we look at everything that we have accumulated to think to ourselves, look at what I have done. And the truth is, God allows you to participate. But if God were to take any of these things out of the stew of your life, you wouldn't have the life that you have. Look at what God did to make it possible. And so we come to God, and we first off say, "God, thank you for what I have. Not God, why didn't you give me more?" I'm going to say to you that even if you're struggling right now, and even if times are tough, and they are, you probably have more than you think that you have, okay? And I don't say that to be condescending.

I think that we have a hard time thinking about what God has done for us. But as Christians, we do five things with what God has given. Number one, we earn responsibly. This is what we talked about last week. I show up to work with integrity, with diligence, with excellence, because I want to be a good steward of what God has given me. Number two, I spend wisely. I know the difference between what I need and what I want. Number three, I save intentionally. I look at what God has given me, and I plan, I don't just consume. Number three, I borrow carefully, because I know that debt can limit my freedom and my choices in the future. I know that the borrower is servant to the lender. And then number five, I give generously, I use what God has given me to serve others, advance the kingdom and bring the future kingdom of God into the present. Same man if you're with me. So how now that we know that this all comes from God? I am a renter. I am not an owner. I am a steward. I am not the master. This all comes from God. How do I order my life? And here's what's interesting. It's simpler than you think that it is. It is really just two things. First we prioritize God's house. First we prioritize God's house. Not my words. God's words.

Malachi 3 and verse 10, bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there might be food in my house. Let's talk about tithing, okay? First off, let me just say the word tithe means tenth. That's what the word means. The tithe represents a number. There's nothing any more deep or spiritual about it. Tithing means tenth. Now I know what you're thinking, Pastor Tim, I know we're talking about tithe. That's an Old Testament law thing. Is it? Is it really? Because in Genesis chapter 14, before the law, Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek. You say, that's only one time. You're right. In Genesis 28, Jacob vows to give a tenth to God. Tithing, the principle, existed before the law showed up in Exodus chapter 20. And let me help you. You are correct that we are not ancient Israel. You are correct in that way. We are not living under the Mosaic law, which means I don't have to obey God to be saved by God because Jesus did what was necessary. So when I place my faith in Jesus by the grace of God, I am saved. That is not the old covenant. The old covenant is, you disobeyed, you're out. The new covenant is, trust Jesus or trust yourself. So we are not under the old law. However, the New Testament doesn't just take the old parts of the law and reproduce them as requirements for Christians, but it does take the principle and build upon it.

It teaches us to be generous, it teaches us to be intentional, it teaches us to be stewards, it teaches us to be sacrificial, it teaches us to be committed to the work of the ministry. Can I show you, 1 Corinthians 16, Paul talking to a church, mostly full of not, Jews says, on the first day of every week. Give us the day. What is the first day of every week? Sunday. Sunday. Today. Each of you, how many is each of you? In other words, God doesn't expect you to give off of a table that he hasn't given to you. It's not about the number necessarily, it's about the table that God has filled to you. God says, on the first day of the week, all y'all put aside something and store it up, meaning set it aside not to be used for anything else. As God has prospered you, so there will be no collecting when I come, Paul says. 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 6, the point is this. Here's the spiritual point, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully, each one must give as he has decided in his hearts two things, not reluctantly and not under compulsion. In other words, God says to me, Pastor Tim, don't guilt trip people into giving. Pastor Tim, don't say we're gonna shut these doors and pass these buckens 'til y'all go in your pockets. Pastor Tim, don't put a thermostat on the wall

and walk over to the thermostat and go, "Oh, don't do that. "My job is to tell you what God says. "Your job is to decide whether or not you're gonna do it "and then to show up and not be grumpy about it." (congregation applauding) Why? Because God loves a cheerful giver. Now I've had Christians say this with a straight face to me. So if I'm not cheerful, I don't gotta give. (congregation laughing) And here's the truth. If you so misunderstand the grace of God that you're grumpy about giving, hang on to it. Does God don't need your money? But if you understood the gospel, if you understood who it is and how much God has given you, then of course you would show up and you would be willing and glad, not reluctant, or need to be guilt tripped into giving. The tithe is a biblical starting point for generosity. It's not the finish line. So God tells us how much tithe, tenth, one tenth, and where? My house. So watch what happens. God fills up our house. And God says, would you fill up my house? And we say, I thought the music was too loud a day, God. (congregation laughing)

You don't understand my bills, God. God, the new J's are coming out. God, Netflix just went up in price. And God says, why would you dishonor me? You say, God, no, no, no, we honor you, we love you. And God says, then why are you robbing me? (congregation clapping) And so what does God say? God doesn't say, bring everything from this table and put it over in my table. He says, would you bring a tithe? Why? So that my house, God says, can be full. Too many churches have too few Christians who say they love Jesus, but dishonor and rob him every Sunday and their Sunday best. And what happens is, this is the way it worked in the Old Testament, it works in the New Testament. God's people understand, look at everything God has given me. Of course, God, I will honor you and we all bring a tent so that the ministry can continue and so that when people come, we don't have to say, sorry, sorry, we don't have it. God tells us to tithe where his house, not your house, not my house, this is not my house in the place I live. That's, you're not tied into that. This is God's house. And let me say this, the local church biblically is the priority of your generosity.

