Rich in Good Deeds

Hello, and welcome to the Salt Church Podcast. Thank you for tuning in to this week's message. Join us as we explore God's Word providing practical teaching for day-to-day living. The message you are about to hear was recorded live at our Sunday morning worship experience. If you would like to learn more about Salt Church, please visit us at saltchurch.

org. We hope that you are encouraged by today's message. Today is part two of our Time Talent Treasure series, and I'm going to deal with treasure this week, and we're going to talk a little bit about what it means to be wealthy. And don't worry, I'm not going to talk about tithing today. Some of you are like, well, I came to the wrong week.

We'll deal with tithing on another week. But I want to deal with the first part of how blessed we really are. And this is entitled Rich in Good Deeds. And today I want to just talk about deeds and works. And if you've been with us for any amount of time, you've heard me talk on this before.

I go back to it every few years, and I try to hit this at home again to remind us of what we have and how blessed we are. Pastor Andy Stanley wrote a book called How to Be Rich. And a lot of the things that we get from that book really inspired me. It actually changed my perspective and in some ways changed my life and how I am generous and how I give and how we should all be generous. And he shares with us that he has some good news for us and some bad news for us.

The good news is that we are rich. We are very rich. Truth be told, most of us don't feel very rich, right? I mean, you're not here today saying, oh, I'm rich. But a Gallup poll was taken a few years back that asked the question, a sample of people living in the States, how much would you have to make to be rich?

They asked, first of all, people who made $30,000 a year around that average. And they said that they would have to make $74,000 to be rich. And some of you here today probably make that, and you're like, I'm not rich, right? You're like, there's no way. Then they asked people with $50,000 that made $50,000 a year, how much would you need to make to be rich or feel like that you're rich?

They said $100,000 would do that. Some of you here today say, I'm hitting $100,000 and I don't feel very rich. And then Money Magazine asked the top wage earners in the world, those are the people over $200,000 or more. And they said that in order for them to feel rich, that it would take at least $5 million in assets for them to consider that they're rich. So even the richest people in the world have a goal of being rich.

So nobody really knows what rich is, right? We all know somebody that's rich, but none of us are rich ourselves. And the line of being rich really is a moving thing. So step one is to admit that we are rich, whether we feel like we're rich. And that's the challenge.

Many of us don't feel very rich. And we're always striving to get rich. And when we are rich, we don't know it, right? Because we don't feel rich. But here's the reality.

Those that make $33,000 or more a year are in the top 1% of people in the world, wage earners in the world. And those who make $80,000 or more are in the top 0.1% in the world. The truth is, if we have running water, we are better than most people in the world. The fact that we have garages that are bigger than most people have houses in the world tells us that we've got wealth and we are rich.

So we need to admit, first of all, no matter where I am financially right now, I know that I am rich. And Paul talks about this in Scripture. And if you will turn with me to 1 Timothy 6, 17 and 18, and we're going to deal with this Scripture here. Paul says this to Timothy. He tells him to command those.

Command. It's not just an inference or just an idea or suggestion. It's a command. Did I just say idea? I am from North Carolina, guys.

So, command those that are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Right? He provides everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. And in this way, they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

The fact is that when we make more, the first thing we tend to do is think about ourselves. Right? Oh, I got a raise. What am I going to do with this raise? Ah, I could get an extension on my house or do some remodeling or I could get a better car.

And we're constantly thinking about things like that when we have a little more money. In addition to that, I mean, we think about, you know, our own personal savings, which is good, and we go that direction. But usually it's about us. It's about us more than others. We're not thinking, oh, I've got $20,000 more a year.

What am I going to do with that $20,000? Why don't I help a starving, you know, country? That's not the first place we go. And there's nothing wrong with wanting my house to be remodeled. There's nothing wrong with wanting a new car or any kind of thing.

Because God gives us all these things, as He tells us in Scripture, for our enjoyment. That's the thing He gives us. He blesses us so that we can enjoy things. And it is the life that is truly life. But He wants us to experience the life that is truly life.

And we won't experience it even when we have the things that God has blessed us with. And we're using it for our own good and for our own glory. He's trying to demonstrate to us. Paul's trying to tell the church here. And I want you to put yourself in this picture.

Paul is communicating to you through the Lord Jesus Christ. Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He's trying to demonstrate that to be rich with people. So let's do it and add in that to be rich with people. Let's do it and hear that to be rich with people.

