Well, please open up your Bibles to Exodus chapter 20. And we continue our series through Exodus. And as always, if you don't have a copy of God's Word, the text, I believe, is printed for you in the bulletin. We have said many, many times that the law was never given to us as a means of salvation, but it has three primary purposes. One is as a mirror so that when we look into the law, our sin is exposed and we see our need for a Savior, our need for Christ. It's also used as a curb or as a leash to restrain sin. but it can also be described as a light to guide us and to show us how we are to live as God's people. So there are various uses of God's law, but it was never intended to be a means of salvation, which is why we begin every week as we go through the 10 commandments, reading the first two verses, which make this very plain, that because we are God's people, this is how he desires for us to live. So hear the word of the Lord from Exodus chapter 20, beginning in verse one. And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And then in verse 15, you shall not steal. The eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal. A few months ago, my family and I were going around garage saling because we like to find things at good prices to use around the house. And at one of these houses I saw a man that was trying to purchase a used game. And the man trying to purchase the used game had concealed the price tag that the woman had put on it, and he was trying to make an offer far below what the asking price was. And the woman selling the item sniffed out the would-be thief, and she was clearly disgusted with his tactics and made him pay a reasonable price. Now, this man who concealed this price and tried to get this object, not really paying what he was supposed to pay for the object, he didn't run away with the object, but he was just as guilty as someone who steals a woman's purse, robs a jewelry store, or embezzles funds from a company. Now I wish that I could tell you that I stood by as a casual observer of this sin that took place that day, but I was the thief that day. Now you laugh at that, but in one moment, I was willing to dishonor God to ruin my Christian witness, to shame my family, and to disgrace all of you here. Now, if in a matter of seconds, I can go from having a great day with my family to being tempted, essentially, to steal from this woman that lives a few houses down from me. By the way, just so you know, I did attempt to find this lady that lives in the neighboring neighborhood, and I couldn't find her again, to confess and reconcile with her. Just so you know, I attempted to do the right thing afterwards. But if I can go in a matter of moments to wanting to steal something from someone, I know that sin lurks in my heart. And if I have trouble with this sin, with breaking the 8th commandment at times, then I suspect there may be a couple of people in here who would like some help navigating the 8th commandment as well. So we're going to look at the 8th commandment. We're going to begin with the foundations. There are some theological foundations that help this commandment to make sense, and we're going to talk about that and clear up some of the issues surrounding this. And then we're going to talk about breaking the 8th commandment, and then, of course, keeping the 8th commandment. So, the foundations, and then breaking and keeping. What are the foundations of the 8th commandment? Well, there are a couple of biblical principles that are at work with anything having to do with our resources. Now, you have to get in your mind that all of our resources fall under this rubric. It's not just about money. It's not just about stealing an object from a store. That your time Yes, your money, but also your house and everything that belongs to you and everything that belongs to your neighbor or belongs to anyone else falls under this category of the eighth commandment. So yes, a lot of it when we talk about it has to do with money or stealing objects or items, but it has to do with your time and any of your resources, including your home. So know that this has application really for every area of your life. Well, the first foundational principle, as we all know, is that God owns everything. Psalm 24 1 says that the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, or the world and those who dwell therein. Now, we know this. We know that God owns everything. We know that God made everything. But the more that I deal with sin in my own life and help others, to deal with sin in their lives, the more that I realize basic... Kindergarten foundational theological principles are at the root of everything. That really grasping that God made everything and that God owns everything will tremendously help you to be able to overcome breaking the Eighth Commandment, having sins, knowing that God is the one who made everything. God made you, God made me, God made everything that's in this world, and it is to be used for His glory. And therefore, He is in charge of everything. and we are to submit to His will in every area of our life. So the first foundational principle having to do with the Eighth Commandment is that God owns everything. Secondly, We are stewards of God's gifts to us. We are stewards of God's gifts to us. Proverbs 3 9 says, honor the Lord with your possessions. What this means is that, yes, God owns everything, but he does give us certain things, but ultimately they still belong to God. And so that means, as Proverbs 3 says, that we are to honor the Lord with our possessions. So there is no area of your life that is exempt from not submitting to God, and this includes with your finances. But