WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:06.259 We're going to go into a thought this afternoon, 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:10.820 if I may share this thought. This thought has 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:15.300 touched my heart. This character that we're going 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:18.660 to be talking about today in Scripture has really 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:25.079 touched my heart over my leadership and my life 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:28.620 in ministry. And I want to talk a little bit, 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.079 just touch on some things about this one character 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:34.640 in God's Word. And hopefully it'll be a blessing 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:38.079 to somebody just to know that God can do great 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.479 things with small things. And how God uses, you 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:47.659 know, those that seem like they're not important, 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:51.219 but he uses them anyway. And I want to share 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:54.159 this scripture with you. And my topic for today 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:59.729 is a hundredfold life. a hundredfold life. And 00:00:59.729 --> 00:01:03.250 we'll touch on that in just a bit. But I want 00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:06.370 to take some scripture out of the book of Genesis, 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:11.609 if I may, chapter 26, verse 1 through 3 to open. 00:01:12.290 --> 00:01:15.269 And my thought is this. The scripture says this. 00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:18.750 There was a famine in the land besides the first 00:01:18.750 --> 00:01:22.609 famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:26.420 went to Abimelech. king of the Philistines in 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.840 Gerar. Then the Lord appeared to him and said, 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.420 Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land of 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:39.000 which I shall tell you. Verse 3, Dwell in this 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:43.700 land, and I will be with you and bless you. For 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:46.879 to you and your descendants I give all these 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:51.400 lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:55.730 to Abraham your father. Why don't we just lift 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:58.109 our hands once again there and go to the Lord 00:01:58.109 --> 00:02:01.409 in the heart of thanksgiving and open your heart 00:02:01.409 --> 00:02:05.109 to God's counsel of his word today. Father, in 00:02:05.109 --> 00:02:07.950 your name, I'm so grateful to you, Lord, for... 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:10.479 First of all, for being able to be here before 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.719 your people. Lord, I consider it an honor and 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:16.500 a privilege, Lord. And I, once again, Lord, I 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.699 thank you for your protection upon our lives 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:23.560 this entire week. Lord, whatever it may have 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.639 become, Lord, we know that you were in it all 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.439 week long. From last week, Resurrection Sunday 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:34.039 service to now, Lord, you have been with us. 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:37.580 And I thank you, Father, because you truly, Lord. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:41.159 hallelujah, are the spirit, Lord, within us. 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.020 You are that spirit that is within us. Lord, 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:46.520 we have done great things because of you this 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.039 week. We thank you, Lord, for the victories, 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:52.580 for those that we testify to, that the seed will 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:56.219 take plant in their life, Lord. Somehow, someway, 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.840 somebody is going to be saved, Lord, through 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:03.379 the foolishness of preaching of the Word of God. 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:06.139 And I pray that your Word today will be of encouragement 00:03:06.139 --> 00:03:09.479 to somebody. here today, Lord, that we may walk 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.939 out of here encouraged in the faith and knowing, 00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:17.340 God, that you can do anything. You can turn things 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.740 around for us, Lord, and we look up to you, Lord, 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.340 as you are a redeemer in everything, Lord, in 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:28.120 life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Give the 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.020 Lord a hand of praise. You may take your places 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:35.840 if you can. Amen. Thank you for... I thought 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:37.719 I was going to preach without a microphone. It 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:39.759 was going to be good for me because it's kind 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:43.439 of hard to hold it up here anyway. But anyway, 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:47.060 this thought that I want to share with you today 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:51.319 has been with me. And I've gone through it many 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:56.860 times and considered this man by the name of 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:00.620 Isaac. On many occasions in the Old Testament, 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:05.860 God identifies himself. as when God speaks to 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:08.740 man and he communicates with man, and even to 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:13.800 us historically and biblically, God identifies 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:18.319 himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:21.540 and the God of Jacob. Thank you, brother. Amen. