WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.320 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:20.019 Lifehouse Church. Good morning, Lifehouse. Man, 00:00:20.179 --> 00:00:22.940 you all got quiet at one time. I'm not used to 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.219 that. You're a noisy bunch. Well, it's good to 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:27.539 have you here this morning. This is Pastor Adam. 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:34.829 Could you give him a warm welcome? And I'm here 00:00:34.829 --> 00:00:37.469 just to do a little intro and just to welcome 00:00:37.469 --> 00:00:38.810 you this morning. If you're listening online, 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:41.090 thank you for joining us. We know you're there. 00:00:41.109 --> 00:00:42.990 We can't see you, but we love that you're online 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.189 this morning and joining in. And this is the 00:00:46.189 --> 00:00:49.590 beginning of a message series called Holy Buckets. 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:53.340 Say it, Holy Buckets. Yeah, holy buckets. And 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:56.320 how many know that God gives us buckets full 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.960 of money and possessions? He does, right? We're 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:01.560 blessed with that. And he asks us to manage it. 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:03.140 And really, that's what this whole message series 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:05.159 is about. How do we handle our money and possessions 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.140 in a godly manner? And I brought Pastor Adam 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:10.540 in, mostly because this is the week he had available. 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:14.319 He's a very busy guy. But he is a friend. He's 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.079 a colleague. He's an expert in many fields in 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:20.140 ministry. It's true. He's laughing, but it's 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:23.340 true. And this is one of the areas that he's 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:25.299 passionate about. I'll let him share a little 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:28.000 bit about himself and his family. But we are 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:29.760 excited about what God's going to do in your 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.400 life, what he's going to raise up and change 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:34.439 in your heart and mind. And we're just believing 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.000 God for great things. Amen? Amen. Amen. It's 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:38.859 true. So, again, would you give Pastor Adam a 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:40.400 warm welcome, and we'll let him minister to the 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:46.739 Lord. All right. First, Kip and Dixie are just 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:49.120 the best. Can we just thank them for everything 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.799 they've done? Kip and Dixie have been so kind 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.000 to me. I joined the denomination when I was 29 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.780 years old. That was forever ago. I'm balding. 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:02.599 I need glasses now. So they knew me when I was 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:06.319 very young. They've just been so kind to me. 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:08.960 And just watching them and the honor they show. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.759 State Overseer, you guys are so nice to share 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.159 them with the state. I know they've done a lot 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.539 of work there. And Dixie, thank you for answering 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:17.759 all my questions. Anytime I had a question about 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.039 anything, I just called Dixie. So it's a pleasure 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:21.419 to be here with you this morning. How many of 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:26.360 you go to a public pool? Anybody? Is there public 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.039 pools in Carlisle? I go to a public pool, and 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:33.349 I have three kids. They're 8, 11, and 14. And 00:02:33.349 --> 00:02:35.409 every, every, this happens every summer. Every 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:38.189 summer they say, we get a pool pass and we go 00:02:38.189 --> 00:02:40.729 to the public pool and they say, dad, will you 00:02:40.729 --> 00:02:42.330 get in the pool with us? I don't really think 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:43.569 about it. I'm just like, yeah, I'll get in the 00:02:43.569 --> 00:02:45.270 pool. So I get on a swimsuit and I get going 00:02:45.270 --> 00:02:47.569 and I get there and we laid it on the towels 00:02:47.569 --> 00:02:49.270 and I'm like, dad, get in. And then it occurs 00:02:49.270 --> 00:02:52.990 to me, I have not been ready for this moment. 00:02:54.870 --> 00:02:57.930 And I'm about to show all these strangers every 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:00.169 single one of my nutritional choices over the 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:05.360 last year. And it's an incredible reveal every 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:07.840 year. And every year I'm like, man, I could have 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.219 done better. And I just take off my shirt and 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:12.879 I get in that pool and I just hang out in there. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:17.139 You know what, I've realized something though. 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:20.259 We tend to, as people, have goals and aspirations, 00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:22.379 but we live on our floors. So if you have a low 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:24.599 floor, that's where you're gonna live. And I 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:26.240 think one of the things that we need to do, especially 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.139 as people of God, is to raise our floors up. 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:32.870 Because whatever you tolerate, is what you help 00:03:32.870 --> 00:03:35.110 create. I want to say it again. Whatever you 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:37.270 tolerate is what you help to create. The Bible 00:03:37.270 --> 00:03:39.169 is amazing, and I'm going to read a lot of Scripture 00:03:39.169 --> 00:03:41.550 to you today, but I just want everybody in this 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:43.490 room to understand something. You don't have 00:03:43.490 --> 00:03:47.270 to do anything. You don't have to pray. You don't 00:03:47.270 --> 00:03:48.650 have to read Scripture. You don't have to give. 00:03:48.990 --> 00:03:51.349 You don't have to do any of that. That's completely 00:03:51.349 --> 00:03:54.930 up to you. But whatever you sow, you will reap. 