WEBVTT 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:12.220 Proverbs chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. We have been 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:15.660 looking at some of these Proverbs here for the 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:19.579 last few weeks. We looked at Proverbs 3, 5, and 00:00:19.579 --> 00:00:22.600 6 a few weeks ago. That's probably the most well 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:27.300 -known of these verses in Proverbs 3. But man, 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:29.579 there's so many good things, I think, in these 00:00:29.579 --> 00:00:34.299 first 12 verses. It's a lot of... A lot of things 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:37.399 for us to consider that are good for us. Proverbs 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:44.280 chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. When we see kind of 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:46.939 a theme in these first 12 verses of Proverbs 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:52.359 chapter 3, there's a command and a result. Like 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:54.060 here's the command and here's what's going to 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:56.420 happen. Here's what you should do and here's 00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:00.289 the result if you do what I tell you to do. And 00:01:00.289 --> 00:01:03.090 we see that same theme carried over today in 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:10.170 Proverbs chapter 3, verses 9 and 10. We'll read 00:01:10.170 --> 00:01:14.829 through these two verses, then we'll pray, and 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:21.730 we'll get started. Honor the Lord with your possessions 00:01:21.730 --> 00:01:25.450 and with the first produce of your entire harvest. 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:29.819 Then your barns will be completely filled. and 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:33.879 your vats will overflow with new wine. Let's 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:36.920 pray. God, we thank you for these good words, 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.239 and I pray, dear Lord, that we would understand 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:43.480 what they say. I pray that your Holy Spirit would 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.739 be among us today, dear Lord. I pray that we 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:50.620 would block out any of the distractions and the 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:53.420 worries and the stresses and the thoughts and 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:57.019 the fears and just normal daily stuff that we 00:01:57.019 --> 00:02:00.420 got on our mind. I pray. that in these next few 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:02.359 minutes you would just block that out, dear Lord. 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:06.379 I pray that you would help us to rejoice in the 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:09.319 many blessings you give us, dear Lord. Sometimes 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.120 we just, we lose sight of those things, but I 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.479 pray, God, that we would rejoice in you for that. 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:18.419 I pray, God, that you would help me to preach 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:20.560 and teach in a way that brings glory and honor 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.000 to you, that you'd take away any pride or any 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.180 fear that's within me today, God, that you would 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:29.409 let your Holy Spirit speak, God. That the words 00:02:29.409 --> 00:02:31.189 that come out of my mouth would be the words 00:02:31.189 --> 00:02:33.289 that you would desire for us to hear. God, that 00:02:33.289 --> 00:02:36.870 your words today would change our heart. And 00:02:36.870 --> 00:02:41.770 I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.310 these verses are pretty simple. Make sure to 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.389 give you 10 % to the church and you'll always 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:48.669 have more than enough money and God will bless 00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:52.229 your bank account. Amen. Let's go home. Well, 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:58.360 not so fast. Not so fast. I think sometimes we 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.219 may read passages like this and maybe that's 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:05.780 where our mind goes to. And certainly you will 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:08.560 hear plenty of pastors that will preach exactly 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.740 what I just told you. Sadly, I think incorrectly 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:15.879 so. But you're all smart folks and I encourage 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:18.400 you always to read the scriptures. Don't ever 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:20.960 just listen to me or any other preacher for that 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:23.620 matter. You pray and you look over the scriptures 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:28.099 and you let the Holy Spirit convict you. But 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:30.699 this passage, I believe, is good for us to consider 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:35.139 today. Honor the Lord with all your possessions, 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:39.360 with the first fruit of your produce. Then your 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:43.740 barns will be completely filled and your vats 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:47.699 will overflow with new wine. Well, what does 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:52.020 that mean for us today? Is there some things 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:54.419 we should consider? And I believe that there 00:03:54.419 --> 00:03:58.840 are. When we look at the Old Testament, we certainly 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.699 see that things were done much different in the 00:04:01.699 --> 00:04:06.620 Old Testament than what we do today. And a lot 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:08.780 of those things, if not all of those things, 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.580 are things of the past. Jesus has come, and we 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:16.259 follow the things that Jesus said, but what are 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.860 we to do with the things that we see in the Old 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:21.540 Testament? Well, one of those things, and this 00:04:21.540 --> 00:04:24.040 is hotly debated among Christians and has been 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.220 and