Those things that you've been given to be blessed because he wants you to experience the life that is truly life and there is a life beyond just existing there's a life beyond just being here today and there's a life beyond just making money and having stuff there's so much more to life and he is pulling us in and say I want you to experience the life that is truly life even if you are not a follower of Christ today you're here. and you're still trying to figure out the Jesus thing but you're not completely in you understand this truth that there's something special about when we think selflessly when we think about our money and our things and our resources in a way that it is for others it does something in our hearts in our lives and in our experience in our experiences and I asked the question and I want you to access or assess rather yourself are you rich in good deeds are you rich in your works or are you middle class in your works or are you impoverished in your works think about that and assess that because this is what really matters in the grand scope of things are we rich in God's kingdom and that's what I want to dig into today now I'm not suggesting by any stretch of the imagination that we are saved by works guys we are not saved by works and if I've said it once I've said it a million times and those of you who are regulars here are like oh no he's going to say it again we are not saved by works but we are saved for works right we are not saved by good works we are saved for good works we are we we we we we are saved by grace through salvation in Jesus Christ but we are also set aside set apart for the works of the kingdom for the works of God he has created us in such a way in fact look at Ephesians 2 8 10 for it is by grace you have been saved through faith he reemphasizes that to the to the Ephesians and this is not from yourself it is a gift from God not by works so that no one can boast and then he goes on in verse 10 to say for we are God's handiwork his masterpiece we are created in such a way that is unique right you are a masterpiece some verses say work of art but you are created in handiwork of God there's there's absolutely no random chance that you are who you are today he created you specifically for something he's put everything into you he's created you he's formed you to do good works created in Jesus Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do so God loves you so much that he created you in such a unique way to give you everything you need to do what you need to do for his glory he's he's made everything every little piece of you every little annoying person persona you have or every little every little tick that you were created he can use those to redeem he won't he's made you that way did you know that did you know that even the flaws he's made you that way your personality your gifts your everything he's put you together he's molded that for you and I'm going to talk a little bit more of that about that next week but um but he's made you he loves you so much he's made you and you were born for something you were made for something you exist for something you were created in such a way for something and you have the ability the time and the resources uh to do what he has designed you to do you need to understand that example if if someone's if you're driving down the road and you see somebody in need maybe somebody with a flat tire on the side of the road and you've always dreamed about being on the pit crew for the indy 500 you know and you're like oh man this is mine I'm going for this I was created for this and you get down there and you're like oh can I help you can oh there's that time okay you know I got this I got that that's your thing and you do that and then when the people offer you cannot can I pay you you're like no no God has just done so much for me and and I'm just thrilled to do this for you maybe you're a a builder or home improvement person maybe Bob Vila is your best friend you know you have him on tv all the time he's like your hero and you love doing home improvement projects and you're driving down the road in your neighborhood and you look over at a neighbor that might be less fortunate than you and that might not have as much resources as you and you see the shingles falling off the side of the roof or or the house is kind of kind of torn up a little bit and you're like oh I can do that I love that I was created for that I'm good at that you know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna walk in over there and I'm gonna help them I'm gonna take care of them and I'm gonna that is mine and I was created for that maybe you love to cook maybe the the food network is your you know you guys are like this and it's on all the time yeah yeah there's a lot of amens in here and you love to cook and and you know somebody's down on her luck maybe it's a single mother with with with children maybe she's having a hard time this could be yours maybe you want to be star baker you know like like the great british bake-off you know you want to be you want to be that you think you're that you know because I was made for this you know and you make that in the best way you know how you can you deliver you help I've got this maybe you're not good at any of that maybe you're not good with your hands at all but you're a great listener maybe you listen to people well you might not be the best counselor but you can certainly listen to people maybe you can offer that for somebody who just needs to hear somebody to hear them that we all are created and made for something warts and all we are all are created in the image of God for the glory of God to for good deeds for good works in the name of Jesus so let me share just a few things with you today about good deeds what do we need to understand about good deeds what should we what what should we think about as we are going out in uh of working in the community uh working with our good deeds yada yada number one here's what you should know my good deeds and if you're following your notes you can write this down my good deeds should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not myself this is important it should glorify God and not yourself this is important it should glorify God and not yourself this is important it should glorify God and not yourself this is important it should glorify God and not yourself this is important it should glorify God and not yourself this is important it should glorify God and And not myself. In fact, Matthew 5, 14, 16 says you are a light of the world. You are the light of the world. What do we know about light?