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:57.849 You also get to have the results of that. If 00:03:57.849 --> 00:04:00.110 you have a prayerless life, I can promise you 00:04:00.110 --> 00:04:01.770 you don't have the fruits of the Spirit. You 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:02.990 don't have patience. You don't have kindness. 00:04:03.050 --> 00:04:06.830 You don't have joy. And so today, I just want 00:04:06.830 --> 00:04:09.009 to share with you, I'm very, very passionate, 00:04:09.189 --> 00:04:11.810 very passionate about giving. There's a few reasons 00:04:11.810 --> 00:04:16.310 for that. When I was younger, when I was young 00:04:16.310 --> 00:04:18.730 as a pastor, when you guys first met me, I didn't 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:22.209 preach on money because I felt like the real 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:24.170 reason was is because I didn't want people to 00:04:24.170 --> 00:04:26.089 think that I wanted money. So I'd always avoid 00:04:26.089 --> 00:04:28.310 the topic of money. And I came across a verse 00:04:28.310 --> 00:04:32.779 one time. I want to read it to you. It's in the 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:35.839 book of Malachi. It says this, behold, I am going 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:38.300 to rebuke your descendants. This is God talking 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:42.180 to the priests. And I will spread dung on your 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:47.199 faces. Does everybody know what dung is? The 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.779 dung of your feasts and you'll be taken away 00:04:49.779 --> 00:04:52.300 with it. And I'm reading this and I was reading 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.199 this as like a young, I was 30 years old. I was 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:56.920 in the ministry and I read this verse and I said, 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.180 what on earth? I've never told anybody that I 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:03.860 want to wipe dung on your face. Why? What's going 00:05:03.860 --> 00:05:05.680 on? Who is God talking to? Do you guys know who 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:07.920 he's talking to? He's talking to the priests. 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.259 And I said, well, why does he want to do that? 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:13.079 And you go back a chapter before, it's because 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:15.699 they're accepting lame offerings. They're accepting 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:20.439 blind and lame offerings from the people. You 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.319 might say, well, why is God so upset that people 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.160 are offering blind and lame offerings? And he 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.939 says, well, where's my, if I am your king, where's 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:28.600 my honor? He says, try giving that to one of 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:30.060 your governors and see what they say about it. 00:05:30.509 --> 00:05:32.410 And I began to realize something. The reason 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:35.610 why God is so upset with those who are in ministry 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:39.470 is because they're a mediator or moderator between 00:05:39.470 --> 00:05:41.910 the people and God. And because they were accepting 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:43.629 lame offerings and people were bringing lame 00:05:43.629 --> 00:05:45.990 offerings, their heart was far from the Lord. 00:05:46.290 --> 00:05:48.290 And the priests were putting a stamp of approval 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:51.850 and saying, it's okay. Wherever your treasure 00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:54.329 is, there your heart will be also. And so by 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:56.350 them accepting lame offerings, their hearts were 00:05:56.350 --> 00:05:57.970 far from God and they were putting a stamp of 00:05:57.970 --> 00:06:00.189 approval on it. And I realized in that moment 00:06:00.189 --> 00:06:01.949 that I'm not going to be that guy. I'm not going 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:05.629 to be one of those priests that end up not talking 00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:08.029 about giving because I fear people more than 00:06:08.029 --> 00:06:10.889 I fear the Lord. So I got really into this, and 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:12.329 I wanted to do my research. Can I just share 00:06:12.329 --> 00:06:14.990 some things with you this morning about it? Come 00:06:14.990 --> 00:06:18.329 on. Let me just get you a little bit excited 00:06:18.329 --> 00:06:20.129 about this. When I took over a church, the church 00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:24.110 was in sharp decline. I'm sure you guys have 00:06:24.110 --> 00:06:27.569 a Dixie. Are you the treasurer? Yeah. No, you 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:29.560 can't be. Well, anyway, you guys have a treasurer. 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:34.180 And one of the treasurers at my church actually 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:36.379 said to me one time, because the church, I took 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:38.420 over the church and it was sinking fast. They 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:40.240 said, Adam, you can't cash your check till next 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:42.879 week. And I was so ignorant. I was like, oh, 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:46.540 why? Are the banks closed? Like, what's going 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:48.139 on? They said, no, like we don't have any money 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:51.540 left. And then I said to myself, oh, okay. And 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:53.819 I played it cool. And I said, okay, well, it's 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:56.040 time for me to get my resume ready. I'm going 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.430 to go find a new job. And this is what my financial 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:00.149 treasurer said to me. He said, but I had an idea. 00:07:00.290 --> 00:07:03.970 He said, how about we give away more money? We 00:07:03.970 --> 00:07:05.529 were already giving 10 % to the Church of God, 00:07:05.589 --> 00:07:08.790 5 % for missions, 5 % for administrative use. 00:07:09.310 --> 00:07:10.850 And he said, I was thinking, what if we gave 00:07:10.850 --> 00:07:13.930 away another percent? And I said, you know what? 00:07:13.970 --> 00:07:15.569 That's a real great idea. And I didn't care. 00:07:15.610 --> 00:07:21.930 I was leaving. So, and then he said this. He 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:26.230 said, and what if, what if, if we're in the black, 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:29.250 What if we gave away another percent? And I said, 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:33.350 sounds good. And so as I was getting my resume 00:07:33.350 --> 00:07:37.170 ready, our treasurer began to give away more 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:39.670 money. And then we were in the black that month. 00:07:40.430 --> 00:07:41.829 And then he said, hey, we were in the black. 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:44.470 And I was like, great, yeah, hey, awesome. And 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:45.709 he said, so I'm gonna give away another percent. 