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:26.420 Amen. Just in case, right? Is this for a crutch 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:29.529 or for the microphone, brother? Either way, oh, 00:04:29.529 --> 00:04:33.310 no, no. Praise God. I'm going to tell you something. 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.350 This reminded me of something. When my dad one 00:04:36.350 --> 00:04:39.529 time, many, many years ago, he was the pastor, 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:43.170 and I guess he injured himself, and he was walking 00:04:43.170 --> 00:04:46.720 around with a cane. You know, and I got inspired, 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.439 you know, and I preached the message, and I told 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.139 my father, I'm going to rebuke that cane in the 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:54.300 name of Jesus. Come up here, we're going to pray 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:56.079 for you. And I prayed for him, and I really felt 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.040 that, you know, God healed him, his body, and 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.480 God did something for him. But I should have 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.379 never done what I did next. I took the cane from 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:07.579 him, and I said, you ain't never going to use 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:09.920 this cane again. And I went to break it over 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:15.350 my knee. It did not break. I don't know what 00:05:15.350 --> 00:05:17.670 kind of wood that was, but it would not break. 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:19.709 And guess who had to use the cane thereafter 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:24.709 for a bit? I said, oh, my knee went bad. You 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:28.029 ain't using my cane. He says, praise God, that 00:05:28.029 --> 00:05:30.949 didn't cost you nothing there. Just don't do 00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:35.089 that. Amen. But when considering the lives of 00:05:35.089 --> 00:05:39.930 these three great men, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:43.509 For the sake of today's thought, I would like 00:05:43.509 --> 00:05:47.149 to point out that of the three, for me, Isaac 00:05:47.149 --> 00:05:51.029 is the most unique and interesting of the three. 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:55.660 Isaac is the son, of course, of Abraham, an extremely 00:05:55.660 --> 00:05:59.459 famous father, and we consider him as the father 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:02.660 of our faith. Isn't that right? And he's referred 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:06.879 to as the man that left his country and followed 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.000 the lead of the Lord, which he did as a man of 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:16.870 great faith. Amen. And then he became a... Later, 00:06:16.870 --> 00:06:23.730 Isaac bore Jacob, later on whose name was changed 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:28.089 to Israel, who was and is a very well -known, 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:31.689 even today, Israel. When you say Israel, amen, 00:06:31.750 --> 00:06:35.769 we are referencing back to Jacob. There are 13 00:06:35.769 --> 00:06:39.610 chapters in the book of Genesis, 13 chapters 00:06:39.610 --> 00:06:45.160 that are dedicated to the life of Abraham. And 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:48.339 it's interesting because it tells a lot about 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:50.819 his life, what happened to him, everything that 00:06:50.819 --> 00:06:53.720 he went through. And there are 10 chapters that 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:58.519 are dedicated to Jacob. So Abraham has 13 chapters, 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:03.600 and Jacob has 10 chapters that are dedicated 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:06.639 to him. But there's only one chapter dedicated 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.500 to Isaac. And I've wondered, and many people 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:16.259 have considered this theologians, one about Isaac. 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:19.339 I mean, isn't he important? Wasn't he just as 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:23.439 important as his father Abraham and his son Jacob? 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:26.660 And that was interesting. It's interesting to 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:29.500 me in that chapter that is dedicated. He's mentioned 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:32.519 in other places as Abraham and Jacob are as well, 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.959 but one that is dedicated to him is Genesis 26. 