WRONG RECIPE

0:00 Church, would you join me in prayer before we dive into the teaching of God's word today? God, we thank you for what this season represents and help us in the midst of the craziness, the hurry, the gifts, the travel, the plans to not miss the reason for this season, the greatest gift given to us. and Jesus I thank you for these moments that we have this morning that any opportunity we have to open up your word and learn from it to become more like you is an opportunity we don't want to miss and so I pray that you would change and transform hearts this morning I'm aware of how little I bring to the table this morning if your presence doesn't go before me and so that's what I pray takes place today we ask all these things in your son's name everybody said everybody said I fried a Thanksgiving turkey for my family this past Thanksgiving that I feel was underappreciated.

1:01 And if you're laughing, you've seen and heard of this Thanksgiving turkey. But if you haven't, we've got a photo of it. This is it. That's not a black bowling ball. That's my turkey. Historians are calling it the great charred catastrophe of 2025. five. But let me just explain myself, okay? Because I don't think this turkey adequately expresses my turkey-making abilities. Here's what happened. The prep work went in the day before. I went over to the house to make sure that everything was prepped and ready. I checked the boiler. I checked the burner. I even put the turkey in the boiler and put water in there to make sure I would have the right amount of peanut oil. I then took the turkey out, sharpied the mark where the water was to make sure the whole turkey was going to be covered. I go into Thanksgiving. I'm feeling confident. This is now my third year of frying a turkey. So I go over and my mother-in-law, Lisa, graciously bought the peanut oil. She asked how many gallons. I said three, thought that would be enough. And I go to pour in the three gallons and we are well below the Sharpie line. And so I'm having to make a game day decision here. Either I fry three quarters of this turkey or I find some more liquid to throw into this thing. So I went with option two. We found some vegetable oil.

2:19 Yeah, you know, I didn't. Vegetable oil has a lower smoke point. Didn't even know what that meant until Thanksgiving. And so I pour half a gallon of that in there and we are cruising. This is the worst part. I'm still confident. I dropped this turkey in there. I didn't look at it one time, just set the timer, walked away. I'm like, this is going to be great. I go outside with my brother-in-law, Brad, and I lift this thing out to reveal my creation. I just look at him like, oh no. And he's like, what did you do? I'm like, what did you do? He's like, he's like, you cooked it. I'm like, you looked at it. So I make the walk of shame into the house. And you would think in a family full of pastors and people that work at a church, there'd be grace, love, kindness, forgiveness. I get bullied from my father-in-law on social media. I don't know if my father-in-law is my friend anymore.

3:20 I don't know. But here's the part that's left out. Okay. People start eating this turkey and behind that volcanic ash of char was some pretty magical turkey meat. There was two turkeys made. and if you were to ask them which turkey was eaten more, I'm not here to brag today. It's not about this. It was mine. Some family members even said they liked the char. I might do it again next year. I don't know.

3:47 You want the recipe? I can give it to you. Just toss some vegetable oil in there. You don't want the recipe. Trust me, don't do it. Here's what happened. I was in a pinch and I genuinely believed in that moment. If I just change the recipe a little bit, If I just compromise the recipe, put this in, everything's going to be fine. And boy, was I wrong. And then I thought, man, how many of us do that with God?

4:13 God's given us the recipe for life and life to the full. But we compromise it, don't we? And many of us do it with the thinking and feelings of this. This won't affect that much. God certainly didn't mean this. Literally, I'll just tweak the recipe a little bit. So maybe it's you're a young adult and it's wedding season for all your friends, but it is still single season for you. And you're looking around and you're like, I know the Bible says don't be unequally yoked, which is essentially saying if I'm going to pair myself up with someone, make sure that they're a believer and going in the same direction that I want to go for my life. But I don't know. The options are dwindling. And I met this guy and he's just so handsome. And I think he's been near a church before. You know, surely that counts for something. And you compromise the recipe. Maybe it's not that it's your family and you've got kiddos that are in sports and man, sports can quickly take over a family's life. And all of a sudden it's like everybody's playing sports on Sunday mornings and it's only three to four months. You'll watch church online and you know, scripture says, no, don't neglect the gathering of the saints, but it's, I will watch online. And without realizing it, sometimes you're compromising the recipe. And here's what happens. We end up with charred relationships, charred marriages, charred families, a charred life, and we end up pointing the finger and blaming God. God, what happened here? What's going on? And God's like, I gave the recipe. You just compromised it. And without question, one of the biggest areas in life that we compromise the recipe of God is in our finances.

