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Okay, well let me read Psalm seventy-three, verse twenty-six. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. And I've been thinking about purpose, finances, vocation. And the phrase that keeps coming back is is found in that verse that I read. The portion. Or other other places in Scripture, it is inheritance. The Lord is your portion, the Lord is your inheritance. There is Lamentations 3, 24, the Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I will hope in him. And this concept of portion, inheritance, obviously has financial connotations. In Deuteronomy 18, among all the tribes of Israel, there was one tribe, the tribe of Levi, that did not get an allotment of land. And to the Levitical priests of the nation of Israel, the Lord says, I am your inheritance. In Deuteronomy 18 and Joshua, Numbers, that same phrase appears throughout the Old Testament. And so if I think about the Old Testament model, you have the priests, Levitical priests, in some sense lifted above, spiritually, you could say, in a sense. And then you have all the rest of the tribe of Israel. It seems unfair. Why does God lift up spiritually this particular tribe? You could also look at it the other way. Why is it so unfair to them? The other people get land, and the rest are living on the offerings of the people to the Levitical priests. And so there's that kind of a model. And then you have modern-day examples. You have a Catholic church system where there is a clergy, there are priests, they are in some sense like the Levitical priest, and then you have the laity. Many modern day churches, Protestant churches, you have a pastor, kind of full-time for the most part, financially supported by a congregation, spiritually, maybe feeling like the pastor has more on his plate spiritually, and then the rest of the people a lesser status in the eyes of God. And today I want to just demolish that as best I can scripturally so that you can see yourself in a different light. It's just a simple shift of a perspective. And I want to start with 1 Peter 2, verse 9. It says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And who is Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, saying this to? Answers? Who is he saying this to? Is it just the pastors? The missionaries? The ministry leaders? Who are the priests? In the New Testament? All of us. All of us, all Christians. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. And then it says in 1 Timothy 2.5, there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And so when I read that verse, the picture I have is an org chart. Before there was a CEO and a C O and a CTO, but and then the rest of the managers, vice presidents, and staff. But when the coming of Jesus, he flattened the org. There's one man, Christ Jesus. All of us go to him through Christ. We have access to God the Father. We enter into heaven, the holy place, where used to be only the high priest went, but now that was a picture of heaven. And now through Christ we have access to our heavenly Father. And you don't need any, you don't have to pray to your pastor, you don't have to confess to a priest. You have direct access because we're all priests. And it says that in Ephesians 2, verse 18, through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. And so what Christ did is so fundamental, so monumental, I should say, that before everything in the Old Testament was just a picture, a shadow. And now in Christ, before you used to have to give an offering of an animal, shed blood, you had to offer it to the priest and the tabernacle, all of that was a placeholder. Now Christ is a fulfillment. And through Christ, one mediator, you have direct access to the heavenly places, to the God, your Father. And now we can enter. Not once a year, because you have a title of high priest. You have access to the fulfillment of that, which is the heavenly places. You have access to God the Father every time you call upon his name because you believe what Jesus did for you, because he died on a cross for your sins, and he opened the door of heaven so that when you pray, your Father hears you. This is the flattening of the org that I see in Scripture. And so Romans 12:1, now we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. So before it was an animal, but now it's you. You are the sacrifice. And you offer your vocation. You offer your finances, you offer your life. This is for all believers, not just pastors who give up their finances to, or missionary who gives up their house, they go to the mission field. No, all believers, because the org has been flattened, we are all priests, and we give our lives as the offering, which includes your time, which includes your years, your finances, your work. Hebrews 4, 16, let us then with confidence, all believers, all priests, draw near to the throne of grace. Not just the pastor, not just a priest. You don't have to go to them through them because you're a second-class citizen. You have direct access. You are have a front row seat of the throne of grace. Hebrews 10, verse 19 to 24. All believers have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, not just once a year at the Passover or the Day of Atonement. This is through