it's not just your finances, it's with your home. It's with your stove, your oven, your guest room, your living room, your coffee pot, your yard, everything, your vehicle. All of it belongs to the Lord and you are to use it in a way that is consistent with Him. So we are stewards of God's gifts to us. And then thirdly, and this is basically our modern day summary of the Eighth Commandment, We are to acquire and use resources in ways pleasing to God. I'm going to say that again. This is our summary of the Eighth Commandment, that we are to acquire and use resources in ways pleasing to God. Ecclesiastes 9.10. says, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. There are a lot of people who come to pastors and they want to know God's will for their life, and what they typically mean is they want God to write out somewhere in the sky who they're supposed to marry, and what city they're supposed to live in, and what job they're supposed to have. And those are not the kind of things that God has given to us. What God has given to us is how we are to live according to His Word, and He gives us guidelines for how to choose a job. But what Ecclesiastes 9.10 says is that whatever your hand finds to do, whatever job you take that honors the Lord, do it with your might. Work hard. That's how you're supposed to acquire resources or acquire and obtain wealth so that you can provide for your family. and also help others in need. But more on that in a moment. So to summarize the Eighth Commandment, we are to acquire and use resources in ways pleasing to God. A great summary of the Eighth Commandment is found in questions 74 and 75 of the Shorter Catechism. The question goes like this, what is required in the Eighth Commandment? The eighth commandment requires the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Notice how they add in there, not only our own estate, but also our neighbors, because God's law is not just about loving God, but it is also about loving our neighbor. And when we love our neighbor rightly and when we help others, that is when we love God. Question 75 says, what is forbidden? in the eighth commandment. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbor's wealth or outward estate. So we are to basically acquire and use resources in ways that please God according to his word. Now, I want to address something that I have heard very often, and that is that some people have urged that the Bible teaches a form of communal living or communism. And so to address this, I want you to turn to Acts chapter two. And as you turn there, just kind of keep your finger maybe in Exodus 20, and turn to Acts chapter 2, and we're going to go to one other place in Acts, because I want to address this. And as you turn there, I want to tell you about a man named Ron Sider. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of Ron Sider. All right, great. Well, it turns out that Ronald Sider wrote a book that was, I think it was the best-selling Christian book at one point in the late 70s or early 80s. And Ron Sider wrote a book called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. And what Ron Sider argues for in this book is basically a form of Christian communism. And now keep in mind, this is a little bit dated, but he wrote this in the late 70s, early 80s, I think, if I have the dates right. And what he argues for is that no Christian should make more than $40,000 a year. Again, I know that dates the book a little bit. But he says that if you make more than that, that you should give it up, and that all of that should be distributed evenly. And essentially, he has a form of communism. And kind of what he does throughout the book is make this argument that if you make anything more than that, or if you live in a decent home, or if you have anything more than, I'm exaggerating slightly, but if you eat anything more than rice and beans on a daily basis, that you're guilty and you hate your neighbor, because you don't live in abject poverty or in this communistic way. And there was a man by the name of David Chilton who wrote a response to this book. Now remember, Ron Sider's book was called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. And Ron Sider wrote a book, excuse me, David Chilton wrote a response called Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators. Now, yes, you can tell by the title that Chilton is a little bit caustic. And when I first read the book, first of all, it was the most eye-opening. In my opinion, it's the best work on finances that has been written in English for Christians. It's easy to understand. It's thoroughly biblical. He gives a great presentation of how Christians basically should work hard and be productive so that they can build wealth, but also help others that are in need. It's a great treatment of Christian finances. And I thought, when I read the book, Chilton was a little bit over the top with how The rhetoric that he uses, I'll say that much. However, having seen how popular communism and Marxism is in Christian circles, now I see he really was able to see things that I wasn't able to see, how dangerous this threat was. But anyways, Acts chapter 2. Ron Sider uses some of these, and you may have heard other Christians. There are various cult groups. There's one in Savannah, I think, where they live in a compound together. I want to say they own a coffee shop or something in Savannah. Yeah, is that right? Okay, so this is popular around the United States to try and use the Bible to do this, so I want to show you how this is unbiblical. So look at Acts chapter 2, and we're going to read verses 44 and 45. Acts 2, beginning in verse 44. Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need." Now, if you take this in isolation, I still don't think that you could come to the conclusion that Sider and others have come to, because if you note, at the end of verse 45, all of these phrases are qualified by the statement, as anyone had need. So if nothing else, just looking at these two verses, if all you have is the verses themselves, you still can't come to that conclusion because the point here is, as anyone had need. In other words, if someone had a need, there were Christians who had extra properties and extra homes, just like it is today, that there are wealthy people who have more than one home. or more than one residence or extra money that they have and they are sometimes willing to sell those goods so that they can help others who are in need. But even if that weren't the case, even if it didn't say that, Many times in the Scriptures when the word all is used, it has to do with all used collectively. In other words, in a collective sense, all. It doesn't mean every single individual who has ever lived. The Bible talks about how the love of money is the root of all evil. Well, it doesn't mean that every single time evil takes place, that the love of money is at the root of that. That's not what it means. In a collective sense, there are many ways in which the love of money is the root of many different types of evil. And in the same way, if there were people who had need, all this means is that there were many people who were in need, and there were Christians who were willing to give up their own resources to help those in need. This is all that is meant by Acts 2, 44 and 45. Now turn to Acts chapter 5, because this is a big one. This is one of my favorites. And this is what certain cult groups like to use to try and advocate for some form of biblical communism, which indeed is a contradiction. That is an oxymoron, that phrase, biblical communism. Well, this is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. And as you know, I hope you remember that Ananias and Sapphira sold a particular portion of their property, and God judged them. Now, we're going to see from the text why God judges them, because here's what people say. They say, well, what they should have done was given everything. They weren't all in on the Christian communism, and therefore God judged them and killed them because of it. But that's not what the text says. So look at Acts 5, and let's start in verse 1. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? Now listen to this, this is key. While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.' Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last." So great fear. came upon all those who heard these things." And the story, the account, I should say, goes on to say that the same thing happened to Sapphira, his wife as well, that God judged her in the same way. Now, notice that it says, in verse 4, while it remained, was it not your own? In other words, there is such a thing as private property. Yes, God owns everything, and we are stewards of His gifts, but it was their choice, it was the choice of Ananias and Sapphira whether or not to sell the property, and then after that, whether or not to commit it to those who were in need. They didn't have to do that. This is what the Old Testament calls free will offerings. If you read the Old Testament and you see that phrase, free will offerings, all that means is that this is an offering that was not required of you. It was something that out of the compassion of your heart or if you were moved to do so, you could choose to give a certain gift or to sell a property and commit those things to the church or to give to those in need or for whatever reason you saw fit. And so what Peter says here is that you could have done that. You didn't have to give it to the church. But what was the issue here? He says you have lied to the Holy Spirit. You have lied to God. The issue was once they had sold the possession, they outwardly said and made a commitment and swore an oath essentially to give all of the proceeds to the Lord through the church And once they did that, they kept back some of it for themselves, Ananias probably leading that. However, his wife knew as such, and she didn't correct her husband, and so therefore went along with it, and God judged them for that. So there's nothing here in either of these texts. These are, by the way, the reason I'm going to these is because these are the two main texts that people will go to to try and argue for this false doctrine of communism. And so I want you to see that we are to acquire and use resources in ways pleasing to God, and that God hasn't given us an exact detailed list in every case of how to spend this money or how to spend this money. There are biblical principles that we can go by, and we're not going to get into every single one of those today, having to do with saving or how we spend our money, but you need to know that that God has given you certain things and you are stewards of the gifts that God has given to you. So those are the foundations of the 8th commandment. Now let's talk about breaking the 8th commandment. How are we guilty? What are the ways that we commonly break the 8th commandment? Let me give you a couple. In its most basic sense, we break the 8th commandment by taking something that doesn't belong to us. Now, we see this in our homes. If you're a parent, you see this very regularly. And you can observe it when little Johnny or when little Susie snatches something from their brother or sister. Now, I know that no other children in here do this, but occasionally we observe this at our home where little