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.560 We only have one chapter then that is dedicated 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:45.120 to tell us who this man Isaac actually was and 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.319 is in our lives. And to make things more interesting, 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.600 the chapter that is dedicated about Isaac is 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:56.560 a chapter full of problems and challenges. And 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:58.699 he wondered, well, my goodness, you know, just 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:02.199 tell my story, tell the good stuff. But it was 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:07.300 all about the bad stuff. In there, it's interesting 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:10.759 that we draw so much that has helped my own personal 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:13.579 life. And you have heard probably many messages 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:17.019 and teachings and conferences given from the 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:21.480 life of Isaac. But it is interesting because 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:26.629 it's not a chapter that... that just jumps out 00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:30.930 at you. Isaac has been considered as the bridge 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:35.649 between two narratives of two great patriarchs 00:08:35.649 --> 00:08:39.870 in the Bible. He is like a bridge from one to 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:45.330 the next, from Abraham to Jacob, dwelling in 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:48.870 the shadow of his father's greatness. So Isaac 00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:51.690 was basically, you know, following the shadows 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:55.179 of the greatness of his father. great accomplishment 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:58.759 that his father did. And then he was eclipsed 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:02.379 by his son, Jacob, praise God, who manages to 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:05.159 trick his own father. I mean, Isaac turns out 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:10.019 to be tricked into blessing the wrong child. 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:15.299 And he blessed Jacob instead of his older brother, 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:20.960 Esau. And so we see here that he doesn't have 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.169 a very good, you know, I guess something to brag 00:09:25.169 --> 00:09:29.289 about because he made a big mistake, supposedly, 00:09:29.429 --> 00:09:34.070 but it was all in God's plan. Isaac is, in his 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:38.789 own way, is just as important as Abraham, his 00:09:38.789 --> 00:09:43.250 father, and his son Jacob, his son. And in some 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:47.379 ways, perhaps... even greater. And this is interesting 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:51.779 to note. However, we know that Isaac is an extremely 00:09:51.779 --> 00:09:55.340 important character for the fulfillment of God's 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:58.039 promises. And I want you to know something here 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:02.360 today that if I touch any part of your life and 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.940 you're thinking that maybe you're not at the 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.840 front of the line or the leader of the pack, 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:11.860 or maybe you don't have the title, or you don't 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:15.580 have the gift. the talent or whatever it is, 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:18.440 but I'm just a member of the body of Christ. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:20.960 I want you to know that you're just as important 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:24.700 as everybody else in the body of Christ. Nobody 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:28.679 is greater or lesser. We are all equal in the 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:32.559 eyes of God, and that's important for us to understand. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.860 For Isaac, he was extremely important for the 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:40.019 fulfillment of God's promises. He is the link 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:44.299 between two great patriarchs. of our faith, and 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:48.399 in history. The story of Isaac's life serves 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.980 as a great example for us today, especially because 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:57.100 of the importance of the legacy from one generation 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:01.480 to the next. He was in the middle, of course, 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.279 of two great men of God that we preach about 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:09.600 all the time, but yet he was the link or the 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:13.059 bridge or the person in the middle that brought 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:17.049 two great generations together. If it had not 00:11:17.049 --> 00:11:20.070 been for Isaac, you know, I don't know where 00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:23.450 we'd be. But the typology of Isaac is so much 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:27.230 different than the typology of Abraham, the father 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:31.110 of faith, you know, or Jacob, the successor in 00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:34.570 Israel as we know today. That is great and wonderful. 00:11:34.730 --> 00:11:38.710 But Isaac, he played a unique role in the kingdom 00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:42.190 of God because of his typology, because of what 00:11:42.190 --> 00:11:46.850 he represented. represented as the sacrificial 00:11:46.850 --> 00:11:50.169 lamb of God, and I'll connect those in a little 00:11:50.169 --> 00:11:52.970 bit, but it's interesting to note that it doesn't 00:11:52.970 --> 00:11:55.450 say that about Abraham. It doesn't say that about 00:11:55.450 --> 00:11:58.990 Jacob, but it says it about Isaac. Isaac is very 00:11:58.990 --> 00:12:03.210 important, especially in our faith and what we 00:12:03.210 --> 00:12:06.289 believe in today, because we believe in the great 00:12:06.289 --> 00:12:11.149 sacrifice, as we heard last weekend, the sacrificial 00:12:11.149 --> 00:12:14.580 lamb, the lamb of God, as John the baptist declared 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:17.820 behold the lamb of god which was jesus praise 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:22.120 god and it's interesting to know that That even 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:26.379 in the life of Isaac, there's so much typology 