You Have No Idea | Pastor Brad Wilkinson

to everybody joining us online. What a joy it is to have you a part of what God is doing in and through Christian life. Come on, if you're in the room today, can you give it up for everybody that's a part of our online audience today? (audience applauding) Yeah. Now, I am so excited. I've been excited all month for what I'm going to do right now. It's so much fun when you get to honor people and you get to honor people publicly because there's people amongst us who do things behind the scenes that you will never know. There's people amongst us that do things behind the scenes for decades that you have never met. And today, I want to honor somebody who has played a massive role in this church and all of you are sitting down, but she is actually standing up. Hey, Jamie, would you turn around? (audience laughing) (audience applauding) I know you love this. No, no. Oh yeah, you got to talk to them. I know, I'm sorry.

Jamie Jones has been faithfully leading our deaf ministry for 30 years. (audience applauding) Come on, would you stand to your feet and honor Jamie today? What an incredible woman. Incredible woman of God. We love you, Jamie. We honor you. 30 years. She started serving as an infant. She is only 31. Jamie and I, we used to run around as teenagers together. We've both been around this church for a long time and what an incredible ministry. Again, you guys don't know this, but Jamie doesn't just sign every Sunday, but she is a part of the community. She is doing things outside of Sunday and Wednesday services to minister to this beautiful community. And Jamie, I just want you to know I honor you. Thank you for your commitment to an incredible group of people. (audience applauding) And I'm just honored. I'm honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this city and do ministry together. Man, those are so much fun for me. I wish I could just do that all service

and not even preach, just honor people. I love honoring people. But we gotta get into the word today. If you were here over the last few weeks, you'll know that last Sunday we wrapped up a series that we had been in for six weeks that I called Sacred Places. I almost said Uncharted, the song that they sang, but I was like, no, that was earlier this year. But we wrapped up a six week series called Sacred Places and just these moments with God that God shows up in an ordinary place in an extraordinary way and does something remarkable. Today we're gonna kind of shift gears for sure over the next couple of weeks. And I actually, I'm gonna talk about something today that's gonna make you uncomfortable. And I'm excited about it. I am pumped. So everybody, let's just go ahead and practice. Are you ready? Like, there's no good way to say this, okay? So you're just gonna have to go with me. Like, cut this from the online. We don't need this out. But on the count of three, everyone just kind of squeeze your booty cheeks together. (audience laughing) Wow, I'm sorry. He's just, it just makes you nervous.

(audience laughing) Now don't give yourself a cramp. That wouldn't be good. (audience laughing) Over the next couple of weeks, we have the privilege of sharing and opening God's Word. And see what the Lord has to say concerning generosity. Now, some of y'all walked into church today and this is your first time in our church and you're like, bro, that joker's come preach about generosity today. My first time in this church, I am. But don't worry, we're not taking an offering at the end of church or anything like that. But I have a responsibility to open God's Word, not just about things that are convenient and easy to talk about, easy to hear. we need to make sure that we get a hold of. Now, full transparency, preaching and teaching about generosity is not difficult for me. What is difficult for me and what I struggle with as a pastor is you understand that sometimes you're going to say things that offend people, I mean, even if it's always unintentional. But I just know that's the nature of what I do. Sometimes I'm going to say something stupid even that I'm like, you shouldn't have said that. You speak so much, stuff like that eventually happens. But when it comes to generosity, I think what I struggle with is that I really hope that people catch the heart behind the message. You know what I'm talking about? That's my struggle and as I was praying this morning, I just felt like the Lord just kind of slapped me in the face almost like just not really, but just dropped a thought into