will continue to be, And maybe there will 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:29.240 be some debates after the sermon today. I don't 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.800 know. But in the Old Testament, God was pretty 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:35.519 clear about a lot of things. And one of those 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.420 things was tithing. That's what tithe means is 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:42.339 a tenth. A tenth of what you had was supposed 00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:45.360 to be given to the Lord. But it's not really 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.339 that simple. Because in the Old Testament, there 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:51.639 were three tithes that were to be taken. One 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:53.839 was to be taken every year, and it was to be 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:57.379 given for the storehouses of God. What does that 00:04:57.379 --> 00:04:59.779 mean? Well, the storehouses of God, that was 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:02.819 the tabernacle and eventually the temple, and 00:05:02.819 --> 00:05:05.620 the Levites were the ones who would take care 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:08.379 of all of those things, and they weren't given 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:11.240 an allotment of land. When God divided the land 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:14.939 among the Israelites, the Levites did not get 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:17.980 a portion of the land that was their own. So 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:20.720 therefore, they were dependent. on the other 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:23.199 tribes to provide for their needs. And since 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:25.079 it was the Levites who were the ones who were 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.339 going to take care of all the tabernacle and 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:29.779 the temple service, God commanded that a tenth 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:33.560 of what everybody else had be given to put into 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:37.100 God's storehouses so that the Levites, the priests, 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:39.899 the ones taking care of things, so that they 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:42.959 would be able to survive. So that's part of the 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.759 tenth that we see, but that's not the only tithe 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:49.709 that we see in the Old Testament. Another tithe 00:05:49.709 --> 00:05:52.449 that we see in the Old Testament is actually 00:05:52.449 --> 00:05:56.069 for the people themselves. One of the tithes 00:05:56.069 --> 00:05:59.269 is that God set a place aside where God would 00:05:59.269 --> 00:06:02.709 reside, which ultimately became Jerusalem, and 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:05.009 every year the people were to take a tenth of 00:06:05.009 --> 00:06:07.230 what they had, they were to travel to Jerusalem, 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:09.949 and they were to feast on that tenth of what 00:06:09.949 --> 00:06:12.209 they had and rejoice in the Lord and the presence 00:06:12.209 --> 00:06:15.100 of the Lord. And if it was too far for them to 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:17.980 bring the things that they needed to bring, then 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.660 they could sell it where they were, bring the 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:23.839 money with them to Jerusalem, and buy the things 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.180 that they needed to have this feast. It was a 00:06:26.180 --> 00:06:29.160 feast tithe, if you can call it that, where they 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:31.060 would come together in Jerusalem and rejoice 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:35.120 in the Lord, and the people would partake of 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:37.920 the tithe that they brought. And then there's 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.399 another tithe that's mentioned. In every third 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.389 year, that a tenth is to be taken up. And this 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:47.009 tenth is to be taken up partially for the Levites, 00:06:47.009 --> 00:06:50.310 but also for the widows and the foreigners and 00:06:50.310 --> 00:06:53.589 the orphans in the land. And that was to be every 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:57.589 third year. Now, those are the three tithes that 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:01.910 we see in the Old Testament. Now, some would 00:07:01.910 --> 00:07:04.189 say, okay, well, that's 30%, but not really, 00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:06.129 because every third year you give a tenth. So 00:07:06.129 --> 00:07:09.579 23 and a third percent every year. We're not 00:07:09.579 --> 00:07:11.060 going to get caught up in the math. There's a 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:13.220 lot of people that would debate those things. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.279 But when we talk about giving, especially here 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:18.899 in the Old Testament, we need to understand what 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:22.399 the Old Testament giving looked like and what 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.819 the importance of that tithe was like. Now, if 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:29.180 you go read in Malachi chapter 3, you're going 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:31.699 to see a story where God calls his people out. 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:34.639 And he says, look, you are robbing from me. And 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.180 the people say, well, how, God, are we robbing 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:40.459 from you? And he says, because you're not bringing 00:07:40.459 --> 00:07:43.459 your tithe, your tent, into the storehouses. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:47.139 If you would bring into the storehouses what 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:50.699 I told you to, then you would be blessed greatly. 