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:29.159 here. For example, it's not on my notes, but 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:34.259 for example, when Abraham was about to sacrifice 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:38.840 his son Isaac, which is, again, a typology of 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:43.059 Christ, what did he find when he was about to 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:46.840 kill Isaac? Isaac was a man, and I'm going to 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.419 talk a little bit about that, of obedience. Because 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:53.889 he was... obedient unto death. Praise God. Who 00:12:53.889 --> 00:12:57.409 else was obedient unto death? Jesus Christ was. 00:12:57.610 --> 00:12:59.669 And he was obedient unto death because his father 00:12:59.669 --> 00:13:02.590 was going to sacrifice him. And when Isaac said, 00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:05.570 Dad, we got the wood, we got everything here. 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:09.779 Where's the sacrifice? And little did he know 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:13.799 that he was the sacrifice. And Abraham was going 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:18.159 to sacrifice his only son. It's a typology of 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.899 how that God was going to sacrifice and did sacrifice 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:25.940 his only son. And the thicket where they, and 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:28.399 when they were, they were, you know, about to 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.620 kill, he was about to get killed by his father 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.899 Abraham. The Lord withheld him and, you know, 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.639 not to harm the boy. However, he provided a ramp. 00:13:37.769 --> 00:13:42.190 in the thicket, and he was caught by the horns 00:13:42.190 --> 00:13:45.470 in his head in the thistle, in the thicket, which 00:13:45.470 --> 00:13:48.830 is the thicket of thorns. It was thorns. So the 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:53.490 typology is that Christ was also crowned with 00:13:53.490 --> 00:13:56.490 the crown of thorns. Praise God. In the same 00:13:56.490 --> 00:14:00.049 way that God provided the sacrifice for Abraham 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:03.330 and for us at that time, He provided one in his 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:06.149 son Jesus. It is very interesting there. If you 00:14:06.149 --> 00:14:08.210 want to go into that, that's another study. But 00:14:08.210 --> 00:14:12.029 Isaac is greatly blessed by God despite some 00:14:12.029 --> 00:14:15.389 very difficult circumstances in his life. Isaac 00:14:15.389 --> 00:14:19.549 is not remembered for his great faith as his 00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:24.120 father Abraham. Who left his home, his family, 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:28.259 and to an unknown destination in his life. Or 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:31.899 his son Jacob who wrestled with an angel. Isaac 00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:35.159 didn't wrestle with no angels. Or Isaac did not 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:38.559 see angels ascending and descending on a ladder 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:43.179 as Jacob did from heaven. And known as Jacob's 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:45.639 ladder. He didn't get to know that. He didn't 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:50.539 experience that. And his life was more of sacrificial. 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:54.659 But Genesis 26 and 13 tells us something that 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:58.220 is very important. It says, and the man waxed 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:02.000 great. Somebody said he was great. And grew more 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:07.720 and more until he became what? Very great. Now 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:11.559 that separates him, in my opinion, from his dad 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:15.139 and his son. It separates him because God said, 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:21.909 this one is very great. And that got the attention 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:25.289 of God, and it should get our attention as well, 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:28.990 knowing that he was very great. If God says you're 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:32.750 great, you're great, man. You don't have no competition 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:35.649 nowhere. And I don't think that God was trying 00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:38.950 to say that he was better than Abraham and better 00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:43.649 than Jacob, but he did say he, amen, became very 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:48.330 great. Isaac will be remembered as a very great 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:53.000 patriarch that never lost faith. and he never 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:58.059 lost hope in spite of the many, many adversities 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:02.080 that came to him. In this short chapter, you're 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:05.379 going to discover that he was a man of obedience 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:11.360 and he was a man of restoration. These two, they 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.519 connect to me. If you're going to be obedient, 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:18.559 God can use you in restoration. And God used 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:24.330 Isaac because... he was obedient to God. We know 00:16:24.330 --> 00:16:26.250 that Jesus Christ, he said, nobody taketh my 00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.990 life, I lay it down. But Isaac also laid down 00:16:29.990 --> 00:16:33.539 his life. He laid down on the sacrificial rocks, 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:39.960 the altar, that he could be burnt with fire and 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:43.620 become the sacrifice that Abraham was going to 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:47.539 present. But nonetheless, his obedience was powerful. 