00:07:46.170 --> 00:07:48.610 I said, do it. And so we began to give away a 00:07:48.610 --> 00:07:50.709 percent, a percent, a percent, a percent, till 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:54.000 we got to 30 % of the money was going out. And 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.040 I'm not saying this to boast. We have one of 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:59.899 the largest budgets in the state. And it's because 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:03.639 God trusts you whenever you trust him with your 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:08.699 money. I'm somebody who can't, I get bored so 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:12.339 easily. I can't tell you how bored I can get. 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:14.939 And if you guys feel like your relationship with 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:18.180 God is not exciting, it's because he's not trusting 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:21.480 you with anything. And the first thing that you 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:23.459 need to trust him with is your finances. And 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:26.139 then he can trust you with true riches. And I'm 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:27.319 telling, does anybody else get bored easily? 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:30.839 If your relationship with God is not exciting, 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:32.539 it's because you're not trusted with anything. 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:35.720 He's not trusting you with something. And this 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.659 is how you get the trust of God. How many of 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:41.759 you guys know that God loves you? I love my kids. 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:46.690 That doesn't mean I trust them. I want to be 00:08:46.690 --> 00:08:49.330 trusted by God. I want God, when I'm in York 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:51.090 County, that's where I'm from. I want him to, 00:08:51.129 --> 00:08:53.269 like, when he stands over York County and he 00:08:53.269 --> 00:08:55.870 says, who can we trust? What church are we going 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:58.029 to trust this with? I want him to see our church. 00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:02.529 I want him to say, I can trust Adam. Adam's someone 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:05.990 I can trust. Give it to Adam. I want you to know 00:09:05.990 --> 00:09:07.830 that God's doing that over all our lives. His 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.470 heart, his eyes go to and fro throughout the 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:12.269 earth looking for a heart that's fully devoted 00:09:12.269 --> 00:09:15.549 to him. And how... How do we change the affection 00:09:15.549 --> 00:09:17.029 of our heart? Well, it's actually through your 00:09:17.029 --> 00:09:18.309 giving because where your treasure is, there 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:21.070 your heart will be also. And whenever God sees 00:09:21.070 --> 00:09:23.029 a giving heart, he sees someone he can trust. 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:28.250 Like I said, you don't have to give, but he doesn't 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:31.210 have to trust you either. And I don't know about 00:09:31.210 --> 00:09:34.289 you guys. I love that God loves me. I love it. 00:09:34.769 --> 00:09:37.610 And I love his forgiveness. And I love that one 00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:39.210 day that I'm going to be in heaven, but I want 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:41.899 to be trusted before I go there. so that I can 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:43.500 be trusted then with something pretty cool too. 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:45.899 So I want to talk to you guys this morning about 00:09:45.899 --> 00:09:47.840 giving. I want to talk about tithing. I want 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:49.700 to talk about being trusted by God. Would anybody 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:59.080 like to be trusted by God more? Have you guys 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:04.269 heard of this concept of tithing? So this is 00:10:04.269 --> 00:10:06.350 the concept. You take your first 10 % and you 00:10:06.350 --> 00:10:08.429 give it to the Lord. That's tithing. That's in 00:10:08.429 --> 00:10:10.710 the Old Testament. It's clearly laid out. So 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:12.169 this is what ended up happening. The first early 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:13.929 Christians were Jewish. They were Jewish Christians. 00:10:14.309 --> 00:10:16.429 The temple was still around. Early Christians 00:10:16.429 --> 00:10:19.690 still tithe to the temple. At 70 AD, the temple 00:10:19.690 --> 00:10:21.590 was torn down, and then the Christians had to 00:10:21.590 --> 00:10:22.830 decide, what are we going to do with the tithe? 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:25.509 I just want to read to you a few quotes from 00:10:25.509 --> 00:10:29.149 the early church fathers. Irenaeus says this, 00:10:29.190 --> 00:10:31.429 in his work against heresy, he refers to tithing 00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:34.450 saying, for the law prescribed the tithes, whether 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:37.509 in the Old or New Testament, and the early Christians 00:10:37.509 --> 00:10:43.970 continued the practice to honor God. Do you guys 00:10:43.970 --> 00:10:46.409 remember what I said? We often try to reach for 00:10:46.409 --> 00:10:47.990 the ceiling, but we live at our floor. Can I 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.490 tell you this? My floor is tithing. I'm gonna 00:10:50.490 --> 00:10:52.769 give more than tithe, but my absolute floor is 00:10:52.769 --> 00:10:55.129 tithing. There's no way that I'm not tithing. 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:58.700 God's gonna get 10%. That's my floor. It's not 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:01.159 anything lower than that. I know a lot of people 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:02.720 that think they're generous. Can I tell you something? 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:05.440 Your mind's playing tricks on you. If you add 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.019 up all you're giving at the end of the year, 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:10.500 it's usually a percent or a half a percent. My 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:18.600 floor, my floor is 10%. St. Clement said this, 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:20.899 it is necessary that each one should present 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:23.059 his ties to the Lord so that the church may be 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:27.029 strong and grow in grace of God. St. Gregory 00:11:27.029 --> 00:11:28.570 said this in one of his sermons, he mentions, 00:11:28.629 --> 00:11:31.450 even as the law of old included tithing, so too 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:34.649 should we give what is due to God from our earnings. 