Jesus once for all, we can all as priests enter into God's presence. Hebrews 13, 15 through 16, believers now we offer not animal sacrifices, but a sacrifice of praise, a sacrifice of generosity. That's Hebrews 13, 15 through 16. And I want to make a case for the rest of this message that we're all bivocational ministers. That doesn't mean that you will have a job for the rest of your life. God may call you at any point to give it all away, to sell it all, and to go wherever he sends you, and be a full-time whatever missionary, pastor, ministry leader. But in the meantime, if you have to support yourself because you have nobody supporting you, because that's only a few people in the world who need that support, the rest of us, we are bivocational ministers. That means the fact that I am, I have a job, but my main call is to be a pastor. Right now I'm in a waiting season, but it doesn't mean that, well, now I'm not a pastor, and so now I'm a full-time entrepreneur. No, I don't think that way. I just think, okay, when I was in church, I was doing work on the side. Right now I have a little more time, so I'm going to do a little bit more work. But as soon as God says, okay, that's enough, you need to scale that down. I have something for you, I'll adjust. And I think all of us, you're in the same exact shoes that I'm in. Because you're supporting yourself, you have a job, or you're looking for a job, you have finances, and what and you have your time. And how you steward that is different if you consider yourself, well, I'm just a lower-tier member. Versus, no, I'm a minister of the gospel. I'm a bi-vocation minister, so I will support myself, and the best example of this is I will support myself as I minister. The best example of this is none other than Apostle Paul. And I actually I don't even like calling him Apostle Paul. He is Paul an apostle, a tent maker, a missionary, a church planter. It's not like we have to elevate him and give him this special capital A apostleship, as some even in current days want to elevate themselves and say, I'm an apostle, so and so. I think Paul he never looked at himself that way because he's a bivocational minister. And he's preaching to people who are also by vocational ministers. It's even Peter, we could say, well, he's an apostle. He says, I'm I'm just a brother of equal standing. So these apostles did not elevate themselves above the congregation. Of course, there is the judgment because we should teach accurately. We should not misrepresent God. That is true. But does God look at you differently just because you don't have a title of missionary or pastor? Does he say, okay, the standard for you in terms of your faith is much lower, and I'm okay with you having a lower faith? And I only demand faith of high faith for apostles or pastors or missionaries. At the end, when you face God, is he really gonna care that much what your job title was? Or will he care how you lived your life as a minister, a bi vocational minister, supporting yourself. And no matter where you are, you are a light and you shine the light of Jesus. And through your work ethic and your trustworthiness, you are a good witness for the gospel. You're blameless in all of your ways. When your boss is not watching, you are diligent because you're not doing it for your boss, you're doing it unto the Lord. He sees everything. And so, this work ethic, this dependability, this consistency, it's the mindset of a bivocational minister. I am a representative of Jesus wherever I am. And we know this about Paul because in Acts 18, uh Aquila and a Jew named Aquila in Acts 18 spent some time with Paul because they were all in the same industry and they were tent makers by trade. And this is where we get this idea. And among pastors, I think I'm a rare breed as a bivocational pastor. To me, it's it's when Paul speaks in 2 Thessalonians 3. Let's read that. That's actually important. He says in 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 7, it says, For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. And I would just want every pastor to look at these verses and struggle with it and say, this pattern of somebody being elevated spiritually in a church context and financially 100% supported, which could create a financial burden to the rest of the members of the church. And creating this weird, tiered system of, okay, I will work and stress and burden myself in my career so that I can fund this one solo person or staff at a church so that they can do God's work. And I can get off the hook and say, Well, I'm not a minister. Is that God's way of looking at his church, or is this just man's way of doing things? Just something to struggle with. I believe all of us are by vocational ministers. Where does this purpose of living with a clear sense of identity as a bivocational minister, where my work is, okay, I am funding myself, but Paul is not trying to grow REI. He's not this, he's not trying to become filthy rich. He's just, whatever I need, I'm gonna support myself because I don't want to be a burden. And a parent is the same. Like, I don't want to burden my kids. So I should just take care of myself. Uh I'm I might not have much to give to them in inheritance. They already know this, but I will