It brightens up a room, right? You can't get away from it. These lights hitting on stage right now, they're lighting up the stage. The darkness has no chance, right? You are the light of the world, a town built on a hill that cannot be hidden.

Neither do the people light a lamp. And what does a lamp suggest? It's a guiding light. You are in a lamp, you are a light, and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others that you may glorify yourself. No. That they may see your good works and glorify your family. They may glorify your church. No, it says to glorify the Father in heaven.

That's why we do what we do, to glorify God in heaven, our Father which is in heaven. I remember at App State University, my alma mater, and there was this ridiculously beautiful house up on a hill, on a mountain. It was Appalachian State, North Carolina mountains, Boone, North Carolina, a beautiful, beautiful area. I mean, it's like God's hand is laid all over that place. It's just such a beautiful place.

And I got to live there for a while, and it was just so amazing. But I remember seeing at night that big old house up on a hill, and just seeing how bright it was. And one day I went up there, I just had to go look at it, because I drove up the side of the hill. And I come in, and just the layout of this huge house. I don't even know whose house it was.

It had to be some very wealthy person. But the fact was that you could not mistake that house. Nobody in Boone, everybody, all the students, everybody that lived in Boone, they knew that house, because you could see it from the hill. You know, it's way up there. It's bright.

Everybody can see it. In fact, they kind of gave glory to it, because it was so beautiful. It was such a beautiful house that was lit up. That's who we are when we do good deeds. We are people who do it for the glory of God.

So we're reflecting the brilliance of God, that we are the light of the world, who is the light of life, Jesus Christ. We are reflections of Jesus. And as we do good deeds, it's much like a lighthouse that's steering the way. When you go to Buxton, I love going to Buxton in the evening at night, and driving through, and just miles and miles away, you can see the Hatteras lighthouse, and the light going through the sky, and how thrilled. I know I'm almost there, you know, if I'm coming down at night, and I see the light coming through.

I'm almost in Buxton, you know, I'm almost there. And there's just a beauty about that. And that's who we are. We are reflections of God, guiding the way to Jesus Christ. Our good deeds should glorify God.

And here's how they should point to God. There's a story a pastor shared one time about he used to cut his grandmother's house. And then he moved away from his grandmother's house, and he would pray all the time that somebody would go and cut his grandmother's house, and he just prayed and prayed and prayed. But he was living in a neighborhood with elderly people, and about three houses down, he saw there was a need there, and he felt convicted. He says, if I'm going to pray for somebody to cut my grandmother's house, I'm going to go cut this lady's house, because obviously she needs somebody to cut her house, her yard.

So he goes over there, and he tells her, and she's just like, you know, just so thrilled. And he says, well, I'm a believer. I love the Lord, and I just wanted to do this for you, because he's just done so much for me. And she says, oh, I'm a Christian too. Could we pray together for my grandson?

Because my grandson is far from God, so they prayed together. And years later, this man starts a ministry, and this person that they were praying for, this grandson she was praying for, showed up at his ministry that day and says, hey, you don't know me, but I'm not a believer, but my grandmother, and you prayed for her, and you came over and you cut her grass without any strings attached, and you prayed for me. And I want to know, and I came here today because I wanted to hear from somebody who would do that for somebody. So it's reflecting God. And he came in, and he was able to do that.

Amen. I mean, just we're reflecting, we're pointing to God. We're reflections of God. And your actions may be the only message that some people hear. It may be the only sermon, the only gospel message.

Your actions speak louder sometimes than words declaring the goodness of God. And we must be people that point to Jesus. You know what Jesus' heartbeat is? It's just beating inside of him. It's others, others, others, others.

That should be our heartbeat. Thinking of others, others. How can we reach others? How can we help others? How can we minister to others?

How can we love others, others, others? And number two, our good deeds are examples, or samples rather, of Jesus Christ. They're samples of Jesus Christ. What do I mean, samples? I love going to Sam's Club when I'm hungry.

And don't have money. And Harris Teeter. I've actually cleaned out the ham section and Harris Teeter me and Savannah alone, you know? Well, I'm hungry, you know. But I love samples, you know.

