For-eV-vER

So I do have a theme verse for this series. It is Ephesians chapter number two, if you got a Bible, you can turn there if you don't, I'll throw it up on the screen right now. Ephesians two says this in verse number 19. So you Gentiles, those of you who were not born Jewish are a Gentile. I'm a Gentile. Some of y'all in here a couple of people like Oh, I'm sure okay, you're not you that Shut up. You know what I'm saying? I'm joking. I'm joking.
Bless God, you, child of the Lord. I'm grafted in by adoption anyway, so Are most of us. That's why this is good news. Because you're no longer strangers or foreigners, your citizens along with all of God's holy people, you're members of God's family. Those of us who are in Christ are now a part of God's family. And that's exciting. Together we are his house built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the Cornerstone is Jesus Christ, Himself, were carefully joined together in hand, becoming a holy temple for the Lord through him, you Gentiles, say me? Yes, you are also being made part of this dwelling, where God lives by His Spirit. I love this portion of Scripture. Because what it's doing is saying specifically this, you, in your separation have become close to God. And now through Jesus, he's using our lives together to build something significant, so that more people who are just like you and me, who were disconnected, who were far who didn't believe in the person of Jesus can believe and come close to being a part of the family. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. So what we did last week is we kicked off this series asking God to stir our hearts y'all remember that? God stir my heart. What did we take a look at? We took a look at father What are the things that make me glad make me mad or make me sad. And then as we identify those things help us to write the story of generosity so that we might be able to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and affect generations to come. If you didn't get a chance to listen to that message. I would encourage you to go back and listen. But today we're gonna continue on.
and
preach week number two, y'all ready? Let's pray for a Shall we pray? All right, Father, we love you. We're so grateful for the wonderful opportunity we have
today to be in your presence, we don't take it lightly. It's a big deal. And so we pray today that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would lead us and guide us that you would show us Jesus like we've never seen him before. Because we believe truly, that it's upon revelation of who Jesus is that you build and establish your church. God, I ask that you would deliver revelation to people, God that the places where we've tried to figure you out with our intellect that we would just tear those walls down. And we would open our hearts and invite you in to be able to speak to us, recognizing that you want to do something that is beyond natural, it's supernatural in us, so do in us and do through us today with only you can and God, it would be really cool if you didn't trick us with the fall spring again.
The sun is great, but the wind is cold.
But I know it's important. So thanks for Jesus name, amen, everybody. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on one more time. give Jesus a big hand clap of praise. He is so so worthy of it, man, I'm grateful for Jesus. I'm grateful for Jesus. So
those of you who were here last week, you probably remember that I intro this series with a story about soup. Anybody remember the story about the soup pastor carry? Absolutely destroyed. Okay. Well, here's the reality. If you don't know the story, you're gonna have to go pick it up from last week because I just don't have time to go into all of it. But Pastor Carrie, and I do this thing on Sunday afternoons where we go for a walk and we kind of debrief the week and then we kind of dream as God's moving us forward into this next week. Okay, here's what's going on this what's going on with the kids at school, what's going on, at work with the life of the church and just different things and so, we're taking our walk and, and and she says, Matt, you totally butchered the story. And I was like, what? She said, Yeah, you butchered the story.
He said, there is a missing piece. And so I gotta be honest with you before our walk, I had no idea there was a missing piece. I thought that that was the entirety of the story. But you guys remember when I said she was cooking the soup? And then I don't remember what I was doing. I remember that. I was like, I must have been doing some man things, you know, like,
I don't know, like, changing a light bulb or, you know,
chip in my fingernails or something. I don't know what I was doing. You remember? Like, I have no idea what I was doing. And she said, the reason you don't remember what we were doing is because what you thought was happening wasn't actually happening. She said, You don't remember I said, No, I don't remember. And she said, we went to a basketball game.
I said,
I said, You need to tell me that we put soup on an open flame on the stove and then left our house. She said, Yeah.
I said, Man, I cannot believe we're still alive. And I certainly can't believe that we've got, you know, 20 year old children. I mean, this is pretty miraculous that we made it that far. You know,
I thought about this. And it was amazing to me, because I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke to me immediately. And he said, This is an even more accurate description of today's Christianity.
I think the vast majority of us live our lives in Christ the same way that the newlywed Erickson's lived their lives with a pretty short view,
we got the goodness. And we put it in a pot. And we put it on the flame, which is God's power in God's presence. But then because we thought it would just take care of itself, we left it unattended to something else that we thought was important in that moment.