Johnny or little Susie will snatch something from their brother and sister. And what we see is that this sin, the sin of envy, the sin of greed, the sin of wanting something that doesn't really belong to us so bad that we have to take it from somebody else, is even present in the sinful hearts of our children, just like it's present in mommy and daddy's heart. And so I know if I see it in my children, that that same sin or same wickedness, I'm going to have to fight against that sin and kill that sin as well. So we observe it even from the smallest people in this room to the tallest ones, not just the children, but in mommies and daddies as well. And it manifests itself in many ways. Of course, in adults like taking money or other resources that don't belong to us. But it's not just people in an individual sense. There are other forms of theft that the state does. One example of that would be unjust taxes. That any tax or a taxation, as we commonly hear this phrase, well, I say that, used to be a common phrase, should be a more common phrase, taxation without representation. That is to say that when the state steals your money, takes your money to do something that the state should not be doing with your money, that is theft just as much if I were to take your money to do something that I shouldn't be doing with your money. That if that money does not belong to you, and someone takes it from you forcibly, whether it's a person or whether it's a state or the county or the city or the federal government, that is theft. Now, I'm not saying that all taxes are theft or that all taxes are sinful, but for the state to tax you for something, to forcibly take your money for something that the state does not have the responsibility to oversee, that is theft. And in a similar way, we have something called imminent domain, which is also a form of theft by the state. We had a discussion a couple of years ago with a family member that lives elsewhere. And they were talking about how a family member had some land and how their land was acquired by the state. The state offered them a certain sum of money for this particular part of their land so that they could build a drainage ditch. And they said, no, this is my land. This land has been in my family for multiple generations. And I'm not going to give my land up to the state, even though they offered them a sum of money to have that land. Well, it is not okay for the state to steal your land or anything else, by the way, that belongs to you for something that the state thinks is quote-unquote necessary for this drainage ditch coming through the middle of nowhere where these people lived. All of these are forms of theft. Yes, it's sinful when Pastor Ray goes to a garage sale and tries to cheat this lady out of a game that I didn't even really like a whole lot. And it's just as sinful for the state to do it as well. The point that I'm making is it doesn't matter what form it takes, it's all sinful and God hates it all. But there are other ways. One common way that we break this commandment is by laziness, or idleness, or slothfulness. All of these great words having to do with the sin of stealing. one form of it anyways. And we do this by stealing from our employer. That if our employer tells us, hey, I want you to work for me for this time and I want this job out of you. If you're being lazy, if you're not doing the job that your employer has hired you to do, then you are stealing from your employer. And by the way, you're also stealing from your family, because it is a man's responsibility as the head of the household to provide for his family, and you are stealing what ought to be the provision that you're making for your family, or perhaps you're stealing an inheritance from your children that you ought to be saving up for. Or, and even this goes for the ladies, if you're a homemaker, and you're being lazy, you have certain responsibilities to keep the home a certain way, and whatever it may be, you're stealing from your husband and from your children, what are your responsibilities? You're not honoring the Lord by keeping the fulfillment of your responsibilities around the home. And one of the most, I think, just poignant texts about this is in Proverbs 6, and we don't have time to read the whole text, but King Solomon just scathingly rebukes laziness by saying, I love the way that King James puts it, look to the ant thou sluggard. I mean, You're beneath the bugs of the earth if you're lazy. Men, if you're not willing to go to work and do what needs to be done to provide for your family, you're worse than an ant or a slug. Look at what the ants do, he says. Nobody has to tell them to go to work. Nobody has to sit there and nag them about getting things done around the house or about going to your job and providing for your family. They know what needs to be done, and they do it. When I was a kid, one of the things my mom, I can hear her voice saying this sometimes when I see that there's only one paper towel left, and I know that I need to go and change the paper towel thing out, even though I don't want to. My mom always told me when I was a kid, when you see a need, meet it. If you see a need, meet it. I mean, this is what King Solomon is teaching us in Proverbs 6. Don't be the kind of person. that if you see something that needs to be done, somebody has to come tell you and do it. If you see a need, meet it. And then he goes on to say right after this, not to love sleep too much. He says, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. He says, poverty will come upon you. Don't be the kind of person that has to be nagged to death to get out of the bed to get some work