00:11:37.250 --> 00:11:39.809 St. Ambrose said this, let us pay our tithe to 00:11:39.809 --> 00:11:41.629 God that the supplies of the church may not fail, 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:43.850 but rather be gathered in abundance for the needs 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:49.169 of the faithful. St. Augustine. The ancient custom 00:11:49.169 --> 00:11:50.850 of tithing, though the law of Moses has been 00:11:50.850 --> 00:11:52.730 fulfilled, is still a fitting expression of gratitude 00:11:52.730 --> 00:11:55.149 for the gifts of God, and we should inspire to 00:11:55.149 --> 00:12:02.330 such generosity. There was a woman who heard 00:12:02.330 --> 00:12:03.750 me talk about tithing. She didn't have anything. 00:12:04.029 --> 00:12:06.970 She was single. She had a young child. She was 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:09.850 on disability. She heard me talk about tithing. 00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:11.889 She came up to me afterwards, and she said, Adam, 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:13.230 I want you to know that I'm going to start tithing. 00:12:13.509 --> 00:12:15.129 To be honest with you, my heart broke, and I 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:16.549 wanted to tell her, hey, don't worry about it. 00:12:17.459 --> 00:12:19.059 right? Just because of her situation that she 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:21.220 was in. And she goes, next Sunday, I'm going 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:25.980 to bring my tithe. Her tithe was $27. That's 00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:27.960 how much it was. That Sunday, she didn't come 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:29.480 to church because she was too scared to give 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:32.639 her $27. On Tuesday, she came into the church 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.159 office, still scared to death, came in crying, 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:38.320 saying, I'm so sorry I wasn't here Sunday. I 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.580 was too scared to do this. She said, here, will 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:43.120 you take this? Took the $27, put it in the vault. 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.379 And this is what the secretary gave her. She 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:49.179 said, excuse me, Denise, that's her name. She 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:50.860 said, somebody left this for you. Handed her 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:54.399 a check for $900. It was her rent on her house. 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.559 It was in the office waiting for her. All she 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:02.299 had to do was come to church. Now, I'm not saying 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:03.759 you're going to have $900 checks waiting for 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:08.179 you, but you might. God's expression in his heart 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:10.220 towards her wanted her to know that he could 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:15.419 be trusted with her money. I'm a second -generational 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:19.000 tither. My parents taught me to tithe. When I 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:20.779 was little, we belonged to the Methodist Church, 00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:24.879 and in the Methodist Church, I sat on my dad's 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.039 left. My dad doesn't have his right arm. He has 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:28.779 his left arm, and I'd always have to sit on his 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:30.860 left so he could hit me to wake me up during 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:33.220 service. And one day, he'd always give me the 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:37.899 tithe check to put into the offering baskets. 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:41.110 They passed baskets back in the day. And they 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:43.450 were actually big old metal plates. And I remember 00:13:43.450 --> 00:13:47.169 the one day I opened up the check and saw how 00:13:47.169 --> 00:13:49.730 much he was giving. I almost passed out. It was 00:13:49.730 --> 00:13:59.710 100 times more than my allowance. My parents 00:13:59.710 --> 00:14:05.370 taught me to tithe at an early age. So I want 00:14:05.370 --> 00:14:11.519 to read to you. In Matthew, it says this. It 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.600 says, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:17.419 for you pay tithe of mint and arise of anus and 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:19.639 cumin and have neglected the weightier matters 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:24.240 of the law, justice and mercy and faith. These 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:26.440 you ought to have done without leaving the others 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.320 undone. I want everybody to know these Pharisees 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:32.419 were oftentimes proud of their giving and they 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:34.039 would actually make these little bouquets out 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:35.840 of their mint and their dill and they would actually 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:38.919 give 10 % of their spices to the Lord. And the 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:42.639 Lord is saying to them, like, there's important 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.799 things that the law has to say and tithing is 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.860 one of them, but you're missing out on the way 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:48.240 to your things and I don't want you to neglect 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.379 that. And I want you to know that Jesus was actually 00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:54.240 confirming the tithe, that the Pharisees, they 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.639 should be tithing. There's another verse in Hebrews 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.879 that says this, here mortal men receives tithes, 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:05.039 but there he receives them of whom it is witnessed 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:07.600 that he lives. It's talking about the order of 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.639 Melchizedek. But tithing was something that was 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.000 still assumed in the New Testament. When people 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.279 say, well, the New Testament doesn't talk about 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.419 tithing a lot. It's because they were still tithing. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:27.759 It was a given. Another place, this is what Jesus 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.940 says. They said to him, he held up that coin. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:32.419 He said, whose face is on the coin? And they 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:34.740 said to him, Caesar's. And he said to them, render 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:37.259 therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:39.799 and to God the things that are God's. Can I tell 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:43.679 you what is God's? What is God's portion? If 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.419 you're a Jew in that day and Jesus said to you, 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:52.820 give to God's what is God's. What is it? Is it 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:57.679 all of it? No, because Caesar's some of it. It's 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.299 10%. So Jesus is saying to the people, I know 00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:03.690 you're being taxed, but. Give to God what is 00:16:03.690 --> 00:16:11.389 God's. Okay, now I want to jump in. Are you guys 00:16:11.389 --> 00:16:15.309 still with me? Here's the thing. The way that 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:16.950 he talks to the priests is not the way that he 00:16:16.950 --> 00:16:20.350 talks to the people. The way that he talked to 00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:23.870 the leaders is I want to wipe dung on your face, 00:16:24.029 --> 00:16:27.629 right? So he wants to wipe dung on their face. 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:30.549 And this is what he's saying to the people. He 00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:34.250 talks very softly to them. He says this, behold, 00:16:34.370 --> 00:16:37.110 I send my messenger and he will prepare the way 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:40.269 before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly 00:16:40.269 --> 00:16:43.570 come to his temple. Even the messengers of the 00:16:43.570 --> 00:16:46.289 covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, 00:16:46.429 --> 00:16:51.450 says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the 00:16:51.450 --> 00:16:53.850 day of his coming? And who can stand when he 00:16:53.850 --> 00:16:55.889 appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:59.370 like launderer's soap. This is Malachi talking 00:16:59.370 --> 00:17:03.779 about Jesus. He will sit as a refiner of purifier 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:06.920 of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.460 purge them as gold and silver that they may offer 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.559 to the Lord an offering in righteousness. Who's 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:15.079 he talking about? This person named Jesus is 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:17.099 gonna come and purify the people and then they're 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:19.440 gonna offer the right kind of offering. Who's 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.160 he talking about? Has anybody in here been purified 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:25.539 by Jesus? So he's talking about you and you're 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:29.769 gonna offer the right kind of offering. Then 00:17:29.769 --> 00:17:31.869 the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant 00:17:31.869 --> 00:17:33.890 to the Lord as in the days of old, as in the 00:17:33.890 --> 00:17:36.390 former days. And I will come near you for judgment. 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:41.950 And I'll be swift witnesses against the sorcerers. 00:17:42.150 --> 00:17:44.130 What happens when people offer up themselves 00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:48.029 to the Lord? The Lord draws near. I want to say 00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:50.049 that again. What happens when you offer up yourself 00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:52.930 to the Lord? When you draw near to him, he what? 00:17:54.170 --> 00:17:56.289 When we offer up our offerings to the Lord, what 00:17:56.289 --> 00:18:01.549 comes swiftly? His judgment. Is there anything 00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:06.769 wrong in Carlisle? Do you know what I want my 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:09.390 kids to see? I want them to see the swift judgment 00:18:09.390 --> 00:18:15.309 of God on those who do wrong. I want to say it 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:18.609 again. I want my children to see the swift judgment 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:21.849 of God on those who do wrong. Because I want 00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:23.390 them to know that there's consequences for doing 00:18:23.390 --> 00:18:28.119 wrong. The reasons why often... towns and cities 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:31.839 and places where it seems like, it seems like 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:33.839 those who are doing wrong are getting away from 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:35.559 it is because the people of God haven't learned 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.299 to give themselves to God yet. But when we give 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:40.500 ourselves to God, his judgment comes swiftly 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:48.079 on those that do wrong. And I will come near 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:49.900 you for judgment and I will be a swift witness 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.400 against sorcerers, against adulterers, against 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:54.720 perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.200 and widows and orphans and against those who 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.839 turn away an alien because they do not fear me, 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:03.759 says the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:08.240 do not change. Isn't that an interesting thing 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:11.839 to say? In Malachi, when he's talking about the 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.099 tithe and offerings, he says, for I am the Lord 00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:18.099 your God, I do not change. Yet from the days 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:20.359 of your fathers, you've gone away from my ordinances 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:22.960 and have not kept them. Return to me and I'll 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.599 return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.759 say, in what way shall we return? Will a man 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:32.400 rob God? Yet you've robbed me, but you say, in 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.440 what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:36.980 Says you are cursed with a curse, for you have 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:39.759 robbed me, even in this whole nation. Bring all 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:41.339 the tithes into this storehouse that there may 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:43.559 be food in my house and try me now in this, says 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:45.640 the Lord of hosts, that I will not open for you 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:47.839 the windows of heaven and pour out for you such 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:49.940 a blessing that there will not be room enough 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:54.140 to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:57.079 for your sakes so that he will not destroy the 00:19:57.079 --> 00:19:59.420 fruits of your ground nor shall the vine fail 00:19:59.420 --> 00:20:02.180 to bear fruit for you in the field, says the 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:05.099 Lord of hosts. And all nations will call you 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.319 blessed for you'll be a delightful land, says 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:14.589 the Lord of hosts. I, some people get it and 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:18.630 some people don't. If you will trust the Lord 00:20:18.630 --> 00:20:21.130 with your finances, and what is your finances? 