And what I love about going into Sam's Club or maybe another version of Sam's Club is that there's people standing around or behind these little things with these samples and they're so nice. Would you like a sample? Would you like a sample? And I'm like, oh, yes, I would. I'd love a sample.

You go over and eat a sample. Oh, this is good. Yummy. And you're just kind of going back and forth, you know. This is great.

She says, well, guess what? We have a whole section of this over there. So she's pointing me to the real thing. You can have all you want. So I'm just like, oh, that's great.

Wonderful. Yeah. So samples are awesome for that. But this is so true in the spiritual life. We are giving samples of Jesus.

We may not be preaching the gospel in words, but we're giving them little samples of that life. I heard it said like this many times. We're all Christians think they're trying to get to heaven, but God's trying to get heaven into earth. Right. And we're giving little glimpses, little samples of Jesus to people when we do good deeds, when we do something for them.

In fact, today, last week, we handed these out. We started handing these out and there's so many of these. And then... This season we like to make that available to you to give you the opportunity to be giving samples of Jesus to others. In fact, we've got these cards.

We call them Random Acts of Kindness cards. And this is a season where I challenge all of you to be digging into this Random Acts of Kindness. It says something extra to show you God loves you. And then there's a little thing on the back that says, and so do we. You know, there's a little, our website.

But nothing pushy. Nothing. Come to my church. We're not doing anything like that. We just want to be a church that's effective.

We want to be a church that gives out samples of Jesus Christ. And you also have a card here if you need some suggestions of things to do. And here's just one example. Deliver fresh baked cookies to a neighbor or co-worker. Or bring flowers to someone.

Or offer a bit to babysit someone for free. I mean, there's all kinds. There's about 15 things. And you can come up with things on your own. There's just some great examples.

I shared a little bit last week. And I think I share this all the time because this was the most powerful story I've ever heard in my life. And there was an individual that was participating in this. And they were at a Chick-fil-A drive-through. And they decided to pay for the person in the line behind them.

And they left a card there for that person. Well, it came to this person ended up going to church. This very church that was participating in this. And they gave their life to Jesus. And their testimony was that they were waiting in a Chick-fil-A line to eat their last meal before they took their life.

And when they got there, somebody had paid for their meal. And somebody had given them this card that says something extra to show you God loves you. And it changed their world. They were literally praying for God to give them a sign that they weren't supposed to do this. God, if you're there.

And you just don't know what this does. Just little things. Little acts of kindness that we do. Sprinkling samples. Little samples of Jesus.

Here's just a lovely sample of Jesus just to say, I don't care what comes back to me. I don't care. I just want to love you. I just want to care for you. I just want to show you the love of God because this is what God.

This is my God. This is my heart. This is who God is. This is my life. And this is who I live for samples of Jesus.

They give samples of Jesus. And there's so many stories about that. In fact, we had a group of people a few years ago. We were eating at a restaurant and Terry O'Quinn was there. I don't know if you know who he is.

He's an actor that played in Lost. I don't know. John Locke. Everybody knows him as John Locke, the bald guy that was. Yeah, he was there.

In fact, we knew he lived here in Virginia Beach somewhere, but he was sitting right across from us. And a group of us got together, threw some money together, and paid for him and his family's meal. And he quoted online, you know, or Twitter. He tweeted that those people, you know, I'm so tickled that they would do something like that, you know. And they need it too, right?

Even rich people need sprinkles and samples of Jesus Christ. And who knows what comes of that. You might not see the results right away. In fact, Galatians 6, 9 says, and let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Do not give up.

In order to reap, you have to sow. In order to reap, you have to put seeds down. And that's what we're doing. We're seeding. And even if we don't see the results right away, God is doing something.

Keep seeding. Keep seeding. Seed the garden. Drill the garden. And in due time, something's going to happen.

Things are happening. Even among Salt Church. There's things that we have done and we are doing. And sometimes in our efforts, because we're a church plant, there's a lot of ground here. We're very mobile.

Every week's a different week. Every week's a different crowd. Last week is a different crowd than this week. And sometimes we're in the grind. We're setting up these things.

We're participating. We're all coming together to make church happen, to create an environment for people to know Jesus and grow in Jesus. And we're doing that. And we're working hard. But we know that sometimes we don't see all the fruit, but we know fruit's coming because we're sowing seeds.

Amen. We're sowing seeds for the kingdom. We're sowing seeds in this community. And God's got great things in store for our community. Amen.

