Description
I love cake! Birthday cake. Wedding cake. Graduation cake. Anniversary cake. You name the occasion, and cake is a sweet addition to any celebration!
We all have our favorite cake:
Italian Creme Cheese Cake
Chocolate Cake
German Chocolate Cake….Granny made for my birthday Coconut Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Pound Cake….eaten with many toppings, and of course adds the pounds!
What’s your favorite cake? (Just yell it out at all campuses)
Question: Wouldn’t it be easy if life was a piece of cake?
Reality: Life can be filled with pressures and problems.
We get obsessed with stress and our lives are a mess.
Transition: You know what one of the top reasons are for stress? I’m talking what so many are worried about?
It’s the primary reason for conflict and chaos in marriage as well!
Answer: Money. Finances. Dough. Bread. Cake.
Why? Everywhere you turn people want a piece of cake!
ILL. Cake = Paycheck – PASS OUT CAKE
You bring it home and have to start slicing.
-The IRS….Income Taxes
-The County…Property Taxes
-Mortgage Company/Bank…House payment/Rent
-BMW Lease payment…Broke My Wallet
-Honda Civic payment
-Insurances…Health/Auto/Homeowners/Life
-Electric/Gas Bill
-Gym Membership
-Smartphone Bill…Verizon/AT&T
–Kid Expenses…Clothes, Braces, Dance Lessons, Sports
-Grocery Bill
-Credit Card…American Express, Visa,
-401K Retirement Savings
-Entertainment
-Boat…Bring On Another Thousand
-ME…..tiny piece is all that is left
Problem: Most people spend 125% of their paycheck!
Fact: Jesus doesn’t want you to be stressed and worried! I believe He is saying, “We can do better than that.”
Exp: Sermon on the Mount
Jesus most famous message
Dealt with a kaleidoscope of topics like: loving your enemies, forgiveness, integrity, prayer, The Golden Rule,….WORRY
Matthew 6:25 “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not Life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
“Worry” – “To be torn apart”
Note: Jesus tells us not to worry three times in this passage (v. 25,31,34)
Why? He doesn’t want us to be torn apart on the inside!
John 10:10b “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”
Problem: In Matthew 6, Jesus covers many of the things we worry about!
v.19,20 Finance
v.25 Fitness
v.28 Fashion
v.34. Future
ILL. Birds (v.26)
Jesus notes that God the Father feeds the birds He’ll take care of you!
ILL. Vinnitsa, Ukraine
-Eating a muffin for breakfast outside next to a courtyard
-I was thinking/praying and worried about some things –A few birds would eat the muffin crumbs that fell to the ground
App: God impressed on my heart, “If I flew you 5000 miles and used you to feed those birds, don’t you think I’ll take care of you?”
Fact: Every time we are paid, we are reminded that God provides our daily bread, our cake! He meets our needs!
Note: Jesus teaches the secret to having financial peace, is a piece of cake!
Matthew 6:33 “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.”
How? God Issues an Insurance Policy
Premium: “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”
Claim: “And all these things will be added to you.”
My Part: “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God…”
God’s Part: “And all these things will be added to you.”
Price: “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God…”
Payback: “And all these things will be added to you”
Key: Trust God by obeying Him!
Trust-“to lie helpless before God in surrender”
ILL/App: It’s stressful trying to play God in your life! Peace comes when we surrender.”
ILL./App: Resign Right Now from trying to play God.
Transition/ILL. Bill Gates is worth $65 Billion What if he invited you be be his business partner?
He offers you $10 Billion to Invest
All he asks is that you bring 10% back to him when he gives you the $10 Billion, And bring him 10% every time you make a profit
Would you do it? Of course!
Fact: God offers you a much BETTER deal than that! He is the Cake Boss! He owns everything! He created it all and is Lord over all!