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.819 He says, test me in this way. And to my knowledge, 00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:56.959 I think that's the only scripture which God says, 00:07:57.139 --> 00:07:59.360 test me. Now, we shouldn't make a habit of testing 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:02.899 God, but in this instance, this is what God calls 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:06.779 his people to, is that they are to give a tent, 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:08.779 that they are to give a tithe, but not just one 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:11.980 tent. There's multiple tents that are given throughout 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:16.600 the years. And God does certainly stand by his 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:19.600 word there. God does want to bless us. And there 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:23.040 are certainly plenty of people who would say, 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.339 oh yeah, well, we need to give a tent to the 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:28.240 church and then God's going to bless us tremendously. 00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:30.959 Well, there is some truth in that, I believe. 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:34.960 But I don't know that that's the main thing that 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:37.559 we need to take from passages like these. That 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.519 might be where our mind goes. And so the question 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:45.269 is often raised, well, How much money should 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:48.789 I give in church today? Well, we have to think 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:50.889 for a second here because there's been a change 00:08:50.889 --> 00:08:53.649 since Jesus Christ has come. There's been a change 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:56.509 from what we do today and what we do in the Old 00:08:56.509 --> 00:08:59.230 Testament. And oftentimes people will say, and 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:00.950 many preachers will say, and many Christians 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:03.649 believe, and perhaps rightly so, that a tenth 00:09:03.649 --> 00:09:06.990 of everything we have is to be brought into the 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:08.990 church. Well, where do we get that from? Well, 00:09:09.049 --> 00:09:11.230 we don't really get it from anywhere because... 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:13.700 That's not exactly what took place in the Old 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:17.419 Testament. But nonetheless, God did command his 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:20.460 people in those days to bring things and to bring 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:22.820 them into the church, and should we be required 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:26.039 to do so today? Well, I don't really know that 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.179 the New Testament would teach that in the same 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:30.960 way. There'd be plenty of Christians who would 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:33.659 say, absolutely, we're all here to give one tenth, 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:35.500 and the other tenths that are mentioned in the 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:37.580 Old Testament, those don't count. It's just one 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.200 tenth, and that's good enough. But the Old Testament 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.240 never speaks of tithing in that way. The Old 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:46.940 Testament really has a whole different heart 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:50.639 of giving. Now, when you look at the early church, 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:54.220 when people begin to become Christians, what 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:57.000 we see is that these people are on fire for the 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.700 Lord, and it says that they're pretty much given 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:02.340 everything. They're coming together. They're 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:04.799 giving everything for the service of the Lord. 00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:06.720 Now, some will say, well, yeah, but that was 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.960 just in that day and time. That's not what God 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:11.759 requires of us today or desires of us today. 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:15.340 Okay, maybe so, maybe not. That's something we 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:17.659 have to pray about and we have to seek the Lord 00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:22.120 about. But we see in the passage here this beautiful 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:28.460 command that God says, honor the Lord with all. 00:10:29.329 --> 00:10:32.830 your possessions. So does that just mean giving 00:10:32.830 --> 00:10:38.149 a tenth to the church? I don't think so. Now, 00:10:38.250 --> 00:10:40.250 it's between you and the Lord whether or not 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:43.049 you give a tenth to the church. That's got nothing 00:10:43.049 --> 00:10:45.049 to do with me. That's only got to do with you 00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:46.690 and the Lord. If you feel convicted that you 00:10:46.690 --> 00:10:48.789 need to give a tenth of what you get to the church, 00:10:48.909 --> 00:10:51.509 then so be it. If you don't feel convicted, then 00:10:51.509 --> 00:10:53.789 so be it. But what I think God wants more than 00:10:53.789 --> 00:10:56.950 anything is not for us to be legalistic with 00:10:56.950 --> 00:11:00.340 what God has given us, But God wants us to have 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:04.340 a right heart when we give. I think that God 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:06.980 wants us to use what we've been given to serve 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:10.419 him. And maybe that means putting 10 % of what 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:13.080 you got in this church offering plate. Doesn't 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:14.720 matter to me if you do or not. That's between 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.600 you and the Lord. Maybe it means putting 20%, 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:21.159 50%. Maybe it means putting 80 % of what you 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:24.519 make into the church offering plate. Maybe it 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.299 don't mean putting anything in the church offering 00:11:26.299 --> 00:11:29.049 plate. Maybe there's something that God's blessed 00:11:29.049 --> 00:11:31.610 you with and maybe there's somebody else you 00:11:31.610 --> 00:11:33.929 can help in the community. Maybe there's another 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:36.330 need. Maybe you got paid this week and you've 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:38.549 got your paycheck and you said, okay, God, I 00:11:38.549 --> 00:11:40.529 want to give you some of what I got from this 00:11:40.529 --> 00:11:43.830 paycheck. Maybe it's 1%, maybe it's 50%. Maybe 00:11:43.830 --> 00:11:45.629 you're planning to put it in a church and maybe 