Pastor Joe Sangl
January 7, 2018 - W1801

I'm so fired up to be back! Who is excited for 2018? It is such an honor and privilege to be at New Hope Oahu and see what God is doing in and through you.

This is three Januaries in a row that I've come to talk about stewardship, about money, and I hope that everybody made progress last year. In fact, two years ago I was talking about investing, and if we all invested, then we had a pretty good year last year, didn't we? However if you did not invest, guess how much your 0-dollar investment went up? That’s right. Zero dollars. I love math. It just works. If you get one billion percent interest on your $0, how much is it worth? Zero.

I want you to win with your money God's way. So tonight I want to talk about leaving a purposeful legacy. When we look at this word "legacy," it's a very unique word. Many of you were thinking of family -- that it was the legacy or something that was handed down or left behind. We talk about leaving a legacy of kindness.

God's word speaks to this:

Proverbs 13:22 NIV says, "A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous."

We all want to leave a positive legacy. We want to leave a legacy of generosity. We want to speak positive attributes to our children.

I want to talk about this intersection between legacy and money. There is a connection. You cannot separate it. There is a connection between stewardship and generational blessing. What you did today has a direct impact on the future generations behind you. Every step that you take will have an influence on the next generation of your family. We may not recognize it now, we may not see it in our lifetime, but throughout God's word it is riddled with this thing called generational blessing or generational curses.

There's also a connection with how we manage the resources God has given us. Today I came with a very fired?up purpose to help us recognize that connection and to help us all leave a positive legacy, a godly legacy to the next generation.

The first thing that I wanted to share with you is this:

1. You have a purpose: an anointed purpose.

You know what it is – what you’re put on the earth to do. When you think about it, you get fired up. It gives you passion. When you know that God has given you a purpose, it gives you unbelievable energy and zeal to pursue it.

2 Corinthians 1:21?22 NIV says, "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

In other words, He left a legacy in us. When we committed our lives to Christ, He gave us a purpose: an anointed purpose.

I once asked some Florida State University music students, "Why is it that music and worship moves us so much?" And they said, "Well, Joe, it's one of the few things we get to take to heaven with us." Think about it. There will be worship. There will be singing in heaven. How amazing is that? God is moving. That's God's spirit.

Some of you know what purpose God’s given to you, but you’ve allowed it to die. It scared you so much. You didn't believe it could come true or you didn't know exactly how to accomplish it. So I came today ?? like Jesus spoke to Lazarus to come out of the grave – to tell you that it is going to come back to life in 2018. It needs to come to life.

For those of you who do not have clarity, start in Romans 12:1 and 2. It tells you how to find God’s specific purpose in your life.

Romans 12:1 and 2 NIV says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing God…" 

"…this is your true and proper worship." Now, watch this. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is ?? His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Every single person in here, including me, has had a moment where you lacked clarity on your next step. There was a moment in my life where I knew God was calling me to a specific purpose. I was seeking clarity and I was shouting to God as I drove down an interstate highway, "God, I don't care what it is. I just want clarity so that I would have your peace that passes all understanding, that I would have no fear of pursuing it because I know You're with me."

My purpose is to help people win with their money God's way so they can live a fully funded life, to be able to do exactly what God has put you on earth to do regardless of its cost or the income it might generate. I'm going to do that till I die.

Even when we know our calling, and have a crystal clear purpose, we might question it. When we face challenges, we can all say that our attention to our purpose might waver. And let me tell you, without a specific purpose, you will never be able to get on track.

The second thing I wanted to share with you ?? is that God is for you, and He is for your purpose.

2) God is for you and your purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11?13 NIV says, “For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

…"Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart."

You see, when things go great, you don't get refined. When you go through the challenges - when you go through some really low moments in your life - that is where true legacy is created. It is in the crucible of challenge that your legacy will be defined.

Maybe you're in a challenge right now, I want you to know that this is a legacy creating moment. How you choose to embrace it will help create the legacy. Your children, your co?workers, those around you are watching. As you go through that refiner's fire, you will create legacy whether for good or for negative, and we all seek for it to be good.

I'll never forget when I felt God called me to start “I Was Broke. Now I'm Not”. I knew it was going to be tough. The economy went down, but I knew God was calling me to help people that were struggling.

When I first started out, we had zero dollars. And I helping broke people? I did it anyway. Why? Because I knew my purpose. God had not given us a spirit of fear. I knew it was a legacy creating moment. I went through the crucible of that challenge, and then God took me to the next level.

As you go through the challenge, watch what happens. If your provision is going away, if your resources are going away, if the people around you that have helped you have gone away, that's okay. Worship the provider, not the provision.

Provisions come and go. Right? Who remains the same? Who will you call on when everything else falls apart? Will your dollars save you? Will all people save you? It will be your relationship with Christ Jesus that will be that anchor in your life. When you face these challenges, don't become bitter. Get better. It will help you be refined and create a legacy.

The third thing I wanted to share is:

3) This purpose will come at a cost.

Jesus talked about it.

Luke 14:28?30 NIV says, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'"

Whatever God has called you to do, it's going to cost some money. It's going to cost you time. It's going to cost you energy. It might cost you relationships. Are you willing to pay it? It's easy to rush to say yes, but when you go through the crucible of having to follow through, it's very challenging.

Jesus knew His purpose.

Luke 19:10 NIV, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

That's why Jesus came. That was His purpose, and He knew He had to pay a cost. When He faced that cross, He had a choice. He could fulfill His purpose and save all of us or He could choose to save Himself and not fulfill His calling. I'm so glad, aren't you, that He chose to fulfill his purpose? And He left a legacy where we could have His spirit within us, so we could live a life victoriously and an overcomer's life.

You want to put God first in your life? It's going to start by putting Him first in your finances. Is God calling you to start a business? It's going to come at a price. Maybe God is calling you to buy a business. That will cost money. Maybe God is calling you to be a stay?at?home parent. Is that a cost? Yes. Is God calling you to build something? It's going to come at a cost.

Sometimes you have to pay that price more than once. Every so often you got to stop and pay the price again. It's in these moments that you face a choice. Will you continue to pursue your purpose, or will you give up because of the cost being too great? If God has called you to it, He will take you through it.

4) God will give you all you need to build and leave a legacy.

You will have everything you need. He's already prepared it.

2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV says, "And God is able to bless you abundantly" Why? "so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Isn't that incredible? Do you believe Him enough to do it? Here's my regular consistent prayer. "God, I don't need to see the end of the road. I just need to see the next step." A lot of times we don't see the end of the road, but we can see the next 10 feet. Drive the next 10 feet. Whenever I drive the next 10 feet, I can see 10 feet more. God will give you everything you need, but He won't see it in your way. He does it in His way.

I love this. The Celtic word for Holy Spirit is also interpreted “wild goose”. Sometimes following the Lord feels like a wild goose chase.

My final point is that God honors movement.

5. God honors movement.

Will you move towards your purpose in 2018? You see, we can get stuck in a paralysis of analysis, but God honors movement.

Think about the stories in the Bible. Jesus went up to a paralyzed man on a mat, and He told him rise up and walk. The paralyzed man moved and he walked out carrying his mat.

When Jesus walked out on water to Peter, He said, "Get out of the boat." When did Peter walk on the water? When he moved.

If you want the miraculous to happen, you need to do what God tells you to do when He calls you to do it knowing that He's called you to a purpose.

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. How are you really putting God first in your finances?

2. What is the legacy God wants to start in 2018 in your life?

3. What dream will you call back to life now that you know God gave it to you?

4. What is your anointed purpose? Are you willing to pay the cost to fulfill God’s purpose?