00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:25.789 Your finances are you. You are your finances. 00:20:25.789 --> 00:20:28.150 How do I know that? You exchange your time and 00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:30.710 talents for this thing called money. So when 00:20:30.710 --> 00:20:32.769 you lay your money in the offering, you're actually 00:20:32.769 --> 00:20:35.430 laying yourself. And we're actually called to 00:20:35.430 --> 00:20:38.579 be a living sacrifice. I have my friend here, 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:41.440 his name's Dylan. He's a missionary. He takes 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:45.279 himself and he lays down his life and goes into 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.660 these places. Now, I'm not called to missions, 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:51.519 but I can lay down my life in the offering plate 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.259 to support what God's doing here, to support 00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:56.700 what God's doing there, to support people all 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:06.819 over the place. And I want to say this because 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:09.160 I just don't feel like anybody talks about it 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.460 anymore. Do you know what happens? It's appointed 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:17.920 man once to die and then the judgment. I want 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:19.799 to say that again. It's appointed to man once 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.279 to die and then the heaven, no, the judgment. 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:28.019 Do you know at the end of your life, before you 00:21:28.019 --> 00:21:30.700 go to heaven, something happens? Does anybody 00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:33.079 want to guess what it is? You give an account. 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:35.559 You're going to give an account for your life. 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:39.900 And I want everybody to understand something. 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:42.579 Like I know that God loves me, but I'm gonna 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:45.299 give an account one day. And in that account, 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:47.839 I'm gonna be given the opportunity to have shown 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:52.640 him whether or not I love him. Not just with 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:54.819 my money, but also with my life, with how I dealt 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:56.920 with people, how I was as a husband, how I was 00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:59.240 as a pastor, how I was with my children, how 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:03.240 I am as a father. My whole life is gonna be given 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:05.119 the opportunity to shine. And it actually says 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:07.880 this, that my life is going to be, put in this 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.519 place, and fire is going to be applied to it, 00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:11.960 and we're going to find out whether it was made 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.720 of wood, hay, and stubble, or gold, silver, and 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.140 precious jewels. We're going to see if there's 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:19.680 anything left. And anything that wasn't motivated 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.180 by love is going to be burned up and completely 00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:24.900 gone. But on that day, whatever Jesus wants to 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:26.039 talk to me about, we're going to talk about. 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:27.279 Whatever I didn't repent for, we're going to 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.579 talk about. Because I'm going to be his roommate 00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:34.960 forever. Did you know that? Did you know that 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.660 the Holy Spirit is grooming you to be a roommate 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:41.559 to Jesus forever? And he's not done with you 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.900 yet. And if you're in this room and you're a 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:46.700 new believer, you might say, well, hold on, this 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:49.220 sounds pretty heavy. Listen to me. I want you 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:51.380 to know that I have an eight -year -old. I just 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:52.759 let him mow the lawn the other day. We have one 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:55.180 of those riding lawnmowers. He did an awful job. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.059 It was like the worst lawn mowing job I've ever 00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:00.180 seen in my life. And he got off the lawnmower. 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:02.380 You know what I said to him? I'm so proud of 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:05.799 you. I said, come here, give me a big hug. You're 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:08.980 such a big boy mowing the lawn. I have a 14 year 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:10.759 old and I told him, get out there and fix that. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:13.720 And so he went out there and he fixed it. And 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:15.480 I was like, I didn't even tell him good job. 00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:19.700 It was just expected. So God's dealing with us 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:22.400 as individuals. He's not saying like, okay, across 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.299 the board, everybody act this way. No, you guys, 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:28.680 his grace and mercy when I was in stage one was 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:32.970 absolutely mind blowing. I can't do what I used 00:23:32.970 --> 00:23:36.769 to do or not do back here. I'm just in a different 00:23:36.769 --> 00:23:39.210 stage. And I know, like I used to, I was so blown 00:23:39.210 --> 00:23:41.049 away by his forgiveness and the fact that he's 00:23:41.049 --> 00:23:43.250 created a place for me to heaven. Like that blew 00:23:43.250 --> 00:23:45.809 my mind. It still blows my mind, but I want to 00:23:45.809 --> 00:23:50.650 blow his mind. I want to be trusted. For where 00:23:50.650 --> 00:23:52.269 your treasure is there, your heart will be also. 00:23:52.490 --> 00:23:54.069 Did you ever get around people and you feel like 00:23:54.069 --> 00:23:56.640 they love God more than you? I don't mean like 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.140 they act like they love God more than you. I 00:23:58.140 --> 00:24:00.740 mean like you genuinely know that you know that 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:02.099 you know that these people love God. They're 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:06.119 givers. And we actually direct the affection 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:09.460 of our heart through our treasure. Nothing's 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:11.319 more powerful than that in all the world. My 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:13.140 wife, I can't tell you, I used to be a waiter, 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:16.839 believe it or not, before ministry. I would go 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:18.619 to school and I'd wait on tables. And I would 00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:20.859 get all these $1 bills. I would spend all my 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:24.299 money on my wife. She wasn't my wife yet. I was... 