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Sermon Title: God's #1 Competition for your heart.

Live from DuBois Light and Life Church.

128 S 8th Street,

DuBois PA 15801

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Most if not all of our greatest regrets either have to do with sex or money. Our culture totally dismisses what the Word of God has to say about sex and money. Yet the #1 reason that the world contacts a church or a pastor is about their struggle with sex or money.

“If the entire country were to TAKE THE BIBLE ‘SERIOUSLY’ about what it teaches about SEX & MONEY for just 6 months, We would have a CULTURAL REVOLUTION.”

Andy Stanley

The reason God says so much about money in the bible is because it has everything to do with your devotion. Money is the number one competition for your heart. It's not the devil, it's your internal struggle to put your dependence on God or continue to place your trust on your wealth and consuption. He knows that the majority of our time - talent - and thought life is spent thinking about money.

“No one can serve TWO MASTERS. For you will HATE one and LOVE the other; you will be DEVOTED to one and DESPISE the other. You cannot SERVE GOD and be ENSLAVED TO MONEY.”

Matthew 6 : 24

Jesus is trying to get us to recognize that there is a tension within all of us that when it comes to who will be the master of our lives, we tend to place our trust in money over our dependence and trust in God.

Jesus says that when we put our trust in money we become a servant to money. Then, there is no way that you can be a fully committed servant of God. When we put our trust in money we are running around making money in the name of peace and security, spending money in the pursuit of happiness and pleasure. God isn't even in the picture or on your schedule. OUCH. Because God loves you, and knows what is best for you, he wants your undivided attention.

2 ‘DITCHES’ for Finances & Possessions: ‘CONSUMING' & ‘HOARDING’

We THINK that ‘Hoarding’ is WAY WORSE than ‘Consuming’

‘Consuming’ means that – EVERYTHING THAT COMES YOUR WAY – YOU CONSUME

When this is OUT OF CONTROL…Consume, Consume, Consume....Then we become the Person who has ‘CONSUMER’ ‘DEBT’.

Hoarding is all about – ‘WHAT IF?’ ....Hoard, and Hoard, and Hoard.... None of that is about trusting God. Hoarding comes from fear and control.

‘Consuming’ & ‘Hoarding’

•These 2 Kinds of people – USUALLY ‘MARRY’ EACH OTHER

•‘Consumers’ – ‘SPENDERS’ / ‘Hoarders’ – ‘SAVERS’

•Dave Ramsey – ‘FREE SPIRITS’ / ‘NERDS’

The PROBLEM with being a Consumer or Hoarder is that both are very self-centered. Both leave you living as if there is no God. Both are fueled by greed. Greed is almost impossible to see in the mirror. Jesus defines greed as the assumption that is all for my consumption. You can be poor and greedy and rich and greedy. Greed is simply if anything comes to me, its for me. It leaves you living as if there is no God. It doesn't mean that you don't believe in God. It means that finances, wealth, posessions, things, stuff are your chief pursuit instead of God.