The Exchange Part 1

Good morning Abundant Life, let's stand to our feet from this house to the church houses to Tipton. We're going to lift up Jesus this morning, we're going to glorify Him, magnify Him, give Him all our praise, all the honor we can give Him this morning. Let's sing. Come on church, let's lift Him high today. Sing. Come on church, let's lift Him high today. Sing. Come on church, let's lift Him high today. Sing. Christ be magnified in me. Oh, Christ be magnified from the altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me. That's our prayer today, God. With every creature finds Him most friendly. With every human heart it's made it right. Oh, live your life in rapture in the praise. Just sing Christ be magnified. Oh, higher and higher. Let's sing it. Oh, Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. Oh, Christ be magnified from the altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me. We pray today. We surrender all to You, Jesus. But we declare, we don't bow before idols, we bow before the King.

Oh, I won't bow to idols. I stand strong and worship You. If it puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice because You're there too. I won't report my feelings. I hold fast to what is true. Because if the cross brings transformation, then I'll be crucified with You. Because man is just a doorway into resurrection life. If I join You in His suffering, then I'll join You when You rise. And when You return in glory with all the angels and saints, my heart will still be singing. My soul will be to the saints. Oh, Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. Oh, Christ be magnified from the altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me, oh Christ be magnified, let His praise rise, oh Christ be magnified in me Oh Christ be magnified, from the altar of my eyes, Christ be magnified in me Be magnified in me I come before you this morning, I come to worship you Jesus, we'll sing this out You give Your Word to flood my mind with visions of Your splendor So I give my worship, and flood Your ears with songs of surrender, hear our surrender And I stand in awe, I'm captivated, Jesus be my center Cause all I have is Yours, take my life and I will go My essence unstable, I leave it all behind This is my testimony, that You've always gone before me I know You will provide, You always provide You give Your Word to guide my steps, even in the desert So I'm gonna give You my worship, I give my worship

And You pour out Your Spirit without measure And before You spit out on us, I've counted the cost I have decided, Jesus You're my treasure Yes You are, yes You are Cause all I have is Yours, take my life and I will go My essence unstable, I leave it all behind Everything to follow You This is my testimony, You've always gone before me I know You will provide Oh we put our yes, so my yes is on the table I'm gonna leave it all behind You're writing out my story You write a better story For my joy and for Your glory You're worth it every time Yes He's worth it every time He's worthy of our surrender He's worthy of all our worship No one else is worthy Oh we will follow, follow where Your Spirit leads us Oh Jesus So my yes for Your peace And I'll go and You'll leave And You will receive And pour out Your suffering My yes, Your grace Strength for the race I trust Your way My life is Your grace So my yes for Your peace

And I'll go and You'll leave ♪ Receive the reward of your suffering ♪ ♪ My is your grace, strength for the race ♪ ♪ I trust your grace, my life is an offering ♪ ♪ My is your peace, and I'll go and you'll leave ♪ ♪ And you will receive the reward of your suffering ♪ ♪ My is your grace, strength for the race ♪ ♪ I trust your grace, my life is an offering ♪ ♪ If my guess is on the table, I'll leave it all behind ♪ ♪ Oh, this is my testimony, and you've always gone before me ♪ ♪ I know you will provide, and I know you will provide ♪ ♪ My guess is on the table, and I'll leave it all behind ♪ ♪ And I'll leave it all behind ♪ ♪ Oh, you keep writing a better story ♪ ♪ You write a better story ♪ ♪ For my joy and for your glory ♪ ♪ You work it every time ♪ ♪ If my guess is on the table, I'll leave it all behind ♪ ♪ This is my story, this is my testimony ♪ ♪ You've always gone before me, I know you will provide ♪ ♪ You see, my guess is on the table, my guess is on the table ♪ ♪ I'll leave it all behind, I see you write a better story ♪ ♪ You write a better story ♪ ♪ For my joy and for your glory ♪ ♪ You're worth it every time, sing you're worth it ♪ ♪ Yes, you're worth it every time, yes, you're worth it ♪ ♪ Oh, you're worth it every time, yes, you are ♪ ♪ He is worthy of our worship ♪ Good morning, church. Happy Sunday.

I'm so glad to be back together with you guys for another week of worship, and it's already been an incredible morning. If we haven't met yet, my name's Kylie Conniff. I'm the online ministries leader here at Abundant Life, and I just want to say thank you for choosing to join us this morning. Maybe it's your first time. Maybe a friend or family member invited you to a church house or you're watching with your family in your living room. Wherever or however you're joining us, we just want to say we're so glad you're here, and we would love to connect with you. So would you fill out a Connect card for us? You can scan the QR code or go to abundant-life.com slash connect and fill out that Connect card just to let us know who you are, let us know any questions you might have, because we would love to give you any information you're seeking and help you figure out how you can continue to get connected to Abundant Life. Well, church, we talked about this a few weeks ago. We're going to keep talking about it for the next few weeks because Easter is coming up. I believe it's April 5th, and I am so excited. I love this time of the year, this season, where we are celebrating our resurrected king, right, that Jesus came, died, and then defeated death in the grave and rose again. And Easter is the day that we celebrate that. And so we are going to have five services, two on Saturday and then our three on Sunday online. But if you're in the Kansas City metro and you would like to attend in person, go to Abundant-Life.com slash Easter