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:52.909 Obedience is greater than sacrifice. And this 00:16:52.909 --> 00:16:56.389 happened way before Samuel ever came into the 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:59.850 picture, where it said that obedience is greater 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:02.129 than sacrifice. You have to remember, because 00:17:02.129 --> 00:17:06.569 this is a principle of God. It was realized in 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:09.849 Isaac before it was mentioned by the prophet 00:17:09.849 --> 00:17:14.970 Samuel later concerning Saul, King Saul. But 00:17:14.970 --> 00:17:18.470 the obedience was greater than the sacrifice 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:24.160 and restoration. was the fruit of obedience. 00:17:25.369 --> 00:17:28.569 This is important for us to understand as a principle 00:17:28.569 --> 00:17:33.589 of life. If you want restoration, if you want 00:17:33.589 --> 00:17:36.309 the blessing and the goodness and the multiplication 00:17:36.309 --> 00:17:42.269 of God upon your life, it is initiated with obedience. 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:46.390 When you are obedient to God, he will restore 00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:50.289 whatever has been taken from you. He will bring 00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:53.710 it back. He will double it. He will multiply 00:17:53.710 --> 00:17:57.759 it. nothing that will be withheld from you just 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:02.700 so long as we are obedient unto God. That exhibited 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:06.819 great trust in God. And this is what it exhibits 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:10.359 even for us today. If we are obedient, that means 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:13.539 that we are exhibiting trust in God. Somebody 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:16.220 say praise the Lord for that. The story then 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:20.480 of Isaac begins with difficult times amid the 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:24.299 drought and the scarcity in his time. He didn't 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:29.140 take over. He didn't come into the scene of biblical 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:33.740 history. When everything was on the top of things, 00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:37.339 when he received all this wealth, even though 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.180 they say that Abraham was a very wealthy man. 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:42.660 At one point, he was the wealthiest man in the 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:46.569 world. You know, there was nobody that can compete 00:18:46.569 --> 00:18:49.910 with him. He was a man of God, a chosen of God. 00:18:50.109 --> 00:18:53.269 But when Isaac took over, he took over at a very 00:18:53.269 --> 00:18:57.069 difficult time. He entered into the scene of 00:18:57.069 --> 00:19:00.829 God's biblical story, amen, of salvation in a 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:04.230 very difficult time. We find that Isaac had decided, 00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:07.670 amen, because of the pressures. And I'm sure 00:19:07.670 --> 00:19:10.509 that, you know, which one of us, I don't know 00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:13.509 if any one of you here was raised in a wealthy 00:19:13.509 --> 00:19:18.970 home. where you had everything, and God blessed 00:19:18.970 --> 00:19:24.309 your parents, and they had everything. They had 00:19:24.309 --> 00:19:27.990 the big house. They had the big Cadillacs, and 00:19:27.990 --> 00:19:31.150 they had all of that, but then when you got started, 00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:34.119 you basically didn't have nothing, man. You know, 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:36.599 you just have to start off, start from all over, 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.400 you know, like, hey, you're on your own, right? 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:43.200 And to each their own. But I can imagine Isaac, 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:46.619 he was brought up. Look how much was paid for 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:50.430 his wife, my God. You know, and I mean, look 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:53.210 at all the riches and everything that he had 00:19:53.210 --> 00:19:56.869 and the prosperity. He was brought up in prosperity. 00:19:57.089 --> 00:20:01.690 But when he began to, you know, be used of God 00:20:01.690 --> 00:20:04.950 and he became the focus of God's plan of salvation, 00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:09.690 he was in poverty. Basically, he was in the land 00:20:09.690 --> 00:20:13.349 of drought. And back then, in those times, that 00:20:13.349 --> 00:20:16.690 is how it's determined. Your wealth is determined 00:20:16.690 --> 00:20:21.369 by... your harvest and the land and the harvest 00:20:21.369 --> 00:20:25.069 and the productivity of your land and also your 00:20:25.069 --> 00:20:28.450 livestock, if you had great livestock. That's 00:20:28.450 --> 00:20:30.990 why Jacob later, he was messing around with his 00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:32.970 father -in -law's livestock. You remember, he 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.910 was painting them, you know, to claim and, you 00:20:35.910 --> 00:20:37.789 know, he was out there with the paintbrush trying 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:42.109 to claim his wealth. Well, Isaac, he had nothing, 00:20:42.170 --> 00:20:45.309 but he didn't take the paintbrush like Jacob 00:20:45.309 --> 00:20:47.480 did because Jacob means just... Deceiver, right? 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:53.500 Don't tell pastor that. But that's, I named him, 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:56.259 okay. Well, I don't know who named him, but not 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:59.119 his fault, right? But that's what it means, deceiver. 