And we do much the same thing in Christ in the life of our church, the house is the house of God, the the pot is our heart and the veggies in the good. All the stuff that is the giftedness of God, the things that he's stirring on the inside of each of us, as we gather together in his house, and then we leave on Monday morning, and we attend to all these things that we think are important. And Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday and Saturday, and then we come back and we try to give it a stir, and everything is burnt together. And we try to enjoy the goodness of God. But we end up not really experiencing much of it at all. And we see other people that are experiencing these good things. And we wonder, where's our good stuff. But we forgot to stir it all week long. Because we're attending to other things that we thought were more important, or maybe just more important in that moment. And because not that those things aren't important. But we still have to attend to the fire of God, the open flame, if you will, what he's placed in our hearts, we still have to stir those things up on the inside of us. And I think that's why many of us live this Christian life.
And we're disappointed because we're not impacting eternity. We're only impacting the temporary. So here's my challenge today that we begin to have a long view, not just a short view, that we see what God wants to do through us, not just with us in a moment. Does that make sense? Everybody? So my prayer this morning, is that we will begin to see the impact God can make through our lives. For
vre, which is the title of this morning's message if you're familiar with the movie sandlot, you guys know squints, like takes his glasses off.
For vapor. That's what we want to do is we want to see an impact made in our lives for ever. In fact, I'm going to pick back up where we left off last week in second Corinthians chapter number nine, verse number nine. I'm going to read again, because I think that it's significant. The apostle Paul speaking to or writing to the Corinthian church as the Scriptures say, they share freely and give generously to the poor, their good deeds
will be remembered for over
you'll see that
the thought that something of my life could Outlast my life is pretty invigorating. The thought that something I did could
lasts beyond just the dates that mark the day I was born and the day that I leave.
That's exciting to me. I want to be a part of something like that. But the only way to do that is by sharing freely and giving generously, to the poor. We talked last week, yes, it's the down and outers naturally, but it's also the down and outers spiritually, those who are far from God, those who are disconnected the Gentiles, if you will, those of you who were just two months ago, not living for Jesus, but now you have experienced salvation in life in Christ. It is those people, those of us who today, March 25 years that I gave my life to Jesus, those of us who were far from God before we said yes to Jesus, those of us, that's who I'm talking about, if you've ever known a day, apart from Jesus, this is the poor, that is spoken of.
Good deeds, I love that it actually means righteousness. Righteousness can be equated to God's deeds or God's works. It's the god deeds through you, that will be remembered forever, not just the good things that you do. But the things that you do in the name of God, or in the name of Jesus, that will carry on forever. Sure, you might put a little money away for your kids that might outlast you, you might, you know, set aside some business, you might have some sort of natural legacy that you leave that will outlast you, but what is it about you that will outlast this temporary life, and the temporary lives of your kids to be able to instill into those that are coming after you something that's an eternal worth or value?
What is the story of your generosity? What is the story of your legacy? What is the story of what you're amassing or building here on earth actually tell? Is that a story of temporary good deeds? Or is it a story of Eternal God deeds?
My prayer is that we establish a long view,
that we learn how to trust God with our star temporary resources, that he might be able to put any eternal value on them. I love the way that the message translation goes. You paraphrases this scripture, I'm gonna read it to you. God can pour on the blessings and astonishing ways.
So that you're ready for anything and everything.
More than just ready to do what needs to be done.
As one Solmaz puts it, he throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy and reckless abandon
his right living, right giving ways are never run out. They never were out. This most generous God who gives seats to the farmer, that becomes bread for your meals is more extravagant, even so with you.
So not only does he get through you the fullness of what he has to other people, but he's extravagant back on you, as you're faithful to do with what God has given you, that he's called you to? Does that make sense? Everybody? It goes on to say, He gives you something
you can then give away, which grows into full form lives robust in God, wealthy in every way. So that you can be generous in every way.
You know, I felt like studying this term every way. But then I realized that'd be silly because I think it just means every way.
Every way think of us think of a way that way. Think of a way that way. Think of a way that way. Think of a way that way? You meet in my marriage. Yes. You meet with my kids. Yes. You meet in my finances. Yes, you meet in my home. Yes. You mean in the temporary? Yes. You mean in the eternal? Yes.
Every way. God's not limited by space and time like we're limited by space and time.
Every way,
producing with us. Great praise. I love that portion of Scripture than the message.
Let's continue reading on.
Verse number 10 says this For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way he will provide an increase your resources
and he ever anybody ever thought that God wants you to be put
He wants you to consistently be a down and outer from the standpoint of provisions. Well, this kind of conflicts with that. And this is the Bible. I don't know if I don't know if you guys know that, but this is the Bible. And if you want to go read the Bible, feel free, go open the book. And look at Second Corinthians chapter number nine, this says this in the Bible, God wants to return on you, in a very generous way. He wants your resources to increase, and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. So when you're generous, God wants to continue to produce a harvest of generosity in you. He wants to return on you in such a way that you can continue to be generous. See, here's what God loves about people who he knows he can get things through, he has no problem getting things to.