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:48.029 you're on the way to the church and between your 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:50.149 house and the church, you come across somebody 00:11:50.149 --> 00:11:53.039 and there's a need. and you see a family at the 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.139 gas station and you stop for a cold drink and 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:57.220 they come over to you and they say, excuse me, 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:00.240 me and my family, we're on a trip and we're going 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.100 from A to Z and we got a long way to go and we're 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.080 out of money and we haven't eaten in the last 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:07.740 day and we need a couple of tanks of gas to get 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:09.740 us where we're going and we could sure use some 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:12.559 food. We're going to need about $300. Could you 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:14.799 help us? Well, maybe things have been really 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.100 tight for you and you're getting by and you're 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:19.440 doing okay and you got your check and the first 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:22.340 thing you did was you took out... $300, because 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:24.440 that's the amount that you decided you wanted 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:27.080 to give back to the Lord. And this person, here 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:29.600 they are saying, I got $300, and now you've got 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:32.500 a decision to make. Dang, I'm going to put that 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.980 in the church. Now these people need help. What 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:40.820 do I do? What do I do? I'll tell you what I would 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:44.720 do. I'd give them the $300. That's what I'd do. 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:47.179 Now, you may be saying, well, golly, things are 00:12:47.179 --> 00:12:49.460 tight at the church, and if I don't put money 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:50.940 in there, maybe the preacher ain't going to get 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:53.299 paid. I'll tell you what I'd tell you to do. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:55.039 I'd tell you to give the people the money and 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.679 don't worry about me getting paid or the lights 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.960 staying on or anything else. I'd say if God presents 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.179 a need to us and we have the ability to meet 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:07.220 that need, I don't believe that it matters whether 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:09.559 it's in the offering plate or whether it's to 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:14.340 the person we meet on the street. Now that's 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:16.500 what I believe scripture calls us to, but there 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:18.399 are plenty of Christians and some of you perhaps 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.659 who would disagree with that. And I am not the 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:24.639 Holy Spirit, so don't make a decision based on 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:31.440 what I'm convicted of, but seek the Lord. I think 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:34.399 what's more important than any percentage that 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:36.899 we give is the heart in which we give it with. 00:13:37.820 --> 00:13:41.460 And I think if we see people in need, then we 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:45.100 need to help those people. If we see that this 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:48.179 church is doing good for the kingdom of God, 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:50.700 then it's good, I believe, for us to give. I 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:53.179 don't think it's wrong for us to put money in 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:55.100 an offering plate. Praise the Lord. The Lord 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:57.620 has given us plenty of opportunities, and there 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:59.519 are a lot of opportunities that as a church, 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.740 people come to us, they're brought before us, 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:06.100 and God gives us the opportunity to meet those 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:10.350 needs. But I think we need to realize that everything 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:15.870 that we have, it comes from the Lord. And so 00:14:15.870 --> 00:14:18.429 all that stuff about trying to figure out tithing 00:14:18.429 --> 00:14:20.230 in the Old Testament, should I help a person 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:22.710 on the street? Should I help by putting money 00:14:22.710 --> 00:14:25.909 in the plate? I think we miss the point sometimes 00:14:25.909 --> 00:14:29.629 when we get caught up in those areas. We get 00:14:29.629 --> 00:14:33.059 caught up in the weeds sometimes. And we missed 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:35.340 the point, and I think the real point of what 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:39.440 God wants us to realize is that everything we 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:43.700 have comes from him. Everything we have comes 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:49.139 from him. And Proverbs calls us to honor the 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:53.259 Lord with all our possessions. And the question 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:56.700 that you have to consider today... Are you doing 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:58.980 that? I'm not asking you if you're just putting 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:01.059 some money in the plate. I'm not asking you if 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:03.139 you're just giving money for this, that, and 00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:05.080 the other. I'm asking you if you're honoring 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:07.480 the Lord with all of your possessions. I'm asking 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.240 you if when you give, you give from the heart. 