to find those specific times for the campuses so that you can go and worship and celebrate. And church, I would challenge you now to start praying about and thinking about who are you going to bring? Who is your one that you are going to invite to join you on Easter so that they can hear the good news about the resurrection of Jesus? Church, I want to invite you to something really exciting, something new we're doing as a church. We have a financial stewardship class that is starting in just a week. We've got it online and at all of our campuses. And we would love to invite you to check that out. We believe, man, that God has given us things to steward well, and we want to be generous with all of those things. And this financial stewardship class is going to kind of be a deep dive into, man, what does God say about everything we have and how do we responsibly steward those for the glory of the kingdom? It is going to be incredible. I've got to see the class. So we're going to encourage you to check that out. You can scan the QR code on the screen to register. Well, Church, we're in a new series today. Pastor Phil's going to be starting off a series called The Exchange. We're going to be diving into the A life. This is something we've been talking about for the last year or so. And we're talking about, man, that abundant life, living that abundant life. It is going to be incredible. We're going to be there for the next few weeks.

And Pastor Phil will mention this a little bit more when he starts his sermon. But we have some discipleship guides that are going to be available for you. And we just wanted to point that out, that if you're not at a church house or somewhere with a physical copy, you can download a digital copy of that at abundant-life.com slash alife. Well, Church, it's going to be an incredible morning. Take a moment, prepare your hearts, and we'll continue on in our morning worship. Jesus said in John 10 and verse 10, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I've come to give you life. You can have it more abundantly. Church, there really is an enemy. He wasn't speaking metaphorically. Everything that God wants to do in you and through you, Satan wants to steal from you. And he has stolen from so many. But over the course of these two years, we're taking back stolen ground from the enemy. And I'm so proud of so many of you that, in fact, have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd. Remember what Jesus says in John 10. He's the Good Shepherd. And he said, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. To me, the abundant life is, we get to be poured into by the Holy Spirit.

We get to have a personal relationship with Christ, and I get to share that with others. Going out and making relational connections with people and letting them know about the Lord and letting them know about what Jesus has done in my life. The yes that we're putting on the table is just being sacrificial with what we have and stepping out of what's comfortable and doing what we feel God calling us to do. Church, what I know for sure is that when you put your faith in motion, which is obedience and action, God's gonna take you to a brand new destination. And that's how you make conquest of the a life in your life to begin living the abundant life in the Lord Jesus Christ. So what I've been asking for the last year is simply this. What have you been pursuing that's been keeping you from living the abundant life in Christ? What is it that you've turned to in your life, hoping that it would bring the a life to you? So as we listen to the voice of Good Shepherd, sometimes it's about letting go of one thing to receive a better thing. Remember, we have broken down our a life initiatives really into three categories. The first one was church life. Under church life, listen, what God has done through you, he has allowed us to disciple more people than ever before in the last 12 months.

In fact, because of your faithful giving generously, we were able to send more students to one week this past summer than ever before to see more students encounter Jesus than we ever have at any time in our history. The a life means so much for me. I get to be a leader who God wants me to be, get to be an example to the younger generation. We were able to see more kids get involved in VBS, Vacation Bible School, than any time in our church's history. At this very moment, hundreds and hundreds of students and kids are discipled every single week as a part of this discipleship journey. What abundant life means to me is a long and everlasting life with Jesus. What it means to me is living on mission, making disciples, and growing through Jesus. I'm so proud of you. Hundreds, hundreds of you have signed up for Discipleship One. You're going through Discipleship One. Somebody is pouring into you and discipling you, while many of you have signed up to be a disciple maker, taking somebody else through discipleship. Hundreds of you are going through a region, getting free from those life-controlling issues that Satan has used to bind you. Jesus wants to set you free to live life abundantly.

I'm so proud of you. You know, there's a reason that the Lord says that the things of this earth won't satisfy, because it's true. And so when you're busy serving and just pouring your life into serving the Lord, that's where the true joy is. We're not stopping there. We have a second chance. category called Eternal Life. And Eternal Life is about multiplying the move of God. In other words, not just receiving what God has done in us, but now taking what God has done in us and letting God now use us. This category involves, for example, multiplying gospel gatherings and new spaces and new places to reach new people that are far from God. We're not just able to reach individuals here in Lee's Summit, but it's amazing. I feel like I'm driving behind someone and they just have Abundant Life sticker and I feel like I'm just instantly connected to them. Because of your faithful generosity in the last 12 months, we were able to launch Abundant Life Johnson County. And it's so exciting to see what God is now doing in that part of our city, with hundreds of people now encountering Jesus weekly as we multiply Abundant Life in that part of our city. We're preparing to launch Abundant Life in the Northland. So exciting to see what God is gonna do

in the North part of our city. We're planning 200 new churches in the next two years. When Jesus launched the church with these words, on this rock, meaning himself, he'd build his church, and the gates of hell would not prevail. What he was envisioning was a multiplying movement, and that movement changed the world. And listen carefully, wherever the church is multiplying, lives are changing. We have this vision in the next two years that 300 of our members would go on short-term mission trips to the nations. And just in the last 12 months, 200 of you have done just that. And so we're way ahead of our goal. Let's finish strong. About 2023, when I found Agape Pomoja, I never felt the love that they showed me and my brother before. Giving back is such a big thing. Now, remember there's a last category we've talked about, and it's compassionate life. We exist to see lives changed by Jesus. We're convinced we're gonna do that by being living proof of a loving God to the watching world. So through compassionate life, we wanna do some things that we've never done before, like up what we do in the area of special needs ministry. In fact, we just had in February our first ever Night to Shine.