We didn't know if he can get it through you, he has no problem getting it to you.
And that's just how he operates. You don't have to feel guilty if you have more than somebody else, especially when you're generous with the things of God. But I do have something to continue to show you as we read the scriptures. Yes, you'll be enriched in
there this again, every way, every way, enriched in every way, that word enrich this fool to a place of overflowing in every way that meets your marriage, everybody.
Your marriage, generosity can be the solution to your marriage issues.
You know, you know why? You know why? Because your resources represent your heart. The Bible says Where your treasure is there, your heart will also be and when I give my heart away to God, what happens? I'm aligning more to God. And when I align more to God, guess what, I'm not a jerk to my wife.
Do y'all hear what I'm saying? When I when I give and I align my heart to God, and I can be I can be become greater in my parenting. And in the revelation that God has can bring me to being a dad, why? Because my heart is more in aligned to him.
I'm taking myself off the throne of my life saying, God, I'll do what I will, with what I have, instead of what you will, with what you've given me.
Why? Because Oh,
for God is the one who provide seed for the farmer.
Everything you and I have, especially as Christ followers, we should believe the Scripture. God gave it to me.
It's not mine to do what I want with it. It's his to do what he wants with it. And as I do, what I'm doing is I'm saying God, Your God, I'm not God.
But he'll enrich you in every way. I know this takes people off, okay.
I'm not trying to take anybody off. I'm just trying to read the Bible. Is that okay with y'all? Okay, because I don't know, oh, some of y'all might not know this. You might not know this. But my name is Matt Erickson. I did not author any of the Bible, I just read it. I promise, I promise, I did not write this. I just, I'm just reading it. And I'm trying to make my life come into alignment with it. And that's that's our hope at Mercy city is that, listen, we know that we know that the scriptures, our calendar, our culture, we know that it's not like going to be the most popular thing.
But we're not trying to win a popularity contest. We're trying to come into alignment with what God's saying over our lives, so that we can make an eternal impact.
So two good things come from this two good things come from this. Two good things
will result from the Ministry of giving y'all remember from last week with the Ministry of giving us Ministry of giving is not your time that you bring as you're increased. The Ministry of giving is specifically an offering above and beyond the ties, okay. Above and beyond the ties. So it's both and as God serves you not as pastor Matt, encouraged, you know, as God stirs you, not as your church encouraged. No, as God encouraged you. If God's not encouraging you in this, then we don't want you to be a part of it. We just want you to benefit from it. Now here I'm saying, because God can't bless you where your heart's not.
We want we want our hearts to be in this ministry of giving to things happen. The needs of believers will be met.
And they will joyfully express thanks to God.
Imagine, imagine, imagine, imagine, Isn't this so cool to think about?
That a gift that goes above and beyond could not only help meet the needs of somebody who's far from G
He says
about some people these last couple of weeks who were far from God. And they told me their story about how they were driving down the street. And they saw some people who are enjoying their time out on the courtyard, eating cookies, listen to music, guess what somebody paid for those cookies. somebody pays for us to be able to power that music. Somebody paid for the tables for the parking lot, somebody paid for that they were driving there, we're just driving down the street. And now because of the generous gift of somebody to make that happen, there's another family that's giving glory to God.
I heard the story I heard the story of somebody who's been reading one of the books that we released about the semicolon book that your story's not over. Some of y'all are so new, you don't even know about those books. But two or three years ago, people were paying for us to produce books to tell stories of what God's done in people's lives. Guess what I met somebody last week, that's been reading the stories of what God did in those people's lives. And now they're giving glory to God.
Somebody's generosity made that happen. And somebody's generosity just impacted an eternity to where somebody's giving thanks. And praise to God, somebody who was far from God, who was a down and out are now connected to the heart of the Father and giving God thanks all because somebody was faithful.
This is not just the church at Corinth thing. I think that this is a church at Mercy city thing. I think that this is a church at leakin thing. This is the church's sewer thing. This is the church of York thing. This is the church at Hastings thing. This is a church in North Platte. This is the church's shattering thing, this the church's Scottsbluff thing. I think this is a church of today thing. Come on somebody
that we might see somebody give thanks and joyfully Express Glory to God.
Through a temporary act of giving
something eternal, can take place.
As a result of your ministry,
I love this man. Paul just keeps going in.