Because He's going to do it. He's going to do it. He says He's going to do it. And we're going to sprinkle seeds. We're going to plant seeds.

And even when the seeds aren't coming up and when they're coming up in due season and due season, we're going to water those things. We're going to strengthen those things. And we're going to watch God do some amazing things. And God wants to do something in somebody's life here today. And I pray that you are here by no mistake.

And God is speaking to you now. And God is sharing His good news with you now that He has something for you. If that's you today, know that God, God has your back. That God is doing something in your life. That God is speaking to you even when you feel like He's not speaking to you.

He's doing that today. Amen. Seeds. It says, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? That's why we call ourselves Salt Church.

We have a saying around here that a little bit of salt goes a long way. Salt always makes a difference in a little bit of salt. Did you know that God is holding back His judgment because of us? Because of His church? Because of His ministry?

He's doing that. He's holding back His judgment. We're preserving the earth. We are salt. We are preservatives of the entire world.

That's powerful. You were created. You are a masterpiece designed for good works. You are preserving the world through your good works. Thirdly, we should go the extra mile.

We should go the extra mile. Our good deeds should go the extra mile. What does that mean? We hear that saying all the time. That comes from the Bible.

It says, if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Jesus was speaking to His followers and in context, a Roman soldier by law could command anyone on the spot to carry their luggage a mile. So you're walking along. You're in a hurry. They say, hey, I need you to carry my luggage.

You have to stop. You have to do it. And it was roughly 1,000 feet was considered a mile. So you have to walk with that heavy luggage a mile. And Jesus says, but don't just stop there.

If they ask you to go one mile, I want you to go 2,000 feet. Well, God, I'm in a hurry. I don't. Nope. This is what you're going to do.

You're going to go another mile. Don't just do the minimal. Do your very best. Don't just stop at, here's a, here's a, you need furniture? Here's a worn out couch that's flea infested.

Here, and come and pick it up. It's outside my door in my house. You know, don't do that. That's, that's just not God. God wants you to give your very best.

If you're just getting rid of something, then you got to question yourself, you know. I need, you need to get rid of this. Does anybody want this? No, you really want to bless somebody, and you need to be prayerful how you do that. I know, right?

Just as a side note, I remember, I grew up in ministry. My father's a pastor, still is a pastor, and, and we've just seen it over and over again. People bless the pastor, they hand you down their junk, and you're like, what are we going to do with this? You know, like, like, I appreciate it, but, you know, the car doesn't even hardly work, you know, and, but what are we doing? You know, we need to think and be prayerful about those things.

I mean, I love it. Some of the people who are so generous, even in this church, we had, we had a couple that gave me some clothes a few years ago, and, and they don't, didn't only give me clothes, they gave me new clothes, and then they gave me clothes that, that were hand-me-downs, but they weren't hand-me-downs in a way that you would think they were. They were actually very clean, and they're very nice, and very, they were actually dry-cleaned when they gave them to me, you know, it was just like really, really nice shirts, and a lot, nice outfits, and things like that. That's, that's called blessing. That's called blessing someone.

New clothes, and, and, and, and our next-door neighbor, a little girl, she, she, I say a little girl, she's turning into a teenager, just a wonderful little girl named Leah, and she had, she took care of our kids a few weeks ago, about a few months ago, actually, we were, we went out on a date, me and Miranda went out on the date, and, and she was taking care of the kids, and when we got home, not only did she take care of the kids, she cleaned her kitchen, she set up everything, she went to the kids' room, and, and made their beds, and, and I was like, wow, you know, she, I was like, this is amazing, can I hire you again, you know, uh, uh, you're welcome here anytime. See, that's blessing. That's, that, that's going the extra mile. That's going the extra mile. And if someone needs a turkey this Thanksgiving, and let me just make a, a, a, a cry right now.

Next week is our turkey drop, okay? And we need, uh, last year I think we had like 86, 87 turkeys. I mean, we need 87 turkeys. Our, our, our crowd's a little thin today. I'm not sure what's going on today.

I don't know why everybody's out. Is it a nice day or something, or, uh, or is it just people not coming to church because it's cold? I'm not sure, but, uh, I, I'm going to challenge everybody that's here today. I'm so glad that you're here today because I want to say this. I want to say this.

