Matt Chandler - Only God Is Great

We take very seriously what the Book of Hebrews says: that we, as elders, will stand and give an account for how we have shepherded and loved you. So, you want to know where our mindset is and why we would spend eight minutes just figuring out who we are actually responsible for right now. It’s because we take seriously what the Scriptures say: that we will give an account for how well we have loved, shepherded, and pointed you towards ultimate reality. We’re not doing this so you can receive spam emails from us; we’re not doing this to increase our numbers. We’re trying to discern, «Okay, God, who are we ultimately responsible for here, and who are we not?» There are many of you—close to over 5,000 in total—so we want to ensure we are taking God’s call on our lives seriously, to love and serve you well and to ensure, as best as we can, that you have every opportunity to grow into the fullness of what Jesus died to bring about. Thank you for your time; it would really help us if, at some point—not probably in the next 20 minutes but after that—you could fill out the rest of the survey. Again, we’re not interested in data collection; we don’t sell that to anybody. This is because we fear the Lord and want to do right by Him and the church He has given us to love and serve you. So yes, that’s a welcoming home. Yes, I want that; I’m an extrovert—yes, please! But I also feel the weight of having to stand in front of God and give an account. That’s no small thing; that’s a very real responsibility. That’s part of what’s going on in this survey as well. Now, I’m going to spend the next 25 minutes giving you basically a homily, like a pre-sermon for next week’s sermon. So, there you go; that’s what I’m going to do. Let me dive in this way: Louis XIV, or Louis the Great, or the Grand Monarch, or the Sun King—those were all titles that Louis XIV went by. He had the longest reign in modern European history: 72 years he sat on the throne of France. When you think about France, you’re thinking about Louis XIV. All that we know about French power—though there are varying degrees of how we understand that—when we think about France and all the beautiful or good aspects of French culture that we are drawn to, that’s Louis XIV. He was the one who worked tirelessly for 72 years; he turned France into the European superpower of his day. He consolidated power, unified religious factions, and had military campaigns that made France feared across Europe. He was an arrogant, miserable human being. At one point, when he was confronted about what was viewed as an overreach of his power, he infamously responded, «I am the state.» Right? Like, you can’t take this away from France; I am France. Sounds like a guy you wouldn’t have over for dinner. He was just full of pomp and vinegar and capability. I mean, dang, the guy did it—he grinded it out! Upon his death, he had this long list of exactly what he wanted for his funeral. They inlaid his coffin in gold. It was in a very specific chapel where he could control the light. He had a long list of things he wanted said about himself, and as you can imagine, he had a really high opinion of himself. He had the room set up so that they would light a single candle as his funeral began. It was packed, and the light was specifically set up to reflect off of the gold coffin and illuminate the room. So, wherever you were in the chapel, what lit the room was the reflection of the candle off his golden coffin. Bishop Maslin, who was the bishop at that point, the Bishop of Clement, took the stage. He came up behind the pulpit, licked his fingers, and extinguished the candle. In the darkness, he said, «Only God is great.» Now that you’re excited, let me tell you where we’re going this week and next. I want to talk with you about Christian generosity. I want to talk with you about money. Oh, see what happened? «Only God is great"—you’re like, «Yeah, I want to talk with you about money; get your hand out of my pocket!» There are few idols more fiercely defended than our money. Let me help you breathe. There’s no offering coming at the end of this—there’s not! Now, if you’ll check your phone again, we «hacked» you; you can put in your checking account number or we won’t let you leave. None of that is going to happen. See, here’s what’s interesting: Jesus taught a ton about money and never took an offering. He tied money to the human soul. I started with this story because I don’t think you can understand money until you understand the preeminence of Christ. I don’t think you can understand money; I don’t think we’ll live like we’re supposed to; I don’t think we’ll utilize it for what it’s been given to us for until we see Christ as first and best. Here’s a little secret—or maybe it’s not a secret—everybody tithes already. A tithe doesn’t mean ten percent if…