support myself and with Jackie and Jackie, and I will the least, the last thing I want to do is be a financial burden to them. And so I should be healthy. I don't want to be sickly in my older age. There are things in my mind, okay, I just don't want to be a burden. This is Paul's mindset when it comes to the churches where he planted. He doesn't want to be a burden. He wants to give the gospel free of charge and other places we're going to read. Just the mindset of this missionary church planter who wrote most of the New Testament. So I think his words and his life is worthy of imitation. It's worthy of us even just considering are we just really off in our concept of church and this tiered system? And I remember when I was working, before I, you know, this is already after going to missions, uh, before I was, I already finished seminary, I'm just waiting to get the call from the Lord to do this full-time. And I thought, okay, at some point I'm gonna be able to quit. I'm gonna go full-time. And I remember how just driving from Alhambra to West Hollywood, hour, hour and 15 minutes, and going into a startup that was very stressful, and it was a husband and wife, and they they were toxic, and they were just stressed all the time, and throwing coffee mugs in the wall, and when when the company's doing bad, it's directly impacting the finances of this couple, and and they didn't have a good marriage, and so they're fighting and and they're cursing all the time, and it's just I felt like this is so terrible. Why, why, Lord, do I have to go through this? You called me to be a pastor. Why do I have to do this? And as I look back, just a lot of just dying to myself, a lot of just being faithful, a lot of just understanding, okay, I'm gonna be preaching to people who are going through what I'm going through. So I don't want to be out of touch. So there are just so many reasons why the Lord had me go through 15 years plus of working. So that I know what it how hard it is to make money, how expensive things are. I'm not expecting a handout. And I think this purpose, if we're all by vocational ministers, it's like we think this, okay, well, I either I'm either doing it full time, and what I'm doing is so meaningless, or my vocation has to be so exciting. Like, okay, I can't be a pastor, but it should be like at the level of pastor, I should be so gung-ho about what I'm doing. Is there a third way? That our purpose and our vocation and our finances are all moving in the same direction toward the kingdom. Which means at any any time I'm doing everything to the best of my ability as a witness to the Lord, but I'm not clutching onto it. And at any point I can let it go. I think the biggest reason this purpose gets muddied is because we love money. It says in Matthew 6, verse 24, no one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Money and a love for money shows up in two ways. One is you're greedy. And no matter how much you have is never enough. And we just have to understand we're living in the most prosperous nation in the world. So even if you think you're poor, we're all super wealthy. Super wealthy compared to regular standards worldwide. And so this we can easily dismiss and say, I'm not greedy. I would check yourself again. Just everything around us is geared toward greed. And so that's one way that the love of money will show up, show itself. The other way is through stinginess. Okay, I don't have a lot, so I'm just gonna hold on to it. Or I have barely enough, but I want to make sure I can retire well. Money is a master. And as you are starting to earn money as you start off your career, just keep coming back to the Lord and say, Lord, I don't want money to master me. I want to master this. I want to make sure I am clear on my purpose. I'm a bi-vocational minister, I'm a representative of Jesus Christ wherever I go. My purpose and my vocation and my finances are flowing in the same direction. Paul and myself, there is no gap. Okay, he's gonna be judged a little bit more because he wrote, he taught and he wrote scripture and he and he called out false teaching. He has that extra job description. But everything else, we're all the same. Me and Paul, no difference. He's supporting himself, he's preaching the gospel. We are supporting ourselves and we are light. We shine the light of Jesus wherever he puts us. 1 Timothy 6, verse 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Hebrews 13 5. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Luke 12, verse 15. And he said to them, Take care and be on your guard against all covetous. For one's life does not consist in the abundance of its possessions. In Ephesians 5, verse 10, he who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity. Oh, that's Ecclesiastes 5, verse 10. So this love of money is something we should just understand that just by the fact that we live in America, we're tempted constantly to love money, either to chase it out of greed or to hoard onto it for your retirement. Either way, money has a hold on you. If soon as you struggle with, well, the Lord, he seems like he's pivoting me. And I'm making good money, but are you telling me to go this direction? Are you asking me to empty out my savings, to give it to this? This person needs