done. Get up and get to work. This is what honors the Lord. This is a violation of the Eighth Commandment, to be lazy. But also on the other end of that, withholding due payment. Sometimes employers are guilty of this. We had a situation, the Hamiltons have a daughter. Probably shouldn't say this on camera, but I am, who had an employer who withheld some of the finance, some of the money that he owed to her when they agreed to work for a certain amount of money, and that employer did not give her what he owed to her. That is a sin, for employers not to give to their employees what they promise when they do the job. Proverbs 20, 14. Back to garage sales. Now let me say this. There is nothing wrong with bartering or with coming to an agreement with a seller on a certain price. That is not a sin. What I was doing was trying to conceal what this woman was attempting to get. That's a little bit different. But it is a sin, Proverbs 20 and verse 14 as we just read, to talk bad about a product or to act like someone doesn't do a good job and then go boast about it. In other words, trying to pay less than what the product is actually worth. And this is something that we see regularly and that we are guilty of in our hearts. Now, one last way I want to talk about breaking the 8th commandment, and that's in Malachi. Turn to Malachi if you have a copy of God's Word. Malachi, last book of the Old Testament, just before Matthew, and probably a page that says the New Testament, is Malachi. Chapter 3, and we're going to start in verse 8. It's the last way we're going to talk about breaking the 8th commandment. Malachi 3, verse 8. Love to hear pages turning. Malachi 3, verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, in what way have we robbed you? in tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts. Now let me say, what I do every week is I go and look at who's tithing. No, I'm kidding. I don't, I have no idea who gives and who doesn't. Not a single clue. And I don't want to know. But I do know this, that regularly we are told by those who are helping us guide the finances of the church, that there are those who are stealing from God. I have no clue who they are, but I know that just like the sin of stealing is in my heart, that there are some out here who are guilty of this as well in this form. theft of God by not giving the due tithe that God has required for the support of the Great Commission and for the help of those in need. So if you are guilty, repent of this and begin to honor the Lord with your possessions by giving your tithes. And by the way, note the blessing that is here. I'm not telling you This is not a negative thing. When you look at this promise in Malachi chapter 3, he says, test me, try me, see if I will not bless you. By the way, it's a corporate blessing to all of God's people. He's saying, if you collectively do what I've told you to do, I want to bless you. God is eager to bless, eager to pour out His blessings from heaven. We are not so much eager to give to God. And part of the reason for that is a lack of faith that we don't trust God. We think we have to just hang on to everything to be able to survive, and really the reality of this is counterintuitive. So there are several ways in which we break the Eighth Commandment. So how do we keep the Eighth Commandment? I'm gonna give you four G's, four G's to help you remember. How do we overcome this sin? The first G is that it begins with God. It begins with loving God more than we love gifts. It means that we care about God more than we care about the things that He has given us. We care about God, we care about Christ, we cherish Jesus more than we do our car, more than we do our home, more than we do our future, and thinking, oh, if I pay my tithe, if I do what I'm supposed to do, I might not be able to have the retirement, and I won't have funds when I'm older, when I'm unable to work at this point, or something like that, or I won't be able to make ends meet when I have a medical operation that needs to be done. And it begins with God. It begins with loving Christ. It begins with trusting Christ more than you do your own possessions. And this begins, by the way, with regeneration. And so if you've never truly come to saving faith in Christ, this is where everything begins. You can't love God with an unregenerate, wicked heart. You need the Spirit of God to remove your stony heart and give you a new heart so that you can even care anything about God. Because the only thing that we'll care about, apart from having a new heart, is ourselves. And we'll be selfish. And even there are times when we give and we make it look like we care about others, but really all that we're doing is wanting it to look like that we're helping others, or so that we can feel better about ourselves. So even sometimes when we quote-unquote give, what we're really doing is being selfish. And the only way to begin keeping the Eighth Commandment is beginning with a love for God and pursuing Christ and loving and trusting Christ more than you do anything else. So it begins with God and next we move to gratitude. Gratitude. Listen to 1 Timothy 6. Six, now godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having clothing, excuse me, and having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. With these we shall be content. If you have all that you need to survive, if you've got a place to live, even if it's not great, If you have enough food to survive and if you have clothing so that you don't freeze to death in the winter, you have reason to be thankful. In your worst day of your life, you've been given infinitely more than what you deserve. Because what we