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:27.140 courting her, if you will. I spent all my money 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:30.380 on her. My heart beat for her so much. Her heart, 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:37.420 we should have went Dutch. It was just a little 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:47.640 bit for me. Then I just, if there's people in 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:48.819 the room that are already tithing, there are 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:50.279 people that aren't, and there's people in the 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:53.519 room that are an eight -year -old mowing the 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:58.420 lawn. There's three groups of people. I don't 00:24:58.420 --> 00:25:00.799 want you to get to the end of the line and find 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.359 out what God wanted you to trust you with, but 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:04.799 he couldn't trust you because you weren't trusted 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:15.799 with money. Therefore, if you've not been faithful 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:17.920 in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:20.259 your trust the true riches? Unrighteous mammon 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:23.900 was another word for money. If we have an opportunity 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.200 to be trusted with true riches, don't we want 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:30.220 to be trusted? And if he ends up giving back 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:34.400 the money and some, don't you want to find out? 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:50.819 Can I have the band come up here? So... We have 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:52.220 something up here. They're going to show you 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.400 the traditional giving that you guys do here. 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:57.960 If you're in the room and you're like, you know 00:25:57.960 --> 00:25:59.779 what? I want to give thriving a shot because 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:03.180 Malachi actually invites you to try it. That 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:04.680 kind of giving, that kind of generous giving 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:07.099 of 10%. If you want to make that your floor, 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:09.140 maybe you need to have a conversation with somebody. 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:11.339 If you're married, maybe that looks like something. 00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:14.819 I don't know what it looks like. But until we 00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:17.259 are trusted with money, he's not going to trust 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:21.109 us with true riches. Until we're trusted with 00:26:21.109 --> 00:26:23.150 money, our heart's affection isn't gonna be with 00:26:23.150 --> 00:26:31.130 him. There may be another group of people in 00:26:31.130 --> 00:26:32.569 this room and maybe you don't know the Lord. 00:26:33.410 --> 00:26:36.069 And I just wanna say this to everybody in the 00:26:36.069 --> 00:26:39.509 room because it's a really good reminder. Precisely 00:26:39.509 --> 00:26:41.690 about 48 % of what Jesus spoke about was the 00:26:41.690 --> 00:26:43.410 day of judgment in his parables. Did you guys 00:26:43.410 --> 00:26:46.049 know that? That means every other sermon was 00:26:46.049 --> 00:26:49.690 about judgment day. That's a lot. of sermons, 00:26:49.789 --> 00:26:56.710 of our judgment day. I'm trying to do it. But 00:26:56.710 --> 00:27:02.089 there's, I'll just read it to you. How about 00:27:02.089 --> 00:27:10.970 that? If you look at John 3, chapter 3, I think 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:16.190 everybody's familiar with John 3, 16. Did you 00:27:16.190 --> 00:27:28.470 guys know there's a 17? It says this, for God 00:27:28.470 --> 00:27:30.289 so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:27:30.289 --> 00:27:35.589 son. That whoever believes in him should not 00:27:35.589 --> 00:27:38.650 perish, but have everlasting life. For God did 00:27:38.650 --> 00:27:40.609 not send his son into the world to condemn the 00:27:40.609 --> 00:27:42.190 world, but that the world through him might be 00:27:42.190 --> 00:27:45.650 saved. He who believes in him is not condemned, 00:27:45.769 --> 00:27:47.710 but he who does not believe is condemned already 00:27:47.710 --> 00:27:50.250 because he has not believed in the name of the 00:27:50.250 --> 00:27:55.329 only begotten son of God. And this is the judgment. 00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:58.819 Some verses saying this is the verdict, that 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:01.099 light has come into the world and men love darkness 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:03.660 rather than light because their deeds were evil. 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:06.619 For everyone practicing evil hates the light 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:08.200 and does not come to the light lest his deeds 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:13.880 should be exposed. But he who does the truth 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:18.940 comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:21.900 seen that they have been done in God. This is 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:25.819 the picture that's described. One day I'm gonna 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:27.380 die and there's gonna be a great light and that 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:30.519 light is Christ. And that light is going to reveal 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:34.740 my life, my motives, what I did, what I didn't 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:37.019 do, what I was trusted with, what I wasn't trusted 00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:40.920 with, all of it is just going to bang across 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:43.599 me. And in front of me, two things are either 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:46.420 gonna happen. There's gonna be a path that's 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:49.099 lit and that path is actually me doing life with 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:51.359 God because I practiced the truth and I came 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:54.039 to the light. I came to the light my whole life. 