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.100 Do you just give so somebody will see you put 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:16.000 it in the plate? Do you just give because you 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.399 feel guilty? Or do we realize today and do we 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:22.559 rejoice in the fact that it's God who has blessed 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:25.820 us with everything that we have? And it's God 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:29.580 who's going to provide for us. I think that's 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:31.759 something we see. We see something that's kind 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:35.019 of counterintuitive in this passage. Now we think, 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.460 okay, I've got X, Y, and Z bills that I need 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:41.139 to pay. and I've got this amount of money, and 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:43.019 I'm going to be able to pay these bills with 00:15:43.019 --> 00:15:45.759 this amount of money, and I can't afford to take 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.500 from my money, or else I won't pay my bills. 00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:51.679 So therefore, I cannot serve the Lord in any 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.279 way. I can't help others. I can't put some money 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:57.179 in the plate at church, because if I take from 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:00.700 what I have, I will not have enough. Now, that's 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:02.840 a normal human thing. I mean, we can do math. 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:05.279 We can put numbers on a page, and we can say, 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:07.659 I've got X bills, and I've got this much money. 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:11.690 And I cannot take from this. But what we see 00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:16.149 in Scripture is a call from the Lord that calls 00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:20.350 us to do something that's counterintuitive. God 00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:25.750 says, use what you've got to honor me. Use what 00:16:25.750 --> 00:16:27.750 you've got to help others. That was part of the 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:29.629 tithe that they took up in the Old Testament, 00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:32.570 was to help others in need, the poor and the 00:16:32.570 --> 00:16:35.529 widows and the orphans, the foreigners. This 00:16:35.529 --> 00:16:39.419 is part of... what the money was used for. And 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:43.500 God says, look, don't hold on to everything that 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:46.960 you've got and become greedy. Don't think you've 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.539 got to hold on to it because I've got just enough 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:54.080 to get by. God says, everything you have comes 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:57.700 from me. And I want you to use what you have 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:02.659 to honor me. I want you to use what you have 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:06.319 in the service of my kingdom. I want you to use 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.119 what you have to serve others. And what does 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:12.240 God tell us in this passage and throughout the 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:16.220 scriptures? I'm going to take care of you. Now, 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.779 I don't believe for a second that passages like 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:22.240 this are an absolute guarantee that God's going 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.599 to make you a millionaire. Now, there are plenty 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:26.779 of people who will say that. If you ain't got 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:28.660 enough money, it's because you ain't given enough 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:31.380 money. I heard a preacher this week. He said, 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:35.099 he said this now. He said the reason why Jesus 00:17:35.099 --> 00:17:37.400 hadn't returned to this earth is because Christians 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:40.680 ain't given enough money. And if you want Jesus 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:42.859 to come back, if you're waiting on him, then 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:45.900 you need to call the 800 number. And he said, 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.660 and I quote, he said, and if you will call this 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:52.380 800 number today, God will look over at Jesus 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:59.279 and he'll say, go get them. Well, maybe that's 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.319 from the Lord. Maybe I shouldn't be talking about 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:05.940 that. But I'm going to tell you what, I don't 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:07.519 think that that's what this scripture means. 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:11.079 I don't think that that's what Malachi chapter 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:16.240 3 means. I don't think God's saying, I want to 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:18.180 make you a millionaire and the only thing that's 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:20.960 holding me back is that you won't let me do it. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.940 So just, if you could put a $10 ,000 check in 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:25.839 this plate before you leave today, you might 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:30.799 get $20 ,000 in your bank account. I don't think 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.759 that that's... What God's word says. Now, I'm 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:35.440 not telling you to look. I'm going to tell you 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.019 what God's good and God does bless us. And I 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:40.460 bet you many of you in here could talk about 00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:42.940 a time where God has blessed you abundantly. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.240 And praise the Lord that he does that. He does 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:47.599 do that. I'm not saying that God does not bless 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:52.099 us abundantly. But what this passage says is 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.660 he says, look, you need to honor the Lord with 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:58.079 your possessions, with the first fruit. You need 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.319 to give God your best. and he's going to fill 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:04.519 your storehouses. You might even have a little 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.740 extra left over. Your wine vats will overflow. 