6:00 The room goes silent. A biblical understanding of our finances starts with the understanding that we are stewards, managers, not owners of what we have. We don't like that idea, but it's true. So the question is not how much money can I make and keep? The question is, am I being a good steward of what God has entrusted me with? but we compromise the recipe the bible scripture teaches to tithe to bring the first 10 percent of what we earn back into god's house as a sign of trust and obedience that's not even generosity that's the training wheels to generosity but we compromise the recipe and here's what people do not people in this church other churches they hide their selfishness and disobedience behind phrases like, ah, the church just wants my money. They talk about money way too much. But for those of us who want to be shaped by Jesus and his words, we'll see a peculiar thing take place in the New Testament. There's one topic that Jesus speaks more about than any other topic. Guess what it is? Money. And here's what's interesting. Jesus doesn't need your money. He's not pacing the halls of heaven this morning like, oh man, I hope the Kellys give today. This is, if they don't, I don't know if my church is going to do what it needs to do. He doesn't need your money.

7:15 He wants your heart. And oftentimes our money is the primary competitor for our hearts. We find our trust, our security, our identity in our bank account more than we do the person of Jesus Christ. And so we say things like, it's my money that I earned. I'm self-made. Why does God want my money? Psalm 24 paints a different picture. the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Your money? Everything you have is God's. But I'm self-made, self-made. Who gave you the air in your lungs? Who gave you the ability and intellect to even be able to earn? Who's keeping that heart beating in your chest? You? No. No.

8:08 That's God. Number one stressor for Americans. finances. And we often tell ourselves that if we make more, the stress will disappear. Yeah, he knows. but, but here's what I want us to take a step back and realize if you have a roof over your head, food in your kitchen and a phone in your pocket, you're in the top one to 2% of wealth globally. We're all wealthy. And a lot of us are still really, really stressed. It's like the famous philosopher, notorious BIG said, more money, more problems, but hear me. It doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't, but we've got to take a look at scripture to see the way out. I love that this season is called giving season, and I find it no coincidence that the season entitled giving season, the word that we typically use to describe this season is joy.

9:17 Want to know why? Because joy and generosity go hand in hand. But I think there's a pitfall in our culture. And that pitfall is this. We've turned generosity into a seasonal practice rather than a spiritual one. So December's marked by letting go. And man, we fill our hearts with joy when we do. But January to November, hang on for dear life. Just try to make it by. Why? because letting go is hard. I don't care who you are. Letting go is challenging. Just look at your kids on Christmas morning for those of you that have them. Ask them to share. It's not going to go well. And if we're honest, we're still those little kids. We just cover it up better because letting go is hard. We see this in every area of life.

10:16 You look at the pro athlete that's like towards the end of his career and everyone's waiting for the retirement speech. Like this year, just let it go, big guy. And he's like, I'm coming back next year. And you're like, no, just stop. Why? because letting go is hard. You think about a dad walking down his firstborn daughter down the aisle. There's this curious mixture of emotions on his face. On one hand, he's so happy for his daughter. And on the other hand, he knows that this man could never live up to the man he dreamt for his baby girl.

10:49 Because letting go is, it's hard. You think about a family, the last time you saw it surrounding a casket. letting go of a loved one. There's no combination of words that could make the pain of letting go any easier. And then you step into the world of your finances and you're looking at your budget and you're looking at the bills. And even if you want to let go, you're like, I don't even know how? And really the underlying question that all of us have is why? Why should I let go? And hear me so clearly this morning. The answer to that question is found in the first gift of Christmas. The day that the whole planet comes to a screeching halt to remember the day that all of heaven let go for you.