my spirit that came out of nowhere and it gave me some perspective on this and I want to share it with you today because we get weird about talking about money in church. People do. And I understand that sometimes it's mishandled, sometimes we have these preconceived ideas of what I get it. But let me put this into perspective for you for just a second. This is the way that the Lord kind of, I felt him show me this morning. Did you know that the pornography industry generates, and this is a very conservative number? I did not exaggerate. I took the most conservative numbers that I found because I don't want to inflate something. The pornography industry generates some $62 billion a year. That number is insane. Here's the other crazy part. I did some math and found some statistics. In a room this size, in a room of 1,500 adults, based on national statistics, somewhere between 800 and 900 people have viewed pornography within the last year. Which means even as church people, we are contributing, sowing into, giving into things that are tearing you apart personally, tearing marriages apart, tearing families apart, creating strongholds and chains. And yet we get weird about talking about money in church. I just want us to see the Lord just like, "Hey, really what I felt was Brad stand up and preach boldly today because the enemy is trying to draw resources to itself towards things that are trying to tear you apart. What greater place than the kingdom of God to sow into that fights against what the enemy is trying to do, that is trying to restore marriages, put families back." And so we're going to talk about generosity for a second today. And for those of you that have been around the church the last several years, you know that the first weekend in December is a weekend that is really special for this house. It's a weekend that we set aside and we celebrate.

We'll baptize 150-200 people probably on that Sunday. We'll look back over the years, celebrate what all God has done, the kingdom impact, but it's also the Sunday where we get to practice radical generosity. What does that mean? It means that before you've heard us call it our end-of-year offering, we're kind of changing the name because I just didn't like the name, truthfully. So you're going to hear us use the phrase "legacy offering" because legacy is leaving something bigger and better behind us when we're gone, something that's lasting, something that doesn't just is not. No, what we do on that Sunday is creating legacy in this city and in families. And so we're gonna use the term legacy moving forward. But what does that Sunday look like? It looks like those of us that are already trusting God with our tithe, we're giving above and beyond our tithe. It's also been a beautiful on ramp for people that say, hey, I haven't started trusting the Lord in every area of my life. I trust them in some areas, but not every area. So it's been a beautiful on ramp for some to start trusting the Lord with their finances. And here's my promise to you, we're not gonna beg you. We're not gonna plead with you. We're not gonna try to manipulate you, not at all. In fact, we firmly believe second Corinthians chapter nine and seven that says, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. Not reluctantly or under compulsion. Everybody smile for God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver.

So here's the question, how do you decide? Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart. Well, we have to have honest conversations about this so that you can start the decision process. What does the decision look like? Well, I don't think you should make the decision on your own. I think if you're married, you should have conversations with your spouse. I also think that every single one, this is the important piece and this is really our ask. We never ask for a dollar amount. We're not trying to, no, that's not it. Here's what we ask, that you ask God. Here's the second piece, this is the harder piece. And then you obey. Ask God and then just obey what you feel like the Lord has laid on your heart to sow into the kingdom of God. And here's really what I hope that you guys understand. I think we know this, but none of us individually are as effective as all of us collectively, right? So when the people of God link arms together and say, you know what? I may not be able to do everything, but I can do something. I may not be able, but I can play a role in the body of Christ. So here's my ask. It's never a number, but it's 100% participation. What would it look like if Christian life awsome, if every single one of us linked arms together, we talked to God, we obeyed what we felt the Lord

asked us to do, what would it look like in our city if we all played a part? What can we do? What impact could we make in the imagine, imagine the impact that we could have in South Austin. Imagine the impact that we could have in Austin and in Texas and around the world, through vapor ministries, one of our partners, we can continue to meet needs and feed souls in Africa. We can continue to provide clean water and health services and opportunities for people to meet Jesus. We can continue and even more so serve and support local pastors in our state who are planning life-giving churches in cities of need. Imagine our church having what I'm dreaming of as called like a dream center where we were able to meet the needs of hurting and broken people, a facility designed to meet physical needs. Food, health, a facility designed to meet spiritual needs, people that need prayer that are far from God, that need a relationship with the Lord. Imagine a place where people could come that are struggling mentally. We could help them in their mental health. Imagine the impact that we could have as a body of believers if we would just all link our arms together and not do everything but do what we can do. Imagine, imagine your church having the necessary parking that we need.