Exp: All He asks is that we bring Him back the FIRST piece of cake to Him thru the local church every time we get paid! Tithe=10%
CAKE: God Provides, I could use more Cake Right Now
Why? That acknowledges I understand He is the Cake Boss and I’m thankful for all the cake He gives me in my life! I’m dependent on Him!
ILL. Money in the Bible
500 verses on Prayer and Faith
2000 verses on Money and Possessions
App: Jesus talked more about money matters than any other subject!
Why? Since the beginning of time mankind has been struggling to admit everything belongs to God!
ILL. Adam/Eve
Forbidden Fruit
They ate what belonged to God and sin and stress entered the world
App: People still eat God’s piece of cake today! It brings financial stress and mess in our lives!
ILL. Dawn my wife walked into the Kitchen one day.
And told one of the boys not to eat any of a cake she had made. Minutes later she sees him with chocolate icing all over his face She asks if he had eaten any and he said, “What cake?”
Fact: When we bring God the first piece of cake, the tithe, it gives peace!
We trust Him with the tangible and He blesses us with the intangible.
Question: Do you want to do a spiritual EKG?
Look at your checkbook. Your bank records!
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:21 “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Fact: Your heart follows your treasure.
Note: Jesus wasn’t saying we shouldn’t store up treasures! The key is where we store them! Here or Eternity?
Key: “Everyone here will part with your money! The only question is when.” (Alcorn)
ILL. Fellowship Church
-I’m so grateful we see/experience what God is doing here!
-Eternal life change!
Reality: Money matters is a matter of the heart!
App: You’ve got to decide who you are gonna serve!
Question: Do you trust God or money?
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Fact: Nothing tests the heart of a persons more than money!
ILL: $100 BILL : IN GOD WE TRUST
“How Great Is Our God”
Problem: Wealthiest Believers in USA give 1.6% of their income to local church, and keep 98.4%
Poorest Believers in USA give 3.4% and keep 96.6%
Listen: Every day we’re all taking one step farther away form our cake/stuff and one step closer into eternity!
ILL. Funeral
No U-Haul
You leave it all OR send it ahead to heaven!
App: Let’s all give while our hands are warm! I want to do now, what I’ll be glad I did then, in eternity!
Truth: One day all of us will give an account of what we did with what God gave us! An audit by the Cake Boss!
App: NOW is the time to start bringing the tithe, the first 10%
Pushback: Excuses
“I can’t do afford that”…90% Blessed or 100% Cursed….Financial Peace University
“That’s just not me”
“I’m not a naturally born generous person”
Fact: I’m a natural born greedy getter, but a born again generous giver!
Malachi 3:10 “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My hose. Test Me in this’ says the Lord Almighty, and ‘see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”
Note: When you tithe you are:
Agreeing with God
Showing Him He is first in your life
Trusting God
Participating in Building His Church
ILL. Fellowship Church
One church many locations
Allaso Ranch
C-3 Conference
C-3 Global
Feeding 2500 orphans a day in Haiti
YEAR-END GIVING
-Pre-School Expansion at Grapevine Campus
Architects have been working this pass year to design the plans and it will be a state of the art facility!
-Land in Celina/Prosper
We had a tract of tied up, but our Real Estate team has discovered some even better possibilities that have become available that are even better!
-Fort Worth Expansion
We are starting the process of doubling our worship center seating area to accommodate over 1000!
AND, we are also expanding our Children’s space due to tremendous growth
-Miami Prison Campus Added by year-end
-FC South Biscayne Campus
Updates to our Children’s/Pre-School area started this week!
-We are in conversations right now with some other impacting churches that may merge with us!
FACT: There is not a better investment in the world,
or non-profit sector, than investing here!
Closing: What peace? Bring the tithe, starting now!
ILL. 90 Day Challenge Card
Please take the card in seat back In front of you If you are a Christ follower and part of FC, Please fill it out, First time, or already do, nothing to pray about Give on APP Give Online…Direct withdrawal
Pray: Gospel….Jesus was God’s tithe