11:50 John 3, 16. We all know it. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. We could rephrase that text this morning. For God so loved the world that he let go.

12:15 He let go of his son. Have you ever thought about the implications of what the father letting go was like? My dad was a pastor and I'll never forget. He spoke at a friend's church actually here in Texas. My dad's a pastor on the East Coast and he went to this church and then went to the pastor's house before he actually spoke. And this pastor had just recently lost his teenage son in a car accident. I believe it was a drunk driver that hit him. and I'll never forget going into his house and seeing, seeing this pastor just opened the doors and seeing his eyes. He carried the grief in his eyes and we sat down. I would have been 12 or 13, I think at the time and he began to express what took place and my dad prayed for him. And then he shared something to the degree of this sentiment. If I had known what was going to happen to my son that night, I never would have let him go.

13:15 And yet the story of Christmas is the father knew in painstaking detail what would happen to his son and he still let go. We could spend an enormous amount of time unpacking that. But I want us to continue in the understanding that not only did the father let go, But Jesus let go. Philippians 2, 6-8, this is what it says. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. He took on the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. when he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross Jesus let go of all of his heavenly prerogatives to come down to planet earth he let go of the glory the honor and the reverence of heaven Jesus couldn't take two steps in heaven without thousands of angels bowing and crying holy holy holy holy holy holy and yet he steps out of infinity to become an infant.

14:36 Do you see what he let go of? Just recently was speaking in South Africa with Pastor Ed, an amazing church down there and we're driving on a highway at one point and our host, we see these houses, although you really couldn't even call them that, they're houses made of scrap metal. I mean, it's like 10 roofs, the whole nine yards, as far as the eye can see on both sides of the highway and they call them squatter camps. And one of them, the host is sharing with us, there's one that's so dangerous. It's one of the most dangerous places in the world. Nine people are killed a day in this environment. And I remember just driving on the highway thinking, man, we live such comfortable lives. And then I started thinking like, what would it take? What would it take to like convince some of the most influential people in the world to like move there? like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos. Like there's no dollar amount that could ever convince them to go from the security they have here to go into the squatter camp and the insecurity that they would find there.

15:41 And oftentimes we think Jesus leaving heaven to come to earth is like moving from Dallas to Houston, which I'll give you as a downgrade. Sorry, Houstonites. but but it's it's much much grander and grosser than that in fact Elon Musk moving from the security of the United States to a squatter camp in South Africa doesn't even hold a candle to what Jesus stepping out of the bliss of heaven to this sin-stained planet to be born in a feeding trough for animals and like I get it and I love it we make the the manger scene majestic and all the productions and it's like the camels are flowing. There's angels over the crowd flying and we're like, oh, this is awesome. But it would have been a nightmare for Mary and Joseph.

16:31 And then what happens? There's a king in the area, King Herod, who hears that there's another baby king that's been born. So he's trying to hunt down this baby boy and kill him. and he sends an order to kill all baby boys under the age of two years old and Mary and Joseph and Jesus now flee and consider this for a moment, the creator of the creation unwelcome in his own creation. Think about what he let go of and his primary purpose for coming was to die. die a death drawn up by human hands to humiliate criminals and he's hanging on the cross and there is not one human being that if that was you wouldn't think to yourself why in the world did I let go? I'm done. I'm out. It's not worth it. And yet scripture paints a different picture.

17:44 As he's being tortured and suffocating from the blood that's entering his lungs, he looks at the people who are torturing him and he says, Father, forgive them because they don't know. And sometimes we can look at the Roman soldiers who put him there and think, man, what bad people, but make no mistake, it was your sin and my sin that put him up there. He let go for you.

18:14 Hebrews 12, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. And here's the question. Where's the joy in the torture? Where's the joy in the humiliation? where's the joy and the irreverence? And the story of Christmas is that the joy was found in you.