They will give glory to God, as a result of this ministry, they will give glory to God. There are 45 young people who are giving glory to God this week that were not last week. Because a group of people who unknowingly to them sent a group of college students and leaders to learn how to do this campus ministry.
You invested in it. And that's the type of stuff that we put our resources to, we make investments in people's eternity. Yeah, we do a lot of cool natural things. But we do it in the name of Jesus so that somebody's eternity will be impacted and changed. For your generosity to them and to all the believers will prove that you're obedient to the gospel, the good news of Christ. I was reading our soap journaling. I was so good this week. And in the book of Numbers, it was talking about giving, and why we give. And it says specifically, I thought this was so great.
Like I said last week, I said many, many people who you go to a financial advisor, typically they'll let you know, hey, you should be giving something away somewhere to someone you should be giving to, you know, charities, you should be giving it to organizations and nonprofit, whatever. The thing that separates us from the world is the fact that we give to the church.
The thing that separates a believer from a non believer is that we bring that to the church, and we give in Jesus name. So we're not just looking to make a temporary impact. We're looking to make an eternal impact or something that we're aligning to temporarily. Does that make sense? The thing that separates me from somebody that gives to another charity
is the good news of Christ. As I give when I give here, it separates my gift and puts an eternal value on it not just a temporary value.
I'm going to encourage you to give somewhere.
Do it do it. I encourage you learn how to become generous. Learn how to learn how to give of yourself. Okay, not flippantly but according to the way that God's stirring you.
But if you want to make an eternal impact. You could partner with a local church. I would specifically suggest a local church that you're a part of.
Because that's where God's planted you.
And let's change some people's eternities together
and they will pray for you
with deep affection, because of the overflowing grace God has given you. Thank God for this gift. This gift is the ministry of giving.
It's too wonderful for words.
Can't put it into words how wonderful. This is the impact that it made. I told you earlier that 25 years ago today,
I showed up at a youth rally at champions Fun Center in Hastings, Nebraska.
It was a youth rally. Little did I know, it was a youth rally where they were going to be talking about Jesus.
You know what I found out years later, as I talked to the youth pastor who hosted that youth rally,
one family came together and said, You know what, we want to sponsor this entire event. I never met that family. I don't know who they are.
They've impacted my eternity.
But guess what, they impacted the eternity of my kids.
And they've now impacted your eternities. They've impacted the eternity of your kids, of your grandkids of your loved ones. There was I don't know how much that cost to put that event on.
But they've impacted the eternity of 1000s of people now.
And it's just getting started.
What impact could our gift make?
I think it's cool to think about.
So cool to think about operating in that giftedness in that. With that ability to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus, there is something as simple as giving. And here's what I've heard over the years, many times people telling me will pass my law. I don't feel equipped because they see somebody standing on the corner with a cross and preaching the gospel knowing I don't feel equipped for that. Okay, okay. Okay. I don't feel equipped to grab a microphone and stand up in front of people and preach out. Okay, okay. Okay. Okay. But I wonder if the gift that's on your life isn't the gift of giving, to be able to provide opportunity for more people to be able to hear the gospel. That's a gift to. But it's not just a gift that's afforded to a certain economic class, a tax bracket or pay grade. This is a gift that's available to anyone who's sensing God's stirring something in their heart that might be bigger than they are.
And this is an important thing to understand. And so here's what I want us to understand are three things that are very important about the stirring of God. Thing Number one, what he is stirring, we've got to understand what is God stirring? Right now it's important that we know what he is stirring. What makes us glad what makes us mad? What makes us sad? What puts a smile on our face?
What causes our brown to furrow? Because we're upset over what breaks our heart because we're like, gosh, the injustice.
God is stirring something in you. They're in that place. And many of us have responded. Naturally. We've responded temporarily saying, I'll give to a water well, I'll give to this injustice I'll give to but what if you started giving to that in the name of Jesus through an organization who was preaching the gospel? So the somebody's temporary, yes, could be changed, but their eternity could be changed.
How do you think that, that place where God is stirring you
could now begin to affect somebody's eternity. You recognize what God is stirring, and I'm going to encourage you stir that.
Stir that Look at your neighbor, give him a knuckle bump, say stir that
look to other neighbor, give them a knock a bumper, say stir that.
Don't leave the house. Stir that don't leave it on an open flame. Stir that don't disconnect. Stir that stir that stir that what's the stirring.
The second thing that we need to recognize this very, very important is where he is stirring. It's important that we know where God is stirring because placement in the kingdom is very important. So you could do the right thing but be in the wrong place. And you still miss what God's trying to do.