This was a prom for special needs. I mean, it was awesome. And so many of you served, and it was possible because so many of you have given to the A Life Initiative financially. And we put God's love on display in an awesome, awesome, powerful way. But not only that, we're doing increased ministry to special needs families and special needs ministers on Sunday mornings and through the summer, through camps and respite nights quarterly. I'm so grateful for what God's allowing us to do. We're stepping into the foster care system. In fact, because of your giving, we were able to bring on a full-time staff member that's a social worker. She's a caseworker that understands the system, and she's training abundant life families even now to step into the foster care system and very practically show God's love and put it on display. There's so many other things God has allowed us to do. Being pro-life, not simply from the womb, but clear to the tomb and partnering in larger ways with our partners locally as it relates to crisis pregnancies and the pro-life initiative that is so near to the heart of God. Over 20 years of partnering with Rachel House, Resource Health, we could not do the work that happens here every day without partners like you. Over the years, Abundant Life has been a strategic partner

by helping us offer very practical services such as pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, as well as parenting education for both mom and dad. So this is what I'm asking you to do. If you're a part of the A-Life and a year ago you made a commitment to the A-Life, I'm simply asking you to say yes again, to do what Chris and I are doing even now, to put our yes back on the table for another 12 months and finish this out strong and take your next step in whatever way. For us to just be able to give a little part of what we're doing to others, God's continuously blessed my life, and so I feel like I can't give enough. Giving can really be challenging at some point because you're probably going through a rough time and you don't really want to give that away. And just know that the Lord is a provider. The hard issue is just be open to what God's asked you to do. Get involved, start with the next steps, get into D1. And you'll be different. You will be different. Be intentional. Maybe you're new to Abundant Life, or maybe a year ago you were here but didn't fully understand it or maybe just wasn't ready for it. I'm asking you now to get involved. This is a chance for you too to put your yes on the table

and say yes to your next steps as a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, in all six of our core values. And specifically in our core values. of generosity, we have this goal of $64 million over the course of two years. Lives are changing eternally because of what God is doing, not just in us, but through us. Remember what Jesus said, I've come to give life abundantly. Let's continue together to make conquest for the king, conquest for the kingdom, and conquest for the abundant life in Christ. Church, I love you so much. Would you give Jesus the biggest shout of Hallelujah you've got? May God be the glory. Praise him, praise him, praise him. I'm telling you, my heart is so full. I have never witnessed in 26 years of ministry what God has done in the last 12 months. I mean, the move of God. Look, I get so many emails every week. Some of them I cringe, others I can't wait to look, right? So, I mean, I'm telling you, people say, you guys are sending me emails about how God is changing your life and what God is doing in your life and taking your next step and region, Discipleship One, getting set free and CASEL's curriculum, what God is doing in your family.

So many people come to faith in Jesus in the last 12 months. Hey, that video didn't tell half of the story. So I didn't even mention, you know, one of the A-Life initiatives will launch a campus of abundant life in a prison in Tipton Correctional Center. 33 baptisms behind bars. God is moving. And some of the men of Tipton have recently transferred from our Tipton campus to our Lee's Summit campus, sitting down here right now, guys. We're so proud of you. So proud of you. So exciting. And the move of God, it's not just in our city. It's around the country through our church house movement. I want to shout out right now our church house in Eden, Wisconsin. Right now, the leadership of our church house in Eden is in the house. When you get up for Nadine today, we're so proud of what God is doing. Through you, and so many others like you. As a matter of fact, today, our church house in Bozeman, Montana is launching the church house in Belgrade, led by Matt and Melissa McGraw, is launching a church house out of their house

into Bozeman. Meet Dusty and Ashley, and their son is Scout. And today is the day they're launching the church house in Bozeman. Guys, thank you for bringing abundant life to Bozeman, Montana. I've never witnessed anything like what God is doing right now. I want to stop and just pray. I want to thank God. Would you join me on your hands? I should say on your feet. If you can stand on your hands, that would be amazing. That would be definitely a miracle. God is in the house, but if you can't stand on your hands, just stand on your feet, would you? Right there around our city, at every campus, at every church house, I want to raise our hands to heaven right now. Jesus, we are so grateful. Lord, we know everything comes from above. The Lord, we cannot take credit for one thing that you've done. All glory and honor belong to you. Jesus, that you would be exalted, that you'd be esteemed, that you'd be magnified, that you'd be glorified in this bright, abundant life. And Lord, thank you for what you've done and the lives that have been changed through the A Life in the last 12 months,

for the hundreds and hundreds of people that have said yes to the gospel, that have passed from death to life, for the thousands and thousands taking their next steps and getting set free through regen and discipleship and growing spiritually. Lives are changing. Jesus, we give you all the glory, all the honor, and we ask, Lord, that you would do it again in greater ways in the next 12 months. And in the years ahead, we live to see thousands and thousands and tens of thousands come to know you personally as King of Kings, Lord and Savior, to know the joy of Jesus upon their life. And Jesus, we pray for revival, Holy Spirit, revival. Heaven sent revival upon the bright and abundant life and every church in this nation that names the name of Jesus. Would you be glorified among us? And we pray it in Jesus' name, amen. Would you give him today the glory with me? Praise him, church, praise him. You may be seated. Now, I hope you got one of these discipleship guides when you came in. If you didn't, be sure you get one before you leave. On the way out or even right now, if you'll raise your hand, somebody's near you, whatever campus, whatever space you might be in. If you didn't get one, just raise your hand.