18:35 He let go of it all. The Father let go, heaven let go, Jesus let go for you. And for some of us this morning, that information is gonna travel from our heads into our hearts. And it's gonna change Christmas from being just another holiday into the holiest day. When you remember that Jesus let go of it all to fill a gap you could never fill on your own. And when that takes place, when you understand that you are the recipient of the greatest act of generosity in human history, the natural response is generosity towards God and generosity towards others. Giving isn't pressure. it's a privilege when you understand what Jesus has done for you. I love these quotes.

19:31 One is by Charles Spurgeon. He says, a giving savior should have giving disciples. Another individual said, the reason why God gives us money is to make us a conduit of his generosity, not a cul-de-sac. Are you a conduit? or are you a cul-de-sac just hanging on to all of the blessings of God that he's given you by yourself two weeks ago we had an amazing event called hope for our city where we just feed families in need all over our city and I love that we're a big church because big churches make big impacts in the cities that we're around and I and I saw yeah it's worth clapping for And I saw our church just doing its thing, just helping families in need. And I've got to be honest with you.

20:25 I'm looking at some of the volunteers and some of the families serving, and I got emotional because I know some of their stories. One family in particular, there was a mom who was in a car crash a couple of years ago, and it was bad. She was essentially paralyzed. She was told, I believe she'd never walk again. And she actually got baptized in our church on this stage by Pastor Ed in her brace. She was carried into the tank, went public with her faith after her horrific accident. And I'm looking out two weeks ago, and this woman and her family are walking through our parking lot, praying for families in need. And I'm just like, God. God, you are so good. And I love it when it clicks for people.

21:21 When they're just like, yeah, I'm the recipient of so much generosity. How can I not give back to others? I'm watching this family pray over these families in need. And I'm thinking, man, if these families in need only knew what this family had walked through. And I love the vision of hope for our city. Yes, it's to feed stomachs, but more so it's to feed souls because people's hearts are more open and attentive to the gospel in a time of need than in any other time. We get to see the church do its thing, which is why I believe the church is the best investment you could ever make because it ripples through eternity. And when you understand what you've been given, what heaven let go of for you, letting go becomes a lot easier. This is why I believe generosity is not a money problem. It's a gospel problem. If you find it in your heart difficult continually to be generous, and hear me, we all have a difficult time with letting go, but if you consistently don't find it easier to become generous, you need to grapple with the gospel again and remember what you have been given. The greatest gift is the story of Jesus.

22:42 Came across an interesting statistic this week that people gave more to their local churches, Christians gave more to their local churches percentage wise of their income during the great depression than they do today in 2025. That's staggering. And people go, how can that happen. I'll tell you exactly how it happens. When you start putting your security into things that are fleeting and fickle and it gets pulled out underneath you and you acknowledge, oh my gosh, I put all my identity, all my security, all my wellbeing in my bank account. And now it's gone and stripped of me. You start to see things that aren't fleeting and fickle. And that is the story and the message of Jesus. And when you find your security, when you find your identity at him, it changes everything. And I'll end with this. You're not supposed to say that as a pastor, but I'll say it. I'll end with this. There are two types of people in the world.

23:38 The first type of person is in financial position A, and they want to get to financial position B. And everybody has a B. Maybe that's a certain amount for your retirement. Maybe it's a certain amount for your kid's college fund. Maybe it's a certain amount saved up for a house. I don't know what it is for you, but everybody has a B. And the first type of individual looks at where they are in a position a, and they look at where they want to go. And they say, it takes 100%, if not more of my income for me to get to position B I've drawn it up. There is no other way. So I'd love to let go, but I can't, I've got to get to B and it's going to take 100% of my income. Then there's a second individual. And to that person B is just as important. And they acknowledge that they probably need a hundred percent to get there, but they choose to trust God and take him at his word. And so they're going to say, Hey, I'm actually going to get there off of 90%. I'm going to give God what is his, the first 10% of my income. And I'm going to trust that God is not just going to get me to position B, but he's actually going to get me to position C, which is his area of blessing where I receive the undeserved favor and blessing of God, both tangible and intangible. And here's what I love. Both people think the other guy's an idiot.

