Steven Furtick — The Secret Scoreboard
I'm excited to start a new series with you, the series is called Gamechanger. The goal of this series is to increase your faith. And the way you increase your faith is to stretch and to obey God in practical ways and so we're gonna do that over the next few weeks. It's one of my favorite series, I can't ever figure out why this is my favorite series, because it's a challenging series, at the end of the series on December 8th and 9th, our church together and our eFam online around the world, let's thank God for our extended family around the world, join with us. We bring an offering and we take these weeks to pray and consider and ask God what he would have each of us to do on the level that he's blessed us. Of course the church is able to do ministry on an ongoing basis, because of thousands of people and families who faithfully tithe and give that first 10% to God which sounds like a lot, when you first hear it it's like 10 %, bro, my gym membership is like $40 a month and you know, like that's a whole lot 10% of all of it, but when you realize that all of it came from God it kind of makes you think about the 90 more than the 10. And then it really it really doesn't seem that crazy anymore.
That's the game changer, this series is called Gamechanger, and the game changer is when you realize that it's all God's and it all belongs to him, makes you grateful and and hopefully encourages you to be faithful. So we're gonna be doing that on December 8th and 9th of of this year, and we'll end the year on a note of sacrificial generosity, each of us. And thousands of people do it, last year the church gave over 10 million dollars in that offering, which is phenomenal which is what enables us to expand and reach. Ask the person next to you are you a game-changer or a benchwarmer? Cause that's what I'm trying to find out, amen? And so, it's gonna be so good and I'm gonna see, God do amazing things.
Well sit down for now, dap somebody up on the way to your seat and tell them, "I'm a game-changer". When we say game-changer, you know, every year I pick a word, several months in advance and try to really build my teachings. Really rather than pick the word, I try to see what God is speaking, and then find a word that describes that. It works better that way and I thought it was a little corny game-changer, you know, you hear that like three times a day on ESPN, but it sounded like a Gatorade commercial to me more than a sermon series, but it really it'll mean something different, when we're done with the series than it does going into it, and you'll see that and today.
I just want to lay a foundation, from the pulpit, from Matthew chapter 6. And last year's series was called Waymaker, and so apparently I'm on this like uh Waymaker gamechanger. I'm gonna do cake baker in 2019. See how if I could make a trilogy out of it, but Matthew chapter 6 will be a good place for us to start, from the Sermon on the Mount. This was my dad's favorite Scripture, he used to read it everyday and then I would use it against him, when he wasn't acting right, I'd be like: you read it, but are you living it? So I use the Bible against him as a as a weapon.
All right, Matthew 6:1-4 and I can't wait to share this with you, very powerful principle. It's practical, but it's also on another level very profound and I think the best lessons are that way. And so, here's what Jesus said, "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them". So this might mean, you have to delete some apps on your phone. Do you know what I mean? Well, "If you do practice your acts of righteousness in front of others to be seen by them, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven". That's scary. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you".
And the title of this message is The Secret Scoreboard. When my kids first started playing recreational sports, I went out and I turned to the person next to me and said, "Hey they need to turn on the scoreboard". And Elijah was playing T-Ball at the time for the mud cats of Mint Hill, I said, "They need to turn on the scoreboard". It was his first game. Brother looked back at me, he has several kids that already played t-ball, he said, "Uh, they don't keep score at this level". And when Elijah got in the car after the game, I said, "Congratulations on your first win". He said, "When? They didn't keep score". I said, "I did". The first thing I did, when that man said they don't keep score at this level, I found an app on my phone and I decided, every game that he played, I was gonna score it myself. And I told that boy this the following I said, "When you get in this car after the game, you ask me, if you won, and I will tell you whether or not you won. I am your official scorekeeper".