And I wanna give you a discipleship guide. So for this month, the next four weeks, this is gonna be your best friend. I want you to bring your best friend back to church next week with you. I'm talking about this right here. Because we normally do a handout, and I like to give you a sermon handout and fill in the blanks, and some of you love taking notes, and I hope all of you in some way take notes. But this is how you're gonna take notes this week. And we don't have time to talk about everything going on in the A-Life. Take this home, start something through it this afternoon, and just read through it, because it really details in ways that we just don't have time on a Sunday all that God is doing through the A-Life, what God is doing through you. And then the series that we're about to begin today, we're calling it The Exchange. You're going to see sermon notes and interaction, kind of a devotion that you can take home with you and process through the week. So open this up right now to page 67, and you'll see week one. And you'll be able to follow along the sermon right here. You see this blank page on page 68. This is where you're gonna take notes. And so we don't have handouts this month. We will start that next month.

The reason we don't have the notes is because this little deceptive guide we had to send off to print before I actually had the sermon done, to be honest with you. Okay, so pro tip, when I'm at a conference, I don't have time to take all the notes on the media. I actually use my phone, take a screenshot of the notes, and then you can write them in later if you're like type A like I am, okay? And if you're not, just wing it. It'll be okay either way. But the biggest thing about this is you have what amounts to discussion questions. And you can take this in this week and in the weeks ahead to your small group interaction this week, or maybe as a family with your children, they're learning some of the same things on their level. Take this home as a couple and just process what we're learning together as we take our next steps together in this really important area of our life, generosity. We've talked about all of our core values in the last 12 months. Because the one of the A life is all of us together taking at least one next step in all of our core values, discipleship, evangelism, community, worship, serving. We're coming back to generosity, that core value today. And let me just state this up front.

I need to get this off my chest. Because I'm gonna talk about something very personal. Some would say private. I'm gonna be talking about money. And let me just get this off my chest. Because I hear this all the time. I see the Instagram reels, people throwing shade on megachurches and megachurch pastors. All they care about is your money. So let me just state it up front. It's true, it's true, it's true. I do care about your money. But not for the reason you might think. I care about your money as your pastor, whether or not you ever give a dime to Abundant Life. And whether or not you ever do, I will probably never know. No, I care about your money because I want you to live the A life. I want you to live the Abundant Life. And you can't live life abundantly if you're not financially healthy. You don't have to live in financial captivity. Now, you're not gonna hear the prosperity theology at Abundant Life. God has not promised to make us all wealthy materially. But I'm convinced he has promised in some way that we can be financially healthy. We can live abundantly. And this series is not simply about giving, it's about living.

It's about how to live the A life. And we're so serious about this as we give you opportunities for discipleship in all areas of your life. I want you to know about a class that we have put together, a discipleship curriculum. It's a six-week class that you can take here on Sunday mornings. And if you'll take this class at some point, you can sign up today and it starts next week. What I'm gonna promise you is you're gonna get a plan together. You're gonna get a theology of money. You're gonna see what God sees. The Bible has a lot to say about money. And the reason it does is money is so important to all of us. You can't live without it. You gotta have some of it, yes? And so consequently, God has a lot to say about this subject. And only as you begin to see what God sees and put your faith in action, obedience in motion, I've told you over and over again, that is how you find yourself at a new destination. You're gonna get a plan financially for the future. And part of not having worry and anxiety constantly about money is having a plan and putting that plan in motion. We'll help you do that if you'll let us.

I want you to open your Bible today to 1 Chronicles chapter 29. 1 Chronicles chapter 29 as we begin a new series called Exchange. And today I challenge you to make the great exchange. Exchange self for sacrifice. Exchange self for sacrifice. If you'll make the exchange, God lets you keep the change. Pun intended. Meaning when you make the exchange, when you get off. the throne and you change who's on the throne and you put Jesus on the throne of your home you put Jesus on the throne over every part of your life what I'm promising you is an exchange takes place and it changes you and you get to keep that change for a lifetime exchange a life of self for a life of sacrifice first Chronicles chapter 29 and verse 1 it says furthermore King David said to all the assembly my son Solomon whom alone God has chosen is young and inexperienced and the work is great because the temple is not for man but for the Lord God now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might gold for things to be made of gold silver for the things of silver bronze for the things of bronze iron for the things of iron wood for the things of wood onyx stone stones to be set glistening stones have various colors all kinds of precious stones and marble slabs in abundance moreover because I have set my affection on the house of my God I have given to the house of my God David was saying because I have affection for the things of God I have given to the things of God because I have affection for the house of God I have given to the house of God you see you give to that which you have affection for see how you spend your money defines a lot more than simply money it defines something in your heart the treasure and the affection of