it, this ministry needs it. Are you actually asking me to do this? And for a believer, this should constantly be something we're wrestling with. Not just a 10% just autopilot, I just give a check, 90%, I just do whatever I want. Yeah, I think about the the Luke 15, the mentality of the prodigal son. And I wonder if we have that mentality, because in the end, it's about money. Because he's not, he can't wait for his dad to die. And so he insists on getting the money now. And it's like, I want my money, so it's my money. He thinks this is right. I want it now. I want to do whatever I want. That's the mindset of the prodigal son when it comes to money. And is it that different from a person who gives 10%, 90%? You do whatever you want with it because you think it's your money. So I can put it away, I can spend it extravagantly, I can buy whatever I want. Is it so different from the prodigal son? And this mindset, um, we are blind to. This this love for money, this holding on for out of greed or sense of insecurity, or this planning for a rainy day, a future. Birds don't think that way. They just fly around and God feeds them. Do we have to plan out 20, 30 years down the line? Do we even know we're going to be alive 20, 30 years down the line? But that's wisdom in the eyes of the world. You put away a certain amount. There's an investment, there's a 401k, there's stock options, there's all this stuff. And I say, I, Lord, that is of this world. I don't care about any of it. And you just have to wrestle with it. Because everyone around you is going to be not saying what I'm saying today. They're going to say, no, that's wise. That's free. You gotta be, you gotta plan this way. Your finances, your purpose, your vocation may flow in the same direction. Philippians 4, verse 11 to 13. Now that I'm speaking of being in need, not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I want to argue that these set of verses, it applies to all of us. It applies to all of us. If we're all by vocational ministers, forget about apostleship and titles and things like that. God's standard is I bless you with money. What are you gonna do with it? In a season of hunger and famine, are you gonna freak out? Don't you know I'm gonna feed you, the Heavenly Father says. It's all about faith. It's all, this is all a reflection of faith. Why did Paul live like this? He could have just sown more tents. He didn't literally have to be hungry on certain days. It's because his sense of purpose was so strong. That this vocation just supports my purpose. And so I can I can do, I can go hungry for a few days. It's okay. Because I'm living for eternity. Is that any different from a believer? Any of us? You won't die if you're hungry for a few days. We can all tighten the belt. If our money gets tight, you don't have to freak out if you don't have savings. It's very practical what I'm saying today. 1 Timothy 6, verse 6 to 8. But godliness with content mean is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing, anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these will we be content? This is Christian. The standard of faith. Food and clothing. Guaranteed. All your needs met. God promises food and clothing. You're not going to beg for food. You're not going to be naked and lacking clothing. Food and clothing. What if our contentment in God was so strong, the Lord is my inheritance? The Levites actually lived that out, supported by the rest of the 11 tribes. And now in the New Testament, as I hope I'm making my case, it's not about titles. There's not a separate priestly class. We are all priests. We're all ministers. We're bi-vocation ministers. And so you in a classroom, you are a gospel missionary in a classroom. That is a totally right mentality. Jim, as a landowner, is a Christian landowner. He doesn't overcharge. This different ways to be a witness in the vocation that God placed you in. And just being content because you're so satisfied with the Lord. The Lord is my inheritance. I've been saying that all month. The Lord is my inheritance. I've been saying that all month. The Lord is my inheritance. As my bank account shrinks, the Lord is my inheritance. It's okay. I'm not going to starve. This is an issue of faith. Paul lived this way. And at any point, God may invite you to live this way. And you cannot, there's no. We can't say, God, well, only Paul lives that way. Only pastors live that way. Only missionaries live that way. No, Christians, we live this way. Food and clothing, guaranteed. Everything else, bonus, not guaranteed. Jesus didn't have a place to lay it in his head. He's our master. He's our Lord. We follow him. So do we have to have a house? No. It's not guaranteed. I would just get a 24-hour membership and I would just shower. I would sleep in my car. I could survive without a roof. I have already played out in my head what I would do. And that's why it says in Matthew 6, verse 33 seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And what are these things? Food and clothing. Basic necessities. What do we stress out about? Promotions? Bank accounts growing, investments growing, vacations we want to take, fancy food we want to eat. Nice cars do we want to drive? Endless list. And if you live that way, and God is