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.220 Filling the storehouses doesn't necessarily mean 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:16.420 that it's just going to be a whole lot more, 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:18.859 that it's just going to be super, super wealth. 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:22.839 Your storehouse, I believe, is enough to get 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:27.039 by. You go to the store, every one of you in 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:29.829 here. You say, okay, here's the groceries I need 00:19:29.829 --> 00:19:32.789 for this week. You go to the grocery store, you 00:19:32.789 --> 00:19:35.369 get those groceries, you come home and you put 00:19:35.369 --> 00:19:37.029 them in the refrigerator. That's your storehouse. 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:40.650 You got enough to get by. You might not have 00:19:40.650 --> 00:19:43.029 an abundance, but you got enough to get by. And 00:19:43.029 --> 00:19:44.670 you say, where am I going to get the food from 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:47.170 next week? My storehouse is full this week. Where 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:49.150 is it going to come from next week? It's going 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:52.630 to come from the Lord. Now, it may not be full 00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:54.829 of T -bones. It may not be full of filet mignon. 00:19:57.190 --> 00:20:01.589 It might not be full of the finest things, but 00:20:01.589 --> 00:20:03.670 I believe that God is so faithful to provide 00:20:03.670 --> 00:20:07.670 for his people. I bet you there are plenty of 00:20:07.670 --> 00:20:09.289 you in this room that could tell a time that 00:20:09.289 --> 00:20:11.890 you didn't know how you were gonna get by. You 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:13.809 didn't know where your next meal was gonna come 00:20:13.809 --> 00:20:15.509 from. You didn't know how you were gonna be able 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:17.269 to pay your bills. You didn't know how you were 00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:19.430 gonna be able to buy groceries. You didn't know 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:21.470 how you were gonna get shoes for your kids. There 00:20:21.470 --> 00:20:23.670 were times that you did not know where it was 00:20:23.670 --> 00:20:27.950 gonna come from. And the Lord provides in some 00:20:27.950 --> 00:20:31.109 way. Somebody will show up and give you money 00:20:31.109 --> 00:20:33.589 that you don't even know why they're giving it 00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:37.450 to you. They'll bring you groceries. You'll get 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:39.690 a random check in the mail from some refund from 00:20:39.690 --> 00:20:42.930 something you done forgot about. And there are 00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:47.890 so many ways in which God takes care of us. And 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:49.710 I believe that that's what this passage means. 00:20:50.829 --> 00:20:53.769 Does God bless us abundantly sometimes? Absolutely. 00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:58.599 Praise the Lord. but we can't treat our giving 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.900 to the Lord like it's some slot machine at Las 00:21:01.900 --> 00:21:05.160 Vegas. All right, I'm ready to hit it big. I'm 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:06.519 going to keep putting more in, putting more in, 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:08.339 putting more in. One day, if I keep putting enough 00:21:08.339 --> 00:21:10.920 in, one day I'm going to hit it big and I'm going 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:15.460 to get it all. Maybe so. Maybe the Lord will 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:18.980 choose to bless you in that way. But I think 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:21.200 more than worry about what we're going to receive, 00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:25.680 we need to be thinking about What we can give. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:30.640 Are we honoring the Lord with all of our possessions 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:40.099 today? Maybe we are. Maybe we're not. Maybe we 00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:44.059 need to think about that. Maybe we do help in 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:45.880 some way, praise the Lord. Maybe there are other 00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:51.059 ways that we can help. But I think that that's 00:21:51.059 --> 00:21:55.039 what God cares about more than anything. is the 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.359 heart in which we give. So maybe you know somebody 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.240 where there's a need today. Maybe you know a 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:07.000 neighbor or a family member or a friend. If you 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:08.619 don't know them today, maybe God will put them 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:13.160 into your path tomorrow. There are tons of ways 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:15.779 that we can serve. There are tons of ways in 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:18.599 which we can use what we have to honor the Lord, 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.380 but our natural human tendency, what we really 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:25.099 want more than anything, It's to use it on ourselves. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.500 I expect every one of us. That's probably something 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:30.259 we fight against. I mean, that's just natural. 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:31.940 That's the first thing that comes to our mind. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:38.859 We want to help ourselves. But what God calls 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:45.880 us to is to honor him with our possessions. Maybe 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.819 that means giving some up to the church. Praise 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.920 the Lord. Look, we've got to have money. It's 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:53.839 a fact of life. These lights have to be on. We 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.140 got to have water. There's a lot of stuff that 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:59.200 has to be done to keep a church going. You know, 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:00.880 and there's some people, they'll say, I ain't 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.200 giving to the church because I don't like the 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:03.859 preaching and I don't like that kind of new music 00:23:03.859 --> 00:23:06.059 they're singing. Man, that's not a good heart 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.299 to have. Do you like the air conditioning and 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:09.799 the heat? If for nothing else, just give for 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:12.380 that reason. You're sitting on a padded pew, 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:18.759 that costs money. But giving to the church, praise 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:20.779 the Lord, I think that that's a good thing. I 00:23:20.779 --> 00:23:23.799 think we should do that. But I don't think that 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:27.140 should be the extent of our service to the Lord. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:30.519 So maybe there are some ways that you could honor 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.299 the Lord with your possessions. Maybe not your 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:36.200 money. Maybe you don't have a lot of money. Maybe 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:39.660 you got some time. Maybe you got some skill you 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:41.460 could use to help somebody else. Maybe you got 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:44.220 a tool that somebody could use. Maybe you got 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.799 a truck that you could use for some way to haul 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:50.890 people around in service of the Lord. Those are 00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:53.890 all things that are our possessions. It's not 00:23:53.890 --> 00:23:57.670 just the money in our bank account. It's all 00:23:57.670 --> 00:24:00.529 that God has blessed us with, our talents, our 00:24:00.529 --> 00:24:05.569 abilities, everything. Are we using those things 00:24:05.569 --> 00:24:09.269 for the Lord? We don't want to give the Lord 00:24:09.269 --> 00:24:11.269 our leftovers. We don't want to say, okay, God, 00:24:11.329 --> 00:24:12.890 I'll do what I want to do, and whatever's left, 00:24:13.029 --> 00:24:16.390 God, I'll use that to serve you, or I'll use 00:24:16.390 --> 00:24:18.900 that little bit of money left. You know, we see 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:21.059 with Cain and Abel early on in the scripture 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:27.059 that Abel brought the best, the best of his flocks. 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:31.039 And it says Cain brought some of his produce, 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:36.079 some. His heart didn't desire to give the Lord 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:39.680 the best. His heart desired to give the Lord 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.099 just enough to get by. And maybe sometimes we 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:46.670 fall into that trap too. This is not a sermon 00:24:46.670 --> 00:24:49.390 to say give more money. That's between you and 00:24:49.390 --> 00:24:53.549 the Lord. This is a sermon to say are we using 00:24:53.549 --> 00:24:55.470 what we have that God has blessed us with in 00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:58.990 service to him? Are we helping those in need 00:24:58.990 --> 00:25:02.789 when we can? Maybe there are times you can and 00:25:02.789 --> 00:25:04.609 maybe there are times you can't. This isn't a 00:25:04.609 --> 00:25:07.269 sermon to make you feel guilty. Look, there are 00:25:07.269 --> 00:25:09.529 some times in life where we have a lot to give. 00:25:09.609 --> 00:25:12.930 Praise the Lord. And there are other times in 00:25:12.930 --> 00:25:16.859 life where Things are really tight. And maybe 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:20.140 you don't have the money to give. I heard of 00:25:20.140 --> 00:25:23.240 a preacher this week. A radio show I listened 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:25.319 to. A guy called in. He said a lady of his church, 00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:27.839 she confessed her sin in the middle of church. 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:32.059 Told the pastor that she was $5 ,000 behind on 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:33.720 her tithing. She didn't know what she was going 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:36.200 to do. And you know what the preacher told her? 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:39.759 He said, it's okay. We'll set you up on a repayment 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:50.250 plan. I don't know who gives, what you give, 00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:52.150 or if you give, and I don't really care. That's 00:25:52.150 --> 00:25:55.769 between you and the Lord. There are times that 00:25:55.769 --> 00:25:59.109 we have and we can do and we can give. And when 00:25:59.109 --> 00:26:04.549 we do, we need to. And when you can't, the Lord 00:26:04.549 --> 00:26:08.529 knows your heart. But I suspect if we look that 00:26:08.529 --> 00:26:12.069 there's something in our life, if not our finances, 00:26:12.430 --> 00:26:14.670 that there's something that God has blessed us 00:26:14.670 --> 00:26:18.839 with. And we need to use that blessing for others 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:24.099 in whatever way we can. God says, if you'll just 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:26.119 listen to me and you'll serve me, I'll take care 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:29.359 of you. And he does. He has been so faithful 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:32.680 to do that in my life. And maybe you can attest 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:38.140 to that in your life. That God is faithful. But 00:26:38.140 --> 00:26:43.460 are we faithful to God? The most beautiful thing 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:45.579 that God could ever give us was Jesus Christ, 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:49.559 that our sins could be forgiven. That he would 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:53.359 give his life for us. We'd repent of our sins, 00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:58.519 that our sins would be forgiven. That's the most 00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:02.299 beautiful thing anybody could ever give. God 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:06.940 gave his only begotten son. Perhaps there's something 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:10.980 today that you could give. Perhaps there's something 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:12.720 you could give, some way that you could love 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:17.400 someone and help someone. So the question remains, 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:21.279 and only you can answer it today, are you honoring 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:27.240 the Lord with all your possessions? If not, then 00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:29.299 pray and ask the Lord to help you to see opportunities 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:32.940 where you failed in that way or opportunities 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:36.819 where you can serve better. And I can just about 00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:38.519 guarantee you that he's going to help you to 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:41.740 be able to see. those opportunities to serve. 