your heart now look what he says here over and above all that I have prepared for the Holy House my own special treasure gold and silver once you notice in first Chronicles 29 King David is leading Israel to give generously to build God's temple it's about a thousand years BC now just last week seven days ago we're in Joshua 5 and we saw Joshua fight in the Battle of Jericho you remember that so much has happened it was just a week ago now in the last seven days we've covered 400 years all right fast forward from Joshua 400 years later to King David and at this time in history Israel is finally becoming all that God intended them to be from that moment he delivered them out of Egyptian tyranny and captivity and led them on that journey to the promised land that he promised would flow with milk and honey finally after 400 years in the land they have grown up to a nation of priests and kings that band of liberated slaves and the pinnacle of the moment is when he is about to build the temple the literal building the habitation of God upon the earth David is laying the foundation his son Solomon will then build the temple and what is happening God is raising them up to be a light to the neighbors and a light to their nations you see that was the purpose of the temple in ancient Israel the temple was to serve as a light to Israel's neighbors and a light to the nation see God did not simply save Israel out of Egyptian tyranny and slavery and bring them into this land that would flow with milk and honey he did not simply do that to save Israel but that through Israel he could save the nation's in the same way God has not saved you simply to save little old huggable yuggable you know he saved you because you're lovable huggable yes you are but but that's not the reason no he saved you but it's not all about you now he wants to use you to save others too so that's what God is doing through ancient Israel through the temple of God that temple is going to be the light to the nation's where they're going to come at the time of Solomon and we know historically the kings and the queens of those around them would come to Jerusalem and they would sit at the feet of Solomon and they would listen to his wisdom and it was there they would hear about the true and living God of heaven the God of Abraham Isaac and

Jacob and I want you to remember something everything in the Old Testament is a picture prophetically of what God is going to do in the new see this is actually a picture of me and you listen carefully in the New Testament we are the temple of God that he uses to bring light to our neighbors and to the nation's first Peter 2 in verse 9 that we move our claim the praises of him who's called us out of darkness into his marvelous light Jesus said in Matthew 5 14 you're the light of the world a city set on a hill cannot be hid you understand the implication what God is picturing listen carefully the church both collectively and each of us individually is now God's temple the dwelling place of God in the Old Testament the dwelling place of God literally was a brick-and-mortar building the temple of God he dwelled there but listen carefully in the New Testament God does not dwell in a brick-and-mortar building he dwells in a building that's living and breathing on the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God came to live inside his people for the first time ever in human history for what reason so that we can now be the light of God to a dark and dying world and that is why you see the church is not a building it's a body the church is not a building stained glass and steeple the church is wherever the people gather and that is why we become now the Temple of God at Abundant Life, the Church of God. It's a church without walls. Yes, we gather in this space in Lee's Summit and other spaces around the Kansas City Metro, but we now gather in hundreds of other spaces and places at this very moment. In Eden, Wisconsin, the body of Abundant Life gathers in a place called Belgrade, Montana, Bozeman, Montana, Modesto, Arizona, California. I want you to see the nature of the church that he's made is a living, breathing body, a temple, for the same reason, to be a light in these dark and difficult days. Church, listen, we live in difficult days, yes? Unprecedented in many ways. I don't know if you guys are paying attention to the news over the weekend, but there's this regime change going on in Iran right now. Have you heard? I cannot begin to tell you the historic moment we live, and I'm convinced, prophetic moment we live. In fact, this is such a big deal, I'm gonna

do a whole Well podcast very soon on just what's happened over this weekend. I think it's that big of a deal, historic and prophetic. I want you to understand, we do live in difficult days, but these are days of unprecedented opportunity to take new ground for God, new ground for the kingdom, new ground for the king. Unprecedented opportunity, and I want you to know there is good news in the middle of all the bad news. There is good news. God is moving right now in our lifetime as like no other time in any of our lives. He is moving in new and profound ways every day. I'm watching people come to faith in Jesus out of nowhere. I'm watching people come to church for the first time. Some of you are here just recently. Why? Something is stirring in you, something you can't fully explain, but God is bringing you because you know inside of you there is a God in heaven and he wants to know you, and you want to know him. And I'm telling you, people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and they're passing from death to life, and people taking their next step, not by the dozens, but by the hundreds. I'm talking even the thousands, people getting set free from captivity. Hearts are being healed. Homes are being restored. I'm telling you, God is answering our prayers. Revival is happening. It's here. There is good news in a world of bad news, and you understand that is why God has put the temple in the world, not a brick-and-mortar building. You and I, the building, the living, breathing temple of God to be a light to our neighbors and a light to the nations. Yes, in a world that's changing, in a world where things will never be the same, there's still one thing that is the same. There's one thing that will never change. There's only one hope for the human heart, one hope for the human soul. There's one thing that can change the world. It's that old-time gospel that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, but three days later he rose from the dead, and he is alive forevermore. Jesus wins. In the end, he's alive. Yes, go vote. We need to vote. Yes, that's important. Listen, Jesus said, be the salt of the earth. You understand what he meant by that? Salt in Jesus' day was a preservative from decay. As the church of the living God, we need to stand in the way of the decay of the day. We should vote in every election we can. Vote for godly people that bring godly