24:52 guy one's like are you joking me you drank the kool-aid god you will never get to position b you'll always be behind in life you are a fool and the second guy looks to the first guy and says no you're the idiot you come into church you fill your seat you sing songs god you've got everything except my finances. And you may get to position B, but friend, you will never get to position C where you just experience the blessings and favor of God, which you could never put a price tag on. And so here's the question of this morning. Which idiot do you want to be? for 15 years since I've made money I've been the second kind of idiot And I have found myself in position C over and over and over and over and over again.

26:06 I let go because I understand what Jesus let go of for me. And there is a day coming where I will stare him face to face. I love that hymn. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will go strangely dim. and when you stare him in the face. you're not going to be like, I wish I hung on to a little bit more.

26:45 You're going to be like, I, I wish I understood. I wish I got it. I wish I was willing to let go because all of the stuff, all of the stuff, the material stuff that we find our identity and our purpose in, friends, it fades. It goes.

27:13 There's one thing that's unchanging. It's Jesus and his church. We did a talk on financial stewardship in the mix, our youth ministry about a year ago. We talked about the 10-10-80 principle and tithing 10%, saving 10%, paying yourself, but in the future, living off of 80%. And if you can make the second 10% even bigger, do it. Imagine how much heartache that's going to save young people if they can get that in high school.

27:43 And then I said, hey, I want you to look around at the seats and this building. How do you think this got here? You think the government was like, I think we could use a church near DFW Airport. Just raise the taxes. you think there was like a business owner that was like stroke the check boom no you want to know how it got here men and women who sacrificed who gave towards something that's eternal people that you'll never meet students some people that aren't even here anymore and their act of generosity their act of obedience their act of sacrifice is still paying dividends because it's because of their sacrifice that you're able to sit in the seat that you're in. And guess what? Same is true for us.

28:37 There's a day coming, all of us, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Grapevine, every person under the sound of my voice, we won't be here anymore. The state of the church in Dallas, Fort Worth, a piece of it is tied to how much we're willing to sacrifice, how much we're willing to let go of. And so my prayer is that we would be people who are generous people, not out of like pressure, but out of the overflow of what Jesus has let go of for us. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes.

29:14 If you're in the room this morning and you have never made a decision to let go of your own way of living and to give Jesus everything, I'd encourage you to make the greatest decision of your life this morning and that is to surrender it all to him to admit the obvious that you've sinned that you've messed up and to place your faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ if that's you I just want to lead you in a prayer today will be the greatest day of your life nothing will ever come close you can say it out loud or you can just say it in the confines of your heart say Jesus today I admit that I'm a sinner in need of a savior. And I believe that that savior is you. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. You rose again from the grave. Today, I choose to follow you for the rest of my life.

30:11 Lord, I pray for all of us that we would be people who are willing to let go. Everyone can open their eyes and look at me for one moment. I am, I'm going to give us an opportunity to put this message into practice in just a moment. We're going to receive our offering. And there are many different ways you can participate in giving through the generosity envelopes. You can tap your phone to give. You can do it online. and I've just looked at the greatest investment that you can make is in God's house. I look at what God is doing in a true fellowship church, and I am amazed. This year alone, in our student ministry, we set a record for the most amount of students we've ever baptized in a year, this year. And you just look at like the next generation and our kids and our grandkids and our great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandkids that may never know your name, but they can live in your legacy from making God's house a priority.

31:16 And I pray that we would be people who would be willing to let go. So would you pray with me one more time? We're going to highlight some of what God has done this year in our church. Jesus, I thank you for what you've done for us. I pray that out of the generosity of our hearts, we would understand the privilege, the honor it is to give. Your word says you love a cheerful giver, so we don't come here this morning frustrated. We come here this morning overjoyed with what you've given us and out of the overflow.