That's hard as always about obedience for us. Remember
A few years ago, our kids transferred schools from a small private school to a bigger public school. And Cooper, our oldest son was playing football at the time. And, and so I had to pick him up from football practice. It was his freshman year, he wasn't driving yet, which is annoying, as all your parents know. And so, you know, six o'clock, I was supposed to pick him up from practice. So I got there at 545. And I thought hell wants to tell him to practice you know, it'd be fun. So I drive over a park where the practice football field is, well, they weren't there. Apparently, they got done with practice early. And so I was waiting for him to come out. 615 626 25 You know, your blood starts to boil, and you make the stupid rule as a parent, like, my kid ain't getting a phone until he's driving when real smart until that, anyway.
So, so finally, 635 was probably about that I decided, You know what, I'm just gonna drive around the school and see if this fool is around. And when he is gonna snatch him up and beat his tail and be like, let's go home. You know, like, whatever. You made me wait for an hour and and so I drive around the building. And sure enough, man, there he is sitting, just leaned up
against the wall waiting for me. And I said, Boy, where are you? Where are you, Ben? I've been waiting since six o'clock. And I said, Dude, I was by the practice field. He said, You're supposed to pick me up at the locker room.
I did the right thing. I was just in the wrong place.
I did the right thing at the right time, I was just in the wrong place. We got to find where God is stirring. God wants us to stir there where he's stirring. Last but certainly not least, as the band joins me.
When he is stirring, it's important that we understand when God is stirring because timing is also very important in the kingdom. See, you could do the right thing in the right place at the wrong time. And you could miss what God's trying to accomplish God's heart again, as always, obedience, I think of the story my mom tells all the time, about when I was a little boy.
We were a family get together at my grandmother's house and everybody was there. So lined up and down the streets were cars family all over the place. And I was two or three years old and my mom was pregnant with my younger brother. And so she wasn't moving real well. Well, I decided in my you know, toddler Enos to take off running down the driveway toward the street. And my mom couldn't move. And so she one time yells My name Matt. And I stuffed in my tracks. And just that time a car went right through.
If I hadn't stopped when she spoke in that time, I may not be here today.
But it's just the same with us as we're listening for God's voice. When he says go, but we don't go or when he says stop. But we don't stop when he says give but we don't give when he says receive. But we don't receive when he says Be still. But we're not still when he says it's time to move. But we don't move. When we don't listen to the voice of God, we miss the timing of God. And when we miss the timing of God, we can impact eternity.
But when we listen, in the timing of God, we can also impact eternity.
So here's what we're gonna do today, as we close, it's gonna be kind of a time of reflection.
I know I've talked about giving today. And this is when people start to get nervous about to receive an offer. Now we're gonna do that next week.
I'm just telling you be prepared. Like just come be prepared, be prepared. We're believing that next week will impact eternity.
And I don't know about you, but I'm so excited to be a part of it. Man, Thursday night, I couldn't even sleep. I was so excited.
Just praying about what God was doing. I heard reports of what took place at San Diego State and I just said, God, that's good. That's gonna be our state. That's gonna be our region. I can't believe I can't believe you let me be a part of this. stirring the up so stirred like I want to give today.
But it's not the right time
for all of us.
So maybe you're here and you haven't received your envelope sewer to the chapel, you haven't received your envelope. We want you to be praying around that.
I'm not asking you for $1 amount, okay.
Here's what I'm asking. I'm asking you if you would ask God, what he would want you to do.
If you'll commit to saying pastor Matt, I'll ask God what He wants me to do. Would you just lift your hand with me? Alaska, Alaska. Thank you. That's all we need everybody. That's all we need Alaska. Cool.
If you don't have an envelope, you can get one on the way out. Our ushers will have them available. And they'll be they'll be holding them Hi. So that way you can take it you can pray around and you can ask God, what would what would you have me?
Don't ask me Don't ask your city group leader just let's ask. Let's ask the Lord.
But can I pray for you?
Father, thank you for speaking us. Thank you for bringing us here. Thank you for stirring something in our hearts.
Got this temporary stirring that's in us, we do believe could make an impact forever. Something that long outlast us which is grateful for
God I pray that you speak to us by the power of your spirit.
not out of guilt or manipulation. But also God let us not be reluctant as we come next week. Let us come full of faith. Let us come with excitement and anticipation of what you might do. And as we fill up those envelopes and the things that you're stirring in our hearts, God Let us attach faith to them in a supernatural way that you might freak strong.
Shot through shadows
doing it as it through a slowly you can as you run right, Jesus.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Thanks again for listening to today's message. For more information on all that God's doing at Mercy city, or to share how the message has impacted your life. Visit us online at Mercy City DOT church or on social media.