outcomes. I mean, who do you want running things? It just makes sense. But listen carefully. The hope of the world is not in the White House. The battle is always for the White House. No, the hope of the world is in the church house. It's in our house. The question is, who's reigning on the throne of my home? Who's reigning on the throne of my heart? You see, the hope of the world is not even in the school house. It's in the church house. It's in the gospel. It's in the good news that Jesus died for our sin. But three days later, he rose again. He has the power to change all men and all women. That's what we're here for. That's the A-life, the abundant life. And that's what's at stake in the days ahead. We are the dwelling place, the temple of the living God. 1 Corinthians 3.16, do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? Why? Acts 1.8, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be a witness for me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the world. You see, the Spirit of God lives in us to be a supernatural witness of the Son of God that he lives and he has the power to forgive sin and change the life of all men and all women. That is why what we do is so important. You want to push back the darkness? Listen carefully, we push back the darkness with the gospel light. The light doesn't run from the darkness, the gospel runs to the darkness. That's how we make War in these days of darkness with the good news of the gospel now verse 9 Look what it says then the people rejoiced for they had offered willingly because with a loyal heart They had offered willingly to the Lord and King David also rejoiced. They got revival going on in ancient Israel I mean, it's a Holy Spirit move of God Revival is breaking out Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly and David said blessed Are you Lord God of Israel our father forever and ever yours? Oh Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory the victory and the majesty For all that is in heaven and in the earth is yours yours is the kingdom Oh Lord, and you are exalted as head over all Both riches and honor come from you and you reign over all in your hand is power and might in your hand

It is to make great and to give strength to all now. Therefore our God we thank you and Praise your glorious name But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer so willingly as this for all things come from you and of your own we have given you and I will promise when you begin to see what David sees God's gonna change you you're gonna make the great exchange. He makes this declaration All things come from you and of your own we have given you Here's what David is teaching us David and all of Israel gave freely because they recognize that everything belongs to God Church, everything comes from him All that I am all that I have is not because of me is not because I'm awesome It's not because I'm amazing. It's not because I'm smart. No, listen carefully everything. I have everything I am has come from him Everything you have everything you am Come from the I am I Should run that a little more. I just thought about that for a minute The I am that I am has made you what you am This is what David is saying He says in verse 16 Oh Lord our God all this abundance that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name is from your own Hand and is all your own he's saying we've been able to give so freely back to you because it all came from you See, it's easy to give back to God what was already his We need to get out of this mentality that I'm the owner and all decide what I do with my life What I do with my stuff what I do with my money what I do with my ability how I spend my time Everything comes from him. We are the ransom redeemed purchased and pardoned children of the Living God We are his purchase possession. We are his treasure in heaven. Our life is not our own We've been bought with a price the blood of Jesus Christ He owns it all into him He should receive it all you see God is the author the owner and giver of all our abilities our opportunity and our money And I'm telling you when you begin to live this way and change that thinking it'll change you you'll make the great exchange

Let me says I don't know Phil now. Listen, I work hard for my money. I Go to work every day. Yes you do But listen carefully Had God not given you the ability You wouldn't be able to go to work Had God not given you that job Who do you think gave you that job? Everything comes from God Let me so wait I worked hard for that degree I Got my education. I got my PhD Listen carefully who gave you the ability to get that degree He's the author of everything And apart from him you wouldn't have anything See, it's true of me. Listen carefully We praise God today after 26 years of what God has done at abundant life what he's done just in the last 12 months Please we are not awesome. The a life is not awesome Abundant life the a life is because of the grace and the greatness and the kindness of God upon our life. That's it We can't do anything apart from him Jesus said apart from me you can do nothing and Here's what happens when you start to understand that he is the author of all that I have He is the giver of all that I have. He is the originator of all that I have He is the author owner a giver of all my ability my opportunities and my money it will change you You'll make the great exchange when you recognize that God is the owner and giver of all that you have It's gonna change you and I'm telling you you're gonna keep the change You know what you're gonna do you're gonna get out of ownership and into management I'm not an owner of anything. God belongs God owns it all. I'm simply a steward the Bible He uses the word stewardship. What is a steward? Well, every single month, I give a little bit of my dollars to a financial planner.

Now listen, you don't have to have a lot of money to have a financial plan. Part of the series is gonna be about learning to plan for your future financially. You pay everybody else, how would you like to pay yourself? And so I do that every month. I pay myself, I pay it on ahead. I'm planning for the future. I don't like to use the word retirement. It's called redefinement, redeployment. But the day's gonna come, I don't draw a paycheck, so I'm planning ahead. Every month, I give a little bit of my dollars to a financial planner to invest into my future. Now he's not the owner of those dollars, he is the manager of those dollars. I'm giving those dollars for him to steward for me, to invest it wisely. Now just imagine how I would feel if years from now I find out, instead of stewarding my dollars, he acted like he owned those dollars and he was using those dollars to go on vacations every year. He bought himself a lake house with those dollars. Somebody needs to go to jail. He has misused and misappropriated those dollars. He was not the owner, he was meant to be the steward. Do you understand? That's how God is looking at some of us. We have misused, misappropriated, used recklessly

instead of wisely. Opportunities, energy, ability that God's given everybody, and yes, some of our money. Yes, God gives us dollars for gas and groceries, but we've gotta get our eyes off the temporal and onto the eternal. Are we investing it in the future? I don't simply mean in this life, I mean in the one that is yet to come, eternal life. If you're not investing some of your dollars into the things that last forever, that really, really matter, you will have squandered your money because you have used them for things that are temporary instead of the souls of men that live forever, and that's what's at stake. That's what God is saying. I want you to steward some dollars. I'm gonna give them to you every month. You're not the owner of them. Listen, I was raised in an era where it was all about to tithe. I was raised in Sunday school, I was raised in church, and you heard all about the tithe. Everybody needs to tithe. A tithe, by definition, is a tenth. Guess what? God owns more than a tenth of my income. He owns 100% of my income. Now, we'll talk a little bit about the tithe.