How much, a tithe? Not because the local church is the only place that deserves generosity. So then why? The local church is the only place that Jesus shed his blood to own. (congregation applauding) And in God's providence and sovereignty, he picked the local church to be the medium to bring heaven to earth. Now I'll be honest with you, if I were God, I might not have picked us. I might have picked JP Morgan Chase. You know what I'm saying? But God picked us. And so God prioritizes the church and he asks his people to prioritize the church. Think about what happens in the local church. Children learn about Jesus, students discover their purpose, marriages receive support, friendships get established, people find community, discipleship, education, happens in the church, family receives help, receive help in difficult situations, the gospel gets proclaimed, the Bible gets preached, people come to faith, people get baptized, leaders get developed, missionaries get sent, the direction of lives, families, family trees, and communities get changed and redeemed. Listen to me, not 'cause of high V. 'Cause of the church, and the thing that's even crazy about it

is the church, who sometimes is struggling, and yet God still uses it. We talk about bringing the future kingdom into the present, but listen, the mission of the church doesn't advance because God's people believe in it. The mission of the church advances because God's people give to it. With their abilities, their service, their spiritual gifts, and their resources. And when we give the God first, rather than with what remains, we're making declaration, dying kingdom come, I will be down on earth as it is in heaven. I put your kingdom, don't tell God you believe it, do it, show it. And so this is the principle, this is the fundamental principle. Put my money back in my pocket, I know y'all. (congregation laughing) Y'all didn't see where I put this. (congregation laughing) This is the fundamental principle about how to run your finances. Okay, so let me help you. The Bible didn't tell you to set up a Roth IRA. Doesn't tell you to invest in the index funds. Doesn't give you a ratio of how much your housing expense should be. Doesn't tell you whether Bitcoin is good or bad. It does tell you tithe to God's house. And I know a lot of Christians who bring a lot of financial acumen to their finances

and rob God on Sunday. And can I tell you, if you would flip that around and put God first and use that acumen, God might powerfully be able to use that. But don't step over a simple principle and ask God to bless your acumen when you haven't trusted Him with your obedience. And so we put God's house first and we trust God with the results. Here it is Malachi three. Thereby put me to the test. Bring the tithe into the storehouse so that my house might be full. And thereby put me to the test as the Lord of hosts and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. God gives Israel and in turn us an incredible, a unique invitation. He says, try me. Let me tell you, he is saying, try me with your trust. Let me help you. In Matthew chapter six, Jesus says, "Don't be consumed with anxiety "over what you're gonna eat, drink, or wear. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness "and all these things will be added to you. "Trust me, try me, and trust isn't transactional." Listen, tithing is not an investment strategy. If I give God 10% will you give me a 13% return God?

That's not what he's saying. He's saying your money represents something to you. Security, options, freedom, ability to take care of yourself and others. And none of those things is wrong. But watch, if you're not careful, you begin to look to money to provide something that only God can ultimately provide. And in that case, when I trust this, instead of what God has given to me, this stops being resource and starts being rival. This is why Jesus says, he can't serve God and money. For you will love the one and hate the other. You can't do both, 'cause it's not about the stuff, it's about your trust. And some of you have a number in your head, a square foot in your head, a horsepower in your head, that you think, then I'm good. And God says, well, what if you were good now? What if he trusted me now? What if I could give you all the things that your heart actually needs now? Second Corinthians nine. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all sufficiency and in all things, at all times, you may abound in every good work. I want you to notice the point of God's provision. What does it say it is so that you can abound in good works? The goal is not for you The goal is not for heaven to finance your earthly ambition.

The goal is for you to, through your good works, Ephesians 2 and verse 10, which we looked at last week, bring the future kingdom of God into the present. But if you dishonor and rob God with this, watch, not only are you not bringing heaven, but eventually you will turn your finances, which will turn your home, which will turn your heart into hell. And so God says, will you trust me in your heart, trust me in your home, trust me with your work, trust me with your money, trust not just intellectually, but trust me actually. Tell you two stories and I'll be in my seat. Are y'all good? This has been a challenging topic for me in my walk with God. I grew up in a single parent home. We were not well off. I grew up with a massive scarcity mindset. And I remember when I started to work, when I was 14 at Mickey D's, come on somebody, started making some money and came time to give and I didn't feel like I could afford it. And I remember I went and talked to a pastor and I said, listen, I don't think I can afford to do this. And he just listened to me. So I understand that all I can tell you is that God would have you give. I said, no, you don't understand my budget pastor. And just kept saying, all I can tell you is God would have you give.