Hallelujah. Can we get practical for a second? This building was renovated during COVID so not that long ago and we are already at max capacity. Four times. Like imagine what happens. Listen, we can't do it all but we can do our part. Imagine what we could do in the city of Kyle. We're coming by the way, Kyle. The city of Kyle ain't gonna stop us. We're coming. We hit a little, a few hiccups with the building stuff We come in. Imagine having our own land. And not having to be renters. Imagine what a church could do if a church was debt free. I just, I need you to start thinking bigger than just what we see right in front of our face sometimes. Can you imagine the ministry that we could do on top of what we are already doing? You know this. Imagine what you would do if you didn't have a note on your house or rent to pay. May you eat at Chili's every night instead of one night a week. By the way, we are right under $1 million in debt. Y'all, we have worked so hard over the last five years to get that number down. Come on, I believe I'm just crazy enough to believe that God can do it.

Imagine what we could do collectively in our community if we had no payment. Just the opportunities are amazing. And so I can cast the vision as the pastor and the leader, but make no mistake about it. It's up to every single one of us that determines how fast the vision gets accelerated. We can have huge vision and huge ideas to minister more in this community, but you and I are the ones that get to determine how fast that vision gets accomplished. What a cool challenge and a cool task to take on as a church. And I believe wholeheartedly. I believe in this hour and this day and age that the Lord is allowing people to get connected to the body of Christ and to local churches, specifically this one sure, but also churches all across the country. People that aren't even kingdom minded people. I believe the Lord is drawing them to something bigger than themselves. I believe there's people sitting in this room who have the ability to accelerate the vision exponentially. And I'm excited to see what God's going to do. So I want you to start thinking about it, talking about it, most importantly praying about it. Because the first Sunday in December, we're going to come together and we're going to celebrate what God has done. And we're going to be cheerful givers on that Sunday and we're going to watch what God will do. We're going to have some impact greater than our individual

selves. It's going to be a special Sunday. Cassidy and I are going to lead the way. I'm excited. But today, as I teach on generosity, I want to teach from this subject, you have no idea. You have no idea. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew 27. We're actually going to look at verse 57. But while you're turning there, let me make sure you understand where we are in the story where we'll pick up today. Judas has just betrayed Jesus. Jesus has just been taken into custody by the Roman soldiers. And in chapter 27 leading up to our text today, Jesus was standing trial before Pilate. Pilate is trying to figure out, what am I going to do with this man named Jesus? This kind of wreaking holy havoc in our community. And he's torn and his wife gets word to him and his wife tells him, she says, sweetheart, you don't want to have anything to do with that innocent man. And at the same time, there's a very well-known prisoner by the name of Barabbas that Pilate was offering to have executed instead of Jesus. But the people wanted Jesus. And so Jesus, it was. In the same chapter that we're in today leading up to our text, Jesus was flogged.

Jesus was beaten. He was spat on. He was stripped of his clothes. And he would eventually die by crucifixion. So leading to our text today, Jesus is now dead. And we pick up in verse 57. As the evening approached, there came a rich man from Aramathhea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body in Pilate order that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean linen cloth. I'll catch this, verse 60. And he placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. And then he went away. Joseph of Aramathhea. discussing essentially the same moment, this moment immediately following the death of Jesus. And as we're talking about radical generosity, I want to take a few minutes today and look at a couple of different angles of this story, if you will. And the first thing that I want to look at today is what Joseph gave. Again, it was in the text, it's not hidden in there, it's very, very easy to see what Joseph gave, but it's apparent that Joseph had been doing some planning. He had been looking into the future planning for what might come. Some of you are like, "Man, I ain't planning for that, y'all are great. You're on your own, kids. Good luck." I can't even think about that.