Guess what? In the New Testament, the tithe is never mentioned, not even one time. The tithe was old covenant. The tithe might still be a guy, but it's not a New Testament commandment. The issue now is not a percentage, it's generosity. The core value of the New Testament is generosity, and the reason you see the tithe is never mentioned in the New Testament, is because what is generous for one person might not be generous at all for another person. What might be generous for one person is a tenth. That may not be generous at all for another person, so the New Testament principle is simply being generous, wisely investing a certain amount of your dollars in the things that last forever, the Word of God and the souls of men, as the New Testament temple. Now, I want you to understand, it's gonna change you if you let God do this in you. When God changes you inwardly, you can start living freely and generously. You know why? Because it's easy to be generous with somebody else's money. See, if it's my money, I'm naturally gonna be stingy, but it's my money. I work for this money, but if it's not my money, it's actually God's money. Now, it's easy to be generous with God's money,

because it's not my money. And I want you to know, this is what is at stake now, generosity. Will you be generous with God's money? It's not about your money. When God changes you inwardly, it's gonna radically change what you do with your money. Watch this, number one, exchange reckless spending for wise spending. You start recognizing that every spending decision is actually a spiritual decision. See, most of us compartmentalize our life. I have my church life, my sacred life, I have my work life, my home life, my secular life. Now, I want you to know, as a child of God, everything is sacred to God. There's no boxes here. There's no work life, home life, church life. It's all sacred, which means every decision, financially, is actually a spiritual decision. Like, I'm consulting the owner. I'm not the owner of it, I'm the manager of it. God, what would you have me do with these dollars? Yes, I need some dollars every month for gas and groceries. I have that effect on a lot of people, by the way. We all have a certain amount of dollars. God knows we need some dollars. Money for gas, groceries, bills, utilities. But understand, every decision, financially, becomes.

spiritual decision. God, how would you have us spend your money? And all of a sudden, what happens? You quit being frivolous. You quit being reckless. You start becoming wise. Wise in the way you spend. And that's when you exchange worry for wisdom. How about that? Number two is this. Exchange stingy living for generous living. Hey, Jesus, can you imagine a stingy Jesus? There's two things you'll never see. Two things you will never see in your entire lifetime. Number one is this. You'll never see a U-Haul trailer being pulled behind a hearse. Never in your lifetime. You know why? Because you came into this world with nothing and you will leave this world with nothing. Everything in this world is gonna fade away and decay. You will not take anything you can hang on to, only what you have in your heart, you'll take with you. And Jesus was teaching this thing. Jesus had a lot to say about money. In fact, he talked more about money than any other singular subject. Just read the words in red. Read the Gospels.

How many times was he talking about money? More than heaven, more than hell, he was talking about money. And I'll tell you why. Because Jesus knows the number one idol of human history is money. The idolatry of money. And Jesus talked about money because it's a matter of the heart. He said these words, do not lay up treasure on earth where moth and rust corrupt, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupts, where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Jesus was trying to remind us that if all we do is for the temporal, it's gonna decay and fade away. But you cannot take it with you. What you can do is send it on ahead. And when you take a certain amount of your dollars, generously, sacrificially, whatever that is, between you and Jesus, invest them wisely into kingdom priorities, kingdom initiatives, I can't even talk about everything we've done in the last 12 months through the A Life. We launched a church in Tanzania. We drilled a well for the church because they didn't have clean water and members of their church was dying from bad water.

You invested in that if you're giving to the A Life. We've got about 1,000 Tanzanian kids that we sponsor as a church family through Compassion International. This is what you're doing every time. You're investing in eternity. And it's what Jesus meant. You're sending, you can't take it with you. You're sending it on ahead. In the same way I invest in my future every month, a few of my dollars goes to my financial portfolio, 401K, IRA, whatever it is. What do you want? You want it back with interest someday. Do you understand in the same way you can do that with the eternal? Those dollars you get back with interest in the souls of men and women that cannot be numbered this side of heaven. Those dollars now become destinies. And only when you begin to see what God sees will you start living for the eternal, not merely the temporal. Second thing, you'll never see. You'll never see a stingy Jesus. The church of the tight fist. No free loaves. You'll never see that. Stingy Jesus, just imagine. Now listen, if you've got a stingy Jesus,

you're gonna be stingy. But if you know Jesus, you know he's not stingy. We have a generous God. He has given us so freely, so abundantly, blessing after blessing. Here's what he's asking. Will you give back to me what I've given to you? Yes, you need some dollars. Of course you do for your monthly needs. You need some dollars to invest in your future. We'll talk about a plan. Planning is biblical in the worry by having a plan for your future. But every single one of us has a certain amount of ability financially. And what God is saying is now, would you wisely ask me what to do? And I want you to see what's at stake. Listen, financial giving is not about guilt. It's about growth. Not about guilt. God will never do anything to guilt you. If you feel guilt, that's not from God. Everything is about grace. God wants to give you the grace to grow you. But these idols don't like to fall. Listen, the idolatry of money. For many of us, we're in captivity to worry. You know why? Because we have the idol of money.