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:45.559 Let's pray. God, we come to you now. We thank 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:49.039 you for your good words. God, I pray that we 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:51.579 don't get too caught up in the weeds about a 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:54.200 tenth of this and a tenth of that and where it 00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:56.539 needs to go to and how often we need to give 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:59.299 it, dear Lord. We see your commands in the Old 00:27:59.299 --> 00:28:01.559 Testament, but dear Lord, I think even in those 00:28:01.559 --> 00:28:06.220 commands, you had a purpose. Your real heart, 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:11.089 dear Lord, was... partially we see to take care 00:28:11.089 --> 00:28:14.750 of others, God. And what a beautiful call that 00:28:14.750 --> 00:28:18.130 is for us today. We thank you that we are able 00:28:18.130 --> 00:28:20.910 to come into this place, God, that as brothers 00:28:20.910 --> 00:28:23.950 and sisters in Christ, we can use our monies 00:28:23.950 --> 00:28:28.789 for ministry for you, dear Lord, for sleeping 00:28:28.789 --> 00:28:32.150 bags, for shoeboxes, for helping the person who 00:28:32.150 --> 00:28:34.190 can't afford groceries, for helping the person 00:28:34.190 --> 00:28:36.589 who's... out of work with illness, for helping 00:28:36.589 --> 00:28:39.269 the person who needs medications they can't afford. 00:28:39.369 --> 00:28:43.309 Dear Lord, the list goes on and on and on of 00:28:43.309 --> 00:28:47.910 ways that you call us to serve, that you call 00:28:47.910 --> 00:28:50.910 us to give, that you call us to use what we have 00:28:50.910 --> 00:28:55.809 to be a blessing to others. So God, I pray that 00:28:55.809 --> 00:28:59.789 we would trust you in that way. Dear Lord, for 00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:02.950 those today that are struggling, I pray that 00:29:02.950 --> 00:29:04.859 you would help them. Maybe there are some, dear 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:07.519 Lord, and things are really tight, God. And maybe 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:09.599 they don't have a lot financially to give, dear 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:12.559 Lord. You know, I pray that you just, you meet 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:15.599 their needs. God, this isn't a sermon of condemnation 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:17.640 to make people feel guilty, dear Lord. This is 00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:21.839 just a call for us to rejoice. Rejoice when we 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.900 have and use what we have and just trust in you, 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:28.059 dear Lord. God, perhaps there are times that 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:32.380 in our life we are able to give. And maybe there 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:34.200 are other times, dear Lord, where we are the 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:37.299 ones who need to receive. God, I pray that if 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:39.200 there are any who have a need today that are 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:42.680 struggling, that just having hard times, I pray 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:45.640 that they let me know, dear Lord, that as a church 00:29:45.640 --> 00:29:47.720 we can help them, but God, that they would continue 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:50.160 to seek you to know that you would meet their 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.039 needs. Dear Lord, we know that your blessings 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:58.480 are so good to us, and I pray that we would rejoice 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:02.400 in that. We know that God, Many times you do 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:05.339 bless us abundantly, dear Lord. Your word doesn't 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:09.200 guarantee or promise us great wealth, but golly 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:11.460 God, by the standards of the world, we are pretty 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:15.460 wealthy whether we realize it or not. And so 00:30:15.460 --> 00:30:17.460 I pray that you would just help our minds and 00:30:17.460 --> 00:30:21.519 our hearts just to ponder these words of Proverbs 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:25.900 today. Not to make us feel guilty, dear Lord. 00:30:26.670 --> 00:30:29.490 make us feel condemned, but just to examine our 00:30:29.490 --> 00:30:31.650 life and say, okay, what are we doing with what 00:30:31.650 --> 00:30:34.250 you give me? And God, maybe we're doing pretty 00:30:34.250 --> 00:30:36.230 good. Maybe we're doing all you want us to do. 00:30:36.309 --> 00:30:39.730 Maybe God, there are some other areas where we 00:30:39.730 --> 00:30:44.029 possess something that we can use for the furtherance 00:30:44.029 --> 00:30:47.109 of your kingdom. So God, I pray that you help 00:30:47.109 --> 00:30:49.309 us to see those things, that you help us to see 00:30:49.309 --> 00:30:51.190 the blessings, that you help us to see maybe 00:30:51.190 --> 00:30:55.940 there is a little more that we could do. That 00:30:55.940 --> 00:30:58.039 we would give with a free heart, dear Lord. Your 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:01.200 word says it's more blessed to give than to receive. 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:05.200 God, what you care about more than anything is 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:09.160 not just us going through the motions of putting 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:10.960 more money in the plate, dear Lord. What you 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:14.900 want as far as to give from a pure heart. So 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:17.200 God, I pray that you would help us to be a giving 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.380 people in whatever way. whether it's at the church 00:31:20.380 --> 00:31:22.259 or on the street or in another country, dear 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:24.740 Lord, whatever the needs are that you lead us 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:27.980 to give to, God, I pray that you would help us 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.319 to live in obedience to you and to give to those 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:34.160 needs and to help those in need where we can. 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:38.480 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.