And I was like, that's dumb, I'm not doing that. And so I didn't for a lot of years. I got married, came a pastor, did it 'cause I was supposed to, not 'cause I wanted to. Gave reluctantly and under compulsion, I'm a pastor, I should do it. And I remember very early on in our marriage, one of the greatest disciples in my life around this has been my wife. We had this experience where we were kind of in between where we had been and where we were going and we were struggling financially. And I was embarrassed and I went to my wife. I said, babe, we can't afford to give this month. I gotta pay the rent. I said in so and she interrupted me and she goes, we're not doing that. I said, excuse me. And she goes, we're gonna give. I said, you don't understand, this is just math. We can't afford to give. And she goes, we're gonna tithe. I go, we ain't tithen, bro. I'll do a two percent. And she said, sucker, that ain't what the word means. That's not what she said. That's what she could have said. I said, all right, and I mutually submitted to my wife. Okay, all right, all right. Don't make a big deal out of that.

I was working on a masonry crew at the time and we got rained out one day, which means no money. And so I'd called, we were living in Ohio. We had been living in Indiana and I called the state of Indiana. I realized state of Indiana owed me some money. And so I called the state and I said, where's my money? And she said, actually Mr. Dunne, we do owe you some money. I said, when can you get it to me? And she said, oh, it'll be six to eight weeks. I said, babe, that ain't gonna work. I got rent doing it. She said, sir, I don't have a way to expedite this. And so six days later, after I wrote that tithe check, 'cause my wife made me, I'm sitting, I'm watching TV when I should've been at work. We got rained out. Postman comes up, knocks on our rickety screen door. Mr. Dunne, here's your mail. Advert, advert, bill, bill. State of Indiana. I was like, no, that can't be. Open it up. Come on, if the state government. Let me help you, let me help you Christian, 'cause I get it. We talk to you about the generosity jump and I get it. We call it the jump 'cause it's scary. It's scary to trust God. The problem is you don't think it's scary to trust you.

(laughing) And so the generosity to jump is to say, "God, I'm going to test you." You pick the time, I think you should do six months. Say, "I ain't doing six months, fine, three months." And you say, "God, I'm gonna tithe and see if God won't. "And I will tell you that I'm gonna test you." See if God won't, and I will tell you now, 24 years later, I cannot afford to do it any way other than God's. (audience applauding) And hear me when I'm saying to you, I don't mean afford in my mind. (congregation applauding) Story number two, let's say you're not a Christian, okay? I'm gonna tell you an old story from an old preacher in Louisiana, come on. Old preacher in Louisiana is preaching and an atheist walks in, listens to the messages teaching on tithing. And can you see the atheist? Every time I go to church, that's all they talk about, all they want is money. But somewhere along the way, the atheist starts to listen a little bit. He comes up to the atheist after the cake, comes up to the preacher afterward, he said, "I knew you were gonna talk about money." He said, "Actually," he goes, "I don't care, whatever." He goes, "I'm gonna do what you said. "I don't believe in God,

"but I'm gonna do what you said, "'cause I wanna come back to you "and I'll rub this in your face." So he said, "I'm gonna start tithing. "I'm gonna tithe the year church "to a God who doesn't exist. "And when I'm right, I'll come back and I'll tell you." Two months later, he comes back and he goes, "Crazy this thing happened." 'Cause I started to do it your God's way. And then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened. I came back to rubbing your face, but I realized if God can take care of my money, I might as well give him the rest of me. (audience applauding) So if you're a Christian, I want you to take the generosity jump, and if you're not a Christian, hear me. I'm not gonna do an altar call. I'm just gonna say, for the God that you don't wanna follow, how about on this, you try him? And if in a couple months, if you've actually done it, God hasn't blessed it. You come back and you rub it in my face. But if God does keep his word, you come back in a couple months and you give your life to Jesus. Sound good?

(audience applauding) That's the deal. That's the deal. If you're right, you tell me. If I'm right, you tell him. Let's pray. God, we love you. And God, I thank you that you are my provider and that you have been for many, many years when I trusted you and when I didn't. I pray, Lord, for the hearts of this church. It's not about their stuff. It's not about green paper. It's not about bills. We make it about that. It's about our hearts and whether or not we believe you. And so I pray, Lord, that you would soften our hearts to trust you. I pray, Lord, that you would soften our hearts to take you at your word and to try you. I pray, Lord, that you would keep your promises. And because we believe that you will, we give you glory in advance. Bring your kingdom to earth in our money for your glory and our good. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, amen, amen. Growth track in the next service. Prayer team, come on down. Giving boxes in the back.

fam, I love ya, have the best day. See you next Sunday, go Chiefs.