And you know you have an idol of money when you're preoccupied with money. When you're looking to money for your security, how much of it will take to make you feel secure? Let me answer, just a little bit more than you have. See, when you're looking to security for. money, no matter how much you have, it'll never be enough. God wants to redeem you from the idolatry of money, which keeps you in a state of captivity to worry. And this is what is now at stake. Listen carefully, it's not about guilt, it is about growth. God will always test our hearts toward money to grow us spiritually. This is what David now says. He comes to the end of this faith declaration, this spontaneous praise, he says these words. He says in verse 17, I know also, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in unbrightness. This is why Jesus talks so much about money, because he tests the heart, how we feel about our money. He knows that by nature, God Almighty, or the idolatry of money is what's gonna control us. Jesus said no one can serve two masters, either you love the one or hate the other or despise the one and love the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, that's money. It's one or the other. And that's why he says, where your treasure is, there'll be a heartbeat also. See, it's a matter of the heart.

God wants to know, am I on the throne of your heart? Who is the guide you will serve? Who is the guide that you're gonna worship? Listen, God always tests us, but watch this. Money is the one area where God tells us to test him. One time in Scripture, that's it. God says, test me. Yeah, I'm gonna test you. But one time in Scripture, God says, test me too. Watch this, Malachi chapter three, verse eight. Listen, will a man rob God? This is God asking the people of God. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. And they say, in what way have we robbed you? God says, in tithes and offerings. Says, you're cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Do you want the alife, the abundant life, the blessed life, or a cursed life? See, obedience brings blessing. He's challenging them now, be obedient. I don't wanna bless you, not curse you. He says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse. Now, the Old Testament storehouse was the temple. What's the New Testament storehouse? It's the church, the temple of God. This is why most of my giving, I do through the church. There's no plan B in the mind of God to reach the world. There's no plan C in the mind of God to reach the world.

Yes, I do some giving through Compassion International. Chris and I support three of those children, like so many of you. But understand, things like compassion don't exist if the church doesn't exist. So most of the giving is the storehouse of the local church. It's God's plan to reach the world. He says, now bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And now watch what he says. Try me now in this, test me now in this, and see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. God is saying, test me, try me, trust me just a little bit, and see if I won't open the windows of heaven upon your life and bless you and prosper you. No, it is not a promise of material prosperity. That's not what God is saying. He is saying, though, I will bless you abundantly, maybe materially, but if not materially, in ways you cannot yet fathom, ways you cannot yet imagine, the blessing of God is on those who trust him. And if you haven't been used to giving anything, trusting God with anything, just try a little bit. Trust him with something. He's saying, test me, just give it a shot. Just take one little step, and you will discover you can trust God. This is what I'm asking you to do this month.

Take the trust test. Take a step of faith, and you will see what God does. You will see the blessing of God upon your life. Exchange control and idolatry for trust and generosity. This is how you live the A life, the abundant life. It's not in what you can hang on to. It's what you're able and willing to give away. The A life is not found in what you have. The blessed life is found in what you're willing to give. The abundant life is lived with a hands wide open, hearts wide open, God, it all belongs to you. It's easy to bring back to you what came from you. It's easy to bring back to you what was never mine anyway. I was 16 years of age, I'll never forget. I had my driver's license for the first time. Danger to myself, danger to everybody else. I borrowed my dad's car for the first time. I didn't have a car. It was my father's car. I drove that car like it was mine. I borrowed it, it wasn't mine. I should have been a steward of it. I acted like it was mine. I had two girls in the car. Dangerous. 16-year-old boy with a driver's license, two girls in the front seat, bad combination. One of them's 15, she didn't have a license, she wanted to drive. Can I drive? Well, of course you can. We traded seats.

She immediately drove it into a ditch. I didn't tell my father, I thought he wouldn't know. A week later, he's changing the oil, he's pulling asphalt chunks from underneath the car. Son, what happened? I'll tell you what happened. I had used my father's car like it was my own. I'd used it recklessly and frivolously instead of wisely. I'm telling you, we have a father in heaven and looking at some of us in exactly the same way. Your father is asking, can I trust him? Can I trust her with the stuff I've given them? He's testing you. Now he's simply saying, will you test me too? Will you take the trust test? Listen, God wants us to test him so we grow in our trust for him. Acts 20, 35, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive. The abundant life, the A life, the blessed life is in giving. Not simply receiving. This is the offer Jesus makes. The blessing in giving generously is that we grow deeper with God relationally. Revelation 3.20, Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. The offer is of a relationship. He wants to come into you. And if you will open the door of your heart, he will change you. He'll make the great exchange for you. When you let Jesus into your heart to change your heart, you always get to keep that change.

I want you to bow with me right now. At every church house across the world, at every campus right here in the city in Lee Summit, I want to give you the opportunity right now to say yes to Jesus. I want you to come in to my life. I want you to come into my heart. I want you to come change me. Today I make the great exchange. I want to pass from death to life, from worry and anxiety, to give my life to God Almighty. Won't you pray a prayer for me right now where you sit in this quiet moment? Just you and Jesus. The one that died for your sin, the one that rose again. He now makes this invitation. I will come into you, have a relationship with you. I'll change your future. I'll give you hope. I'll give you a new beginning, a new start. Pray this with me quietly right now. Jesus, say Jesus, I believe you died for my sin, that you rose again, that you are alive today, and today I invite you into my life. Just pray this. Forgive me of my sin. By faith I receive you as my Savior, as my King. I make the great exchange. I get off the throne of my life, Jesus. I give you the throne of my heart and my home. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you give Jesus the glory with me today, church? Praise him, would you?