Every one of you guys, bring in a turkey, okay? Every, every head here, bring in a turkey, and bring in two turkeys, and three turkeys, and go the extra mile. Know what you can do. Uh, uh, go, go beyond what you're capable of doing, and see what God does in the process. Don't just buy a, a, a Walmart special either.

I get it if you have to. I don't want to touch your finances, but, uh, some of you got the ability to buy a nice butterball, or maybe a, maybe a, a Christmas ham. I don't know. Yeah. High-end, man.

Butterball ham. I don't know. I mean, it's, it's a name brand. I think it's a little better than the Walmart. Who knows?

A Smithfield, you know. Smithfield. Yeah, y'all know, y'all know Smithfield. There you go. A Smithfield ham.

So, turkey drops next week. Let's come on out. Let's be a part of that. Let's do it. Let's break that record.

When I come, when I go in there every, every year, JCOC, with those, with a, with a back of a truck full of turkeys, their eyes get so huge. There's no church in this area that does so many turkeys as we do. Let's, let's be faithful. Let's go the extra mile and do that. Always keep a keen eye out on who's around you as well.

But listen to God. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we get so distracted by this world, so distracted with our riches. We're terribly distracted because we are rich people. We, we're not capable of seeing the people around us.

And do it in a way that helps and doesn't hurt people. Let me explain. If someone has a house that's burnt down, say they have a tragedy and their house is gone, don't go, uh, I feel the Lord is telling me to wash your car today. You know, like, like that's not going to really be helpful. You know, they don't have a house, you know, they're not really concerned about their car.

Let me cut your grass, you know, well, I don't even have a house on my grass, you know, now. And sometimes we, that, that, that can happen. We can think, well, I can do that, but it might not be what, what helps them. Uh, Jesus, uh, didn't just do good. He did it in a way that gave people a hand up instead of a handout.

Have you ever heard the term hand up instead of a handout? We need to give people a hand up instead of a handout. In fact, Jesus went around doing good and acts 10, it says this, and Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by devils. So he didn't just do good. He did good and gave them something spiritual.

So we, we, we, we need to do things. We don't, Jesus just didn't give somebody, you know, I'm going to turn this water into wine. Now go get a buzz and you'll feel better, you know, and maybe tomorrow you'll be better. You know, he didn't do that. He didn't pull the fish out of the water and oh, here's, here's a 20.

I'll go and have 20, have fun, kind of relieve your pain for a little while and then maybe you'll be okay. No, he gave them something more. He not only healed them, he gave them life and he gave them hope. And we need to go the extra mile with people to let them know we're there. Here's a fine example of that.

A few years ago we had a lady that was not really coming to the church necessarily, but she was friends of friends in the church and those people came to me and says, how can we help this lady out? She was a heroin addict. She couldn't get past her drug addiction. How can we help her as a church? Can we give her, pull some money together to help her out of this?

And, but what we discovered as, as we dug a little deeper that, that, that she had gone from church to church and people to people and have, has really been living off of people with her drug habit. And I said, this is not giving them a hand up. This is giving them a handout and we want to fix the problem. So through conversations and through different works in our community and people who could get involved, we were able to get her the help she needed in a drug rehab center through her friends and through her family and different ones. And it was just, that, that's what we wanted.

And we were able to do that for, we were able to reach out to, to people to help her get better because we want, we don't want to just give them a fish. We want our, our teach, uh, give them the fish. We want to teach them how to fish. Amen. And I, I say this always be, uh, receptive to the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes. Sometimes, when someone comes up to me and asks for money, sometimes it's hard because you don't know where to come. Sometimes God just tells me, you need to give them that money. And I will give them money and I will say, I trust that you'll do the right thing with this because this comes from God, not man. But there are other times you will know this isn't the right moment.

So be receptive to the Holy Spirit. Give people a hand up instead of a handout. And lastly, My Good Deeds will glorify God through His church. We are a church. We are a people.

God chose us. God decided to redeem the world through us. God decided to use a people, a group of people, a local church, a universal church. He decided to do that to bring His glory to the world. It started with Israel by showing who He was and then through Jesus Christ and the church that would gather around His name and the idea of who He is.

So He's chosen a church. And here's what Hebrews says. It says, let us consider how we may spur one another onward or on towards love and good deeds. Not giving up, meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. So what happens when we get together?