That wasn't Joseph. Joseph was a planner, he was making arrangements for when his time here on earth was complete. We know that because he had acquired a tomb, and it was a new tomb, a tomb that he had carved out of a rock. He invested in something that he wouldn't actually need until the end of his life. This is where he was in his life. But then Jesus dies, Jesus is crucified, and something changed and shifted in Joseph. I want you to see the mindset of this man because now this man who had purchased a new tomb for himself was now willing to surrender something that he already had plans for. Think about that for a second. Joseph already had a purpose for that money. He already had plans for that investment. He already knew what he was going to do with what he had, but then there arose an opportunity to honor God with what he had, and he had a decision to make. Am I going to hold on to what I've prepared for myself? Or will I be willing to release it for something bigger than me? This is the decision that he had to make in the moment, and please understand the spirit behind what I'm saying. This is not a message that says go empty your bank account and give everything that you have to God, where you can't eat, where you can't, that's not what this is saying. But the real test of generosity isn't whether you'll give God something you don't need. The real test of generosity is will you trust him with something that you already had plans for. Because any of us, it's easy. It's easy to give somebody what was just laying around. I was cleaning the house, and I found this in the cushions. And when you didn't have plans for it, it's easy. Oh yeah, man, let me bless you with this. Whoo, you talk about a real test of generosity. Man, you already had plans for it.

You had designated it for something, and now you have a decision to make, and you feel the Lord, and you're like, "Ooh." That's the test, ladies and gentlemen. Now notice the second thing about this. We just looked at what he gave. Did you notice when he gave? He didn't give when Jesus was riding into town on the back of a donkey. He didn't walk up to Jesus after Jesus had performed a miracle, raising somebody from the dead, or unstopping ears, or opening the blind eyes. He didn't walk up and was like, "Ha, ha, yeah, this is it, man. Let me show into this right now." That's not when he gave. He didn't give while Jesus was feeding the 5,000. No. He gave after the crucifixion. He gave after Jesus had died. Here's the important part. He gave after Jesus when in the natural could do anything for him. He didn't give because there were pots of gold at the end of the rainbow after now. He didn't give because he was promised five more tombs if he gave this one tomb. No, he gave when Jesus could do absolutely nothing for him. He didn't get to receive. He didn't get because somebody promised him something after he gave. He gave why? Because he honored Jesus with everything in him and his generosity flowed from the love that was in his heart. It wasn't reluctant. It wasn't under compulsion. It was cheerfully sowing into a Jesus who was dead now, who would never be able to raise his family from the dead, who would never be able to heal him when he needed.

This Jesus was gone. But he loved him so much that he said, "Even though I had plans for this myself," comes from a overflowing cup on the inside of you. See, you can't be motivated by what you get back. The motivation is what you're sowing into. That what I'm sowing into is so much greater than me, that I'm sowing into something that has an impact on broken and hurting people, lost people that are so far from the law. I'm sowing into ministries that reach further than my arms could reach. I'm not sowing because it's transactional. I'm sowing because it's out of an abundance of love for my Savior. I'm not giving because of a guarantee. I'm not giving so that people can pat me on the back and watch me as I give. I'm giving because I'm so in love with Jesus that it's a natural response. So we've looked at what he gave. We looked at when he gave it, but I want to show you the final piece of this that I think is really important. Think about the impact of his gift. His generosity became a part of what God was doing on this earth forever. Joseph had no way of knowing the significance of his gift throughout history. Joseph could not have anticipated that people for the next 2,000-plus years would tell the story of this man by the name of Jesus that stood trial before Pilate. That this man named Jesus would be beaten, that this man named Jesus would hang on a cross and die, that Jesus' body would be placed in a new tomb, and a stone would be rolled in front. And 3 days later, that that same body would no longer be in that tomb. He had no idea what God would do through what he was willing to surrender. He had no way of knowing what the Lord was going to do, and he became a part of what God was doing on this earth for all of eternity. And friend, I want you to understand that the same is true for you and I. You have no idea what God can do when you take something that you've reserved for you