just an afterthought after all those financial decisions, who really is your God? I think that's the question. Who really is your God? Is it money or is it God? If most of your life is spent pursuing, stressing, accumulating money and stuff. We are all by vocational ministers. We all seek first God's kingdom. And at any point he can say, I need you for this. I need you to spend money here. This person needs money. Give it to this person. This mindset, I have enough food and clothing. I have enough. And so the extra money I make is not so I can put it away into 401k. In my opinion, the extra money I make is so that I can go back into the kingdom. Go back to feed a brother, a sister, somebody in need. We can all live like this. It seems so abnormal if a Christian in America lives this way. But this is God's standard in his word. Paul is not better than you or me. He is just a Christian who's living it out wholeheartedly. I want to end with Psalm 16, 5 and 6. The Lord is my chosen portion, another word for inheritance, and my cup. You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. When the Lord becomes your everything, your inheritance, he will take care of everything. Your basic needs. Fully guaranteed by the Father. When the Lord is your inheritance, the same way the Levites, they didn't stress about food, clothing. They are fully cared for. That's the Old Testament picture. The New Testament picture is because what Christ did by dying on a cross, he opened up heaven's door. Now we are all priests, access to the heavenly places before the throne of grace. You have a heavenly Father. You can pray directly through Christ, you're the one final mediator. And you can offer up a sacrifice, not of an animal, but of your praise, your thanksgiving. And then you give your life as a living sacrifice. That is a Christian life. You give your entire life to the Lord. Just keep checking in with Him. You're going down a certain path. At least every year, keep checking in. Lord, do you want me to continue this vocation next year? Do you have something new for me? He's our Lord. He gets to tell us what to do. So whatever you do, do it to your utmost. Do it your best. And with the extra you have, share it. Just look at for kingdom uses of these finances, of your time. Because it's not just the pastor doing ministry, not the missionary doing ministry. We are all ministers. The standard is the same. When we get to heaven, there's not a special class for pastors. No, all of us will be judged in terms of our faith. How did you live your life? You don't need a title. You are all by vocational ministers, as far as I can tell, according to his word. He is my portion. The Lord is my inheritance. Okay, let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that we can hear from you about our vocation, about our finances, and ultimately about our purpose. And everything we see in the Old Testament was a pointer to the new priesthood of all believers. The same standard of faith, different talents, but the same requirements of how we invest this one life that we have. Lord, in the end, how sad it would be to face you and we have millions of dollars in our bank account and we just held on to it instead of releasing it for the kingdom. What would you say of us if we lived for financial security? Lord, you're challenging us today to rethink our purpose. We're all by vocational ministers. Finances, not a ten percent autopilot. You are you own every penny that we make. It all belongs to you. Our time, everything belongs to you. May everything flow in the same direction. Our purpose, our work, and our finances. May we do it, Lord, because you did not withhold anything from heaven. You gave us your best Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son. He died on a cross for our sins. His shed blood opened up heaven's doors. And through this one mediator, we have direct access to our Heavenly Father. A privilege that used to be only for a high priest once a year. We have access every single moment of every single day. Because we're all priests. We offer the sacrifice of our lips, our praise, our thanksgiving for dying for a sinner like us and giving us an eternal inheritance. The Lord, you are our inheritance. May we say this from the depth of our being, not just because we see it in Scripture, but because we believe it. We really want to live it out that you are our inheritance. You are our portion, our cup overflows, the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places. We are fully satisfied. Jesus, you are everything. And everything you will take care of. Our food and clothing, all of our needs met, never needing to worry, never needing to stress. Let the world stress, let the world chase after the things of this world, the things that are earthbound. We are kingdom citizens. We are living for a heavenly kingdom. For a king who sits at the right hand of God the Father in heavenly places and is exalted in all generations. We praise you. You are so good. We praise you. You're so good. We love you. We thank you for recalibrating our heart. Lord, if we've idolized anything, we repent in your presence. We surrender afresh. We want to do better, Lord. Please help us. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.