This is the biggest reason why Paul says we can easily say we are Lone Ranger Christians. We don't need a church. We just need God and we need Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit or what have you. But we are consistently called to be together as a church because we can do infinitely more together than we can apart. Amen?

And we spur each other along in good works. In fact, this turkey drop is a fine example. We can spur each other along. People are already posting on Salt Church Community where you get turkeys. How are we going to do this?

You know, how are we going to make this happen? Because we do it together and we can do infinitely more together than we can apart. Spurring one another. It's very obvious within a sports team. That's what happens when you spur people.

You're a team. You get them together and you motivate each other towards love and towards winning and things like that, you know. And there's a camaraderie there. And that's how it is with the church. We come together as a local church because I believe this more than anything.

The church, the local church is the hope of the world. If we are not salt and light, then the world's in trouble. If we aren't the people to step up and do the good work. Well, I'm saved and I don't, you know, yeah. But if you do not use your gifts and your ability, your time and your talent and all of that, if you're, if you throw that away, then guess what?

There is something that God wants you to do that He prepared in advance that's not getting done. There's a purpose that God has for this community, for this city, for this world. It's not getting done because you've taken a back seat and said, I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm saved by grace. You are saved by grace, but set aside, sanctified for good works.

Good works. If you just come to church, then you're, you're not using your gifts. If you're just sitting in a seat every Sunday morning and not doing anything, then you're not, you're not, you're not a part of what God wants. Everyone is extremely rich in something and you bring a lot of richness to the table. And I believe that this church can, that even this group of people can be the most powerful people in this city, in this community.

If we commit to coming together with our time and with our treasure, with our talent and do infinitely more together as a church than we could do on our own any day of the week, whatever we can bring together, we can do it. Amen. I believe that you guys have everything you need. I have everything I need. We bring it all to the table.

And I could just, just imagine a church for a minute. Imagine a church where everyone knew they had all they needed to do what God had called them to do and cities would be transformed for the glory of God. States would be transformed. Governments would be transformed. Heaven would, would, would, would infiltrate this world.

The church, everybody, everybody in the church came together. We could change everything together because God has blessed us with more than we need. Acts 4 33 and God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there was no needy person among them because they were all together. They were in a papal sea, a pastor position. It wasn't a five-fold ministry position.

The five-fold ministry, the purpose of the five-fold ministry, those in Ephesians 4 that you hear, the pastor, teacher, evangelist, apostle, prophet, yada, yada. Those are equipping gifts for the church. But who does the work? Who does this? Who uses it?

We equip you. I preach from stage to equip you, but who does it? Not the pastor. Pastor isn't the, the equipper and then the, the doer as well. Yes, I'm a part of the process, but we are the people who are going to do the good work.

We are the people who are going to change the world in the name of Jesus. Can we bow our heads for a minute? Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask that you just inspire us to good works, Lord. That we would not be people on the sideline that just sit and, and, and, and watch others do it and, and, and, and kind of soak in, in our salvation because we're messing out on the life that is truly life, the true life of the believer, the, the, the, the way awakened eyes of the believer. I mean, there's a lot of blind people walking around, Lord, like, like walking zombies, walking dead.

They're, they're just dead, but, but, but, but you have life for them. Even believers, Lord, that have, you have life inside of them that that's ready to come out and produce and grow and seed and, and, and, and, and nourish. And, and, and, and God, I pray that you would spur our church, that you'd stir up our gifts within us, in us, Lord, and that we would come together and be people who are kingdom changers. That it wouldn't. It would just be a few, but it would be the many.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't offer, with all heads bowed and all eyes closed, that person here today who wants to really experience the life, as truly life, because it isn't really about works. You're probably here today and you're like, I just cannot be good enough. I heard this message and it's just, you know, I still feel bad and I feel terrible. Let me tell you this, that God doesn't care about all of that right now. He just cares about having a relationship with you.

If that's you today, I want you to pray with. You don't even have to raise your hand, come to stage or anything. You can make that decision in your heart, in your life right now. And God can change you from the inside out. He wants to come and live with you and live in you and move through you.

And if you would pray this with me, Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sin, that you were raised from the dead, proving that you were God and that you conquered death and sin, Lord. I lay my sin. I lay my hardship. I lay my difficulties. I lay it all at your feet and I trust in you and I lean in you today.

Come into my heart. Come into my life. Change me from the inside out. Make me new today in your name. Amen.

Amen.