and you put it into the hands of a holy God, and see we'll never fully know the impact. I mean, you can measure it a little bit on this earth, but I think when we'll really know the impact is when we're standing on the other side one day. What if... Again, I don't pretend to know exactly how it all works. I have my ideas, but they're my interpretations. But can you imagine, again, I just want you to think bigger picture. Can you imagine if somebody walks up to you that you've never seen before in your life? They tap you on the shoulder. Are you Brad? Yeah, you know. I'm here because of you. You've never met me. In fact, I grew up in Africa, but you sewed into a ministry called Vapour. Vapour came by my house when I was just a child. They provided a meal. We were so far from the Lord and through the meal, it got us onto their facility. They had soccer fields that were amazing. They invited us to come play soccer. We started playing soccer all the time. And then guess what they did at halftime? They shared the gospel at the halftime of our soccer games, and it was one game in particular on an ordinary day when I was like, you know what? This Jesus might be for me. You have no idea the impact of what you're willing to surrender and put in the hands of a Holy God. So in a few weeks, all of us are gonna have an opportunity to do something really special through our legacy offering.

And I'm not asking you to pray about a certain amount. I'm not asking you for a certain amount. I'm not asking you to do what the person next to you is doing or your neighbor is doing. I am asking that you would do what Joseph did though. That you would take something of worth, something that you had plans for. And if the Lord leads you, that you would put it in the hands of a Holy God to partner with a few thousand people in South Austin that says, you know what? I may not be able to do everything, but I can do something. And I believe we're gonna see the ripple effects. Come on, I am, I'm telling you, don't be shocked. Don't be shocked if somebody says, "Hey, Passabrat." I heard you talk about that dream center. I wanna fund the whole thing. I'm telling you, why not? All things are possible with the God that we, either we believe it or we don't. I'm crazy enough to believe that all things are possible that God can do it, that God is drawing people that are so far from him, but they wanna be a part of kingdom impact. They wanna do something bigger than them that leaves a legacy in this community that leaves a legacy when they're gone. Don't be shocked. Don't be shocked if this is the last year

that our church is in debt. Don't be shocked. Don't be shocked. (audience applauds) - I'm gonna just stand with me all across the room. Prayer partners are gonna join me down front. As they're coming, I just wanna pray for you today. Is that okay? Let's pray, Lord, we love you. What a joy it is to be in your house. God, I'm so grateful for our church family today. Lord, I understand topics like these aren't jumping and shouting topics and clapping topics. I get that, Lord. But this is such an important principle that the people of God need to wrap their minds around. Because the enemy would love nothing more than to get us to invest in things that don't matter. And unintentionally, whether we think it or not, things like pornography, that we don't realize that we're contributing to the $62 billion a year industry of things that are pulling families apart. It's a tactic of the enemy, but Lord, your word is fighting against that. And I believe there's a group of people in Austin, Texas who understand, no, no, no, the impact that we can make together is amazing. But I can link arms with my brother and sister next to me

and we can fight the attacks of the enemy that is trying to tear families apart. No, no, no, not in this house, not in this city, Lord. Not because of me, we're gonna do our part to sow into good soil, to fight against the tactics of the enemy, Lord. And we're gonna watch families be restored. We're gonna watch lost people come to faith. We're gonna watch people dive into the waters of baptism. We're gonna watch children who have been prayed rededicate their hearts to the Lord. We're gonna watch people's lives who have been broken and beaten down by this world be restored. We're gonna watch people be physically healed. We're gonna watch mental health circumstances go away. We're gonna watch depression fall by the wayside and anxiety go by. 'Cause we understand that when we sew into the kingdom of God, that it's good soil. So we honor you today and we magnify your name. For it's in the matchless name of Jesus I pray and everybody said a good amen. Come on, can you put your hands together for the Lord today? (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]