What is the broad way with money, and what is the narrow?  How do we get “weird” with it?

Normal people can’t get enough money.  ”Rich” is a moving target:

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Weird people realize they’re rich!  Go to http://www.globalrichlist.com to see how much you have compared to the rest of the world.  In the US, we’ve been handed a winning lottery ticket called a birth certificate.  See the opportunities you have because of what God has given you:

When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

Normal people keep up with the Joneses.  Why let our neighbors control us?  Most people are heading in the wrong direction.

There are six health problems associated with money: stress, addiction, depression, obesity, exhaustion, and shorter lifespan.  In addition, financial issues are one of the primary causes of divorce.

Weird people don’t try to keep up with the Joneses and compare with their neighbors.

Normal people don’t follow God’s guidelines.

Weird people read and obey God’s Word:

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

There are three ways to be rich and weird.  Stay humble.  Don’t rely on stuff for your happiness.  And be generous:

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48).

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Make a strategic plan to be generous.  You’ve been favored by God so you can share with others.  Give spontaneously.  Give strategically.  Give sacrificially.  What would happen if all of the Body of Christ gave like this?  The Great Commission could be fulfilled soon.

Watch messages online at http://www.truenorthchurch.com. 

Music

Alive and Running – Kristian Stanfill

Our God – Chris Tomlin

Mercy Reigns – Elevation Worship

The Church – Elevation Worship

Holding Nothing Back – Tim Hughes

When we were young, we wanted to be like the crowd.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13, 14 NIV.)

The broad road, living like everyone else, will lead to destruction.  To be weird in a “God way,” we are on a narrow road.

Normal is not working.  It’s normal to be overworked, in debt, living week-to-week, and promiscuous.  If you want what normal people have, do what notmal people do.  If you want what few people have, do what few people do.  What might it look like to be weird in a “God way”?

Weird people don’t think like normal people think:

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12 TNIV.)

Don’t live any longer the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2 NIRV.)

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you (Romans 12:2 MSG.)

Weird people understand that the way they think determines the way they will behave.  What they think determines what they become.  What we think about, we will ultimately do.  Change what you put into your mind.

Don’t live like normal people live:

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:11, 12 NIV.)

If we’re not careful, even as followers of Christ, we can live in a way that’s like everybody else.  We can also pull others down to the same level we’re living at. The Church too often looks like the rest of the world.  There is no power in normal.  Be weird for the way God wants you to be.

Watch messages online at http://www.truenorthchurch.com. 

Music

Lord Almighty – Kristian Stanfill

Forever Reign – Kristian Stanfill

Lord, I Need You – Chris Tomlin

How He Loves – John Mark McMillan

Furious – Jeremy Riddle/Bethel Live

Daily Devotions

Throughout the Weird series, you can stay in God’s Word with us by receiving daily devotions, either by text or by email.  For more information and to sign up, click here.