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:56.559 Every morning I started off, I sought him first 00:28:56.559 --> 00:28:58.940 and I came to the light. And because I came to 00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:00.400 the light and because I practiced the truth, 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:02.359 and I'm not talking about being perfect. I'm 00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:03.880 just talking about like just coming to the light 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:07.660 and just coming to the light. And every morning 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:10.220 I practiced what I was going to do one day, which 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:13.460 was actually approach the light. I'm gonna be 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:15.180 very practiced at it. It's called practicing 00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:19.200 the truth. And that path is going to be lit up. 00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:22.730 And on the path, I'm going to see my deeds that 00:29:22.730 --> 00:29:28.730 I did with God, or I'm going to hate the light 00:29:28.730 --> 00:29:31.589 because it exposes the reality that I didn't 00:29:31.589 --> 00:29:34.089 love God. It exposes the reality that I lived 00:29:34.089 --> 00:29:36.670 for myself. It exposes not this image I had of 00:29:36.670 --> 00:29:38.470 myself, but actually who it is that I lived for, 00:29:38.529 --> 00:29:40.710 which was myself, because I needed to be saved 00:29:40.710 --> 00:29:43.109 from myself. And I'm actually going to turn and 00:29:43.109 --> 00:29:45.410 run away. When I was a young man, I used to think, 00:29:45.430 --> 00:29:47.089 how long is judgment day? It's going to be real 00:29:47.089 --> 00:29:50.410 quick, very quick. you're either going to approach 00:29:50.410 --> 00:29:52.170 him because you practice coming to the light 00:29:52.170 --> 00:29:54.170 or you're going to run from him because you feared, 00:29:54.309 --> 00:29:57.089 because you hated the light and you love darkness. 00:29:58.029 --> 00:29:59.509 That's what's going to happen to every person. 00:30:00.109 --> 00:30:03.990 And here's what we like to do. And I'm not saying 00:30:03.990 --> 00:30:07.970 that we should or shouldn't do it, but every 00:30:07.970 --> 00:30:10.369 funeral I've ever been to, people talk about 00:30:10.369 --> 00:30:14.809 where it is that they went. And we're not the 00:30:14.809 --> 00:30:17.690 judge, if I'm being honest. In fact, the Bible 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:20.069 actually says, do not say who will ascend or 00:30:20.069 --> 00:30:23.769 who will descend. And so if you're in this room 00:30:23.769 --> 00:30:25.569 and you don't know Jesus, like you don't have 00:30:25.569 --> 00:30:27.190 a relationship with him, how do you know you 00:30:27.190 --> 00:30:29.009 have a relationship with him? Because you practice 00:30:29.009 --> 00:30:36.450 coming to the light. If that's not you and you 00:30:36.450 --> 00:30:39.789 wanna start a relationship with him today, I 00:30:39.789 --> 00:30:42.269 wanna invite you to do that. And this is all 00:30:42.269 --> 00:30:45.009 I'm gonna ask you to do. I'm just gonna have 00:30:45.009 --> 00:30:46.549 everybody close your eyes just for a second. 00:30:48.569 --> 00:30:50.589 And I'm not just gonna have you raise your hand. 00:30:50.769 --> 00:30:52.829 Kip Penrod is up here and you know who he is. 00:30:52.849 --> 00:30:55.349 He's the one who introduced me. I'm gonna ask 00:30:55.349 --> 00:30:57.529 that after this service, that you would come 00:30:57.529 --> 00:31:01.930 up and approach him and then say that you wanna 00:31:01.930 --> 00:31:05.890 follow Jesus. If that's you in this room and 00:31:05.890 --> 00:31:09.029 you don't know Jesus and you don't practice coming 00:31:09.029 --> 00:31:11.069 to the light, I want you to raise your hand. 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:18.380 Awesome. You can put your hand down. Anybody 00:31:18.380 --> 00:31:32.759 else? Amen. I know who that was that raised your 00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:34.420 hand. Sir, I'm gonna ask you at the end to come 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:38.220 up and talk to Kip. And he's just gonna lead 00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:40.940 you in a prayer. For everybody else in the room. 00:31:41.950 --> 00:31:44.250 In Matthew 7, it says something specific and 00:31:44.250 --> 00:31:47.829 I just wanna read it to you. Then we're gonna 00:31:47.829 --> 00:31:51.970 close. And I'm not one of those guys. If I'm 00:31:51.970 --> 00:31:53.250 one of those, maybe I am one of those guys that 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:59.769 says we're gonna close, but we never do. Remember 00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:01.730 when I talked about my eight -year -old and how 00:32:01.730 --> 00:32:10.089 proud I was of him? There comes a point in your 00:32:10.089 --> 00:32:12.549 walk. When you come to this conclusion, are you 00:32:12.549 --> 00:32:15.990 guys ready? Matthew 7, verse 24 says, therefore, 00:32:16.029 --> 00:32:19.369 whoever hears these sayings of mine and does 00:32:19.369 --> 00:32:22.690 them, I will liken him to a wise man who built 00:32:22.690 --> 00:32:26.869 his house on the rock. And the rain descended, 00:32:27.109 --> 00:32:28.569 the floods came, and the winds blew and beat 00:32:28.569 --> 00:32:30.750 on that house. And it did not fall for it was 00:32:30.750 --> 00:32:38.490 founded on the rock. Now, what's the rock? Everybody. 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:44.839 always says Jesus. But Jesus is talking and he 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:46.259 actually tells you the answer at the beginning. 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:47.779 Are you guys ready? I'm gonna read it again. 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:49.599 Don't you dare say Jesus after I read this again. 00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:53.720 Therefore, whoever hears these words of mine 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:58.460 and does them, is like a man who builds the house 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:07.400 on the rock. What is the rock? It's those who 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:11.619 do. what he commands. Whoever hears these words 00:33:11.619 --> 00:33:15.259 of mine and does them is like a wise man who 00:33:15.259 --> 00:33:17.480 built his house on the rock. The foolish man 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:20.079 hears the words and then doesn't do them. The 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:23.140 foundation in other places, it calls Jesus the 00:33:23.140 --> 00:33:25.960 rock. But in this parable specifically, it says 00:33:25.960 --> 00:33:28.319 the wise person is the one who can hear what 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:30.880 Jesus is saying and does them. Let's be wise 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:33.200 so that when the storm comes, the house stands. 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:42.319 Kip, I'm gonna just go ahead and invite you up 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:53.799 here to close. Church, I'm gonna ask you to stand. 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:02.359 Can God trust you and can you trust him? That's 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:04.279 what this all boils down to. You can trust God 00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:08.119 with what he says, what it requires of us, what 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:24.010 he calls us to do. We pray that you were impacted 00:34:24.010 --> 00:34:27.070 powerfully by this message. If you have been 00:34:27.070 --> 00:34:29.750 personally affected by our ministry and you would 00:34:29.750 --> 00:34:32.489 like to partner with us as we love God, love 00:34:32.489 --> 00:34:35.329 people every day, visit our website at