all deserve is God's wrath and judgment, both in this life and in the life to come. You know, sometimes when there's a little bit of whining, I think I've told y'all this before, but when there's a little bit of whining going on in the car, One of the things that we'll do is we'll say, okay, everybody be quiet, and everybody's gonna go around and say something that we're thankful for, until I quit hearing whining. And so we start with daddy, and then mommy, and then go to the older children, and then down to the younger, and we start naming things that we're thankful for. Why is that? Well, because when we're forced to start being grateful, when we start seeing the things and naming them out loud, all the ways that God has really blessed us, it helps us to see, hey, I've got a lot of reasons to be thankful. I don't have any reasons to be complaining. I should never complain. Philippians 2 says, do all things without grumbling or complaining. And we have so many reasons to be grateful. You know, we thank God that I have my two legs. Thank you that I can still walk. Thank you that I can see. Well, I can't really see anymore. Well, thank you, Lord, that I can smell, that I can still taste, that I can still enjoy food. Thank you, God, for forgiveness of sins. Thank you for all the things that you've given me. So we move from God to gratitude. And then thirdly, the next step in overcoming this sin is generosity. Generosity. Now, this is something that is really counterintuitive. I kind of mentioned this and hinted at this a little bit earlier. What we tend to think is I've got to hang on to this tightly. I've got to be stingy because if I give this up, if I help someone in need, if I if I give to this family in need of the church or if I give up this amount of money, that's too much. I'm not going to have what I need. And there is a measure of wisdom. You know, God does tell us in the Scriptures to save for rainy days and for the days when we are unable to work and different things like that. So I'm not saying we ought to just give everything away. The Bible does teach that we are to save. However, listen to what the Scriptures say. Listen to this seeming paradox or this counterintuitive reality. Proverbs 11 24 there is one who scatters or gives away yet increases more. And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself." You see, there have been a gazillion and ten books written about economics, and 99% of them fail to remember that it is God who is sovereign. that it is God who is in control, and that when we are generous, when we help those in need, when we are faithful to love our neighbor as ourselves, it is God who delights in blessing that. And so don't be stingy, don't be greedy. If you see your brother in need, as 1 John says, love your neighbor and help those that are in need, and God delights in that. God delights in blessing that. One more from Matthew 6, 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal." You know, I love this text because it reminds us, sometimes when we hear the word blessing, we think money. We think, if I'm generous to someone, God's gonna give me more money. And that's not necessarily what we're talking about. That's not always the way that God blesses us. But he says here that if you are generous and if you give to those in need, if you lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, those blessings that God gives you and the reward that God gives you will be some things that you see not even in this life, but you'll see them in heaven, and that's when you will reap the reward. Well, let me give you one last G as we close here, after God, gratitude, and generosity, and that's grace. We are selfish people with envious hearts. It is a fascinating thing to me that we live in the most prosperous society, probably I think in the history of civilization, there may be a couple of exceptions to that, but let's just say one of the most prosperous societies in the history of all of civilization, and we are also at the same time one of the most whiny complaining groups of people in the history of the world. We have so much, so much more than kings did two centuries ago, and yet we complain more. than ever about what we have. We are a selfish people in our hearts, and so we need grace. We need saving grace. I mean, aren't you thankful that Jesus didn't say, I'm just gonna leave those selfish brats to themselves. Instead, Christ saw these, we, selfish brats, he saw us, And he said, I love those people. I'm going to save them. And he took on flesh to pay for our greedy, envious, selfish, stingy, sinful hearts. Grace, grace to begin, grace for salvation, but also grace to continue. We need the grace of Christ to overcome this sin. As I've already said, I hope that at some point I've touched on some nerve in everyone in here to show you that we all struggle with this at some point in time. Whether it's being stingy, whether it's wanting the game at the garage sale, whatever it is. We need grace to help overcome the sin, beginning with God, but also moving to gratitude, and then of course, generosity. And then we need grace to finish. We need grace all the way to the end. We need grace for the Holy Spirit to help us for our entire lives to hopefully grow in Christ and live more for him. Amen? Amen, let's pray. Oh God, we do thank you for your grace. We thank you that you came to save us, that you sent your son to redeem us from our envious hearts, how sinful we are and yet how gracious, how loving, how merciful you are to deliver us and to save us. Help us to grow in gratitude and in generosity and in our love for you and love for others. In Christ's precious name we pray, amen.