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.660 Well, praise God. That's how Jacob, Jacob and, 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.940 you know, the son of Isaac, that's what he was. 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:08.539 Praise God. And his mom helped him along with 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:13.380 that, right? But nonetheless, Isaac had nothing. 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:19.650 He had nothing. In Scripture, the metaphor for 00:21:19.650 --> 00:21:24.190 the world was Egypt. Egypt is a metaphor of the 00:21:24.190 --> 00:21:29.369 world. And so Isaac, he set his eyes on Egypt. 00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:33.069 He says, you know... I don't know. I can't make 00:21:33.069 --> 00:21:36.170 it here. I can't do it with what I got. You know, 00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:39.049 I looked at my bank account. I looked at my cattle. 00:21:39.130 --> 00:21:41.890 They all look feeble and sick. And, you know, 00:21:41.930 --> 00:21:44.710 I can't even get a decent filet mignon out of 00:21:44.710 --> 00:21:46.730 them things. Look at the way they look, you know, 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:49.869 and they're probably just all bones. And the 00:21:49.869 --> 00:21:54.210 land was barren. It was drought, no water, nothing. 00:21:54.349 --> 00:21:57.890 I mean, it did not look so well for Isaac. So 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:02.230 what's the first thing? Man does when he's in 00:22:02.230 --> 00:22:06.680 trouble. They look to Egypt. They look to Egypt, 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:09.660 and Egypt is a type of the world. So you look 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:13.539 to Egypt because you think that it's going to 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:16.279 get better out there. Well, you know, I'm just 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:21.700 going to do that. I know it sounds illegal right 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:24.099 now, but I've got to do it for the sake of myself. 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:28.839 Really? And so we begin to do things, and we 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:30.940 start looking at the world. We start looking 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:35.829 about how people are building homes. on the hillside 00:22:35.829 --> 00:22:38.210 and, you know, they're flying around on private 00:22:38.210 --> 00:22:41.009 jets and they're doing all these wonderful things 00:22:41.009 --> 00:22:43.710 and you're saying, poor little old me, you know, 00:22:43.769 --> 00:22:47.549 who am I? I can barely put gas in my car, you 00:22:47.549 --> 00:22:49.410 know, especially the way it is nowadays, right? 00:22:49.549 --> 00:22:52.130 And, you know, we begin to complain and we begin 00:22:52.130 --> 00:22:55.089 to have a pity party on ourselves. Isaac had 00:22:55.089 --> 00:22:58.369 a pity party and he says, you know what? I hear 00:22:58.369 --> 00:23:03.789 that Egypt is, I mean, it's a powerful nation. 00:23:04.269 --> 00:23:08.130 with a wealthy and a strong economy. I'm thinking 00:23:08.130 --> 00:23:12.460 I'm probably going to just, you know. Cast my 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:15.700 tent that way. And if you remember somebody else 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:19.299 that did that in the Bible, which was a relative 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:21.900 actually of Isaac, was Lot. Do you remember he 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:24.579 cast his tent towards Sodom? What happened? It 00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:26.579 was greener that way, but what happened eventually? 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:30.700 He ended up in Sodom. If you cast your tent towards 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:35.460 Egypt, you will end up in Egypt. Hello, that 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:38.339 didn't cost you nothing there. Amen. Maybe you 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:39.859 thought you were going to be running the aisles 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:46.559 today. I am. Praise God. And here's the thing, 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:50.619 that this is the reality. Somebody said this 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:53.359 is a reality check. Tell your neighbor, this 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:58.039 is a reality check. Praise God. And it's easy, 00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:04.349 it's easy to look to the outside. And begin to 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:08.670 envy and want things that the world has. And 00:24:08.670 --> 00:24:12.930 you want that career. And there's nothing wrong 00:24:12.930 --> 00:24:16.950 with having a house on the hill. Nothing wrong 00:24:16.950 --> 00:24:20.390 with having nice material things. That's okay. 00:24:20.509 --> 00:24:25.069 But that's not our priority. That's not our purpose 00:24:25.069 --> 00:24:29.049 in life. Our purpose in life is to be obedient 00:24:29.049 --> 00:24:32.390 to the will of God and submit ourselves to him. 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:36.420 And then he says, if you seek me first, he said, 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:40.779 I will let everything else unto you. So our focus 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:44.539 needs to be on God first. If we focus on God 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:47.420 first, let me tell you something. You will lack 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:52.039 nothing in your life. The world will not have 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:56.369 an advantage over you. Not at all. Who is with 00:24:56.369 --> 00:24:59.549 you? Greater is he that is within you than he 00:24:59.549 --> 00:25:01.930 that is in the world. Amen. It doesn't matter 00:25:01.930 --> 00:25:04.430 what the world has. It doesn't matter what they 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:07.349 portray, what the temptations are in this world. 00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:10.549 Greater is he that is in you. Pay attention to 00:25:10.549 --> 00:25:13.130 what's great. Pay attention to what is bubbling 00:25:13.130 --> 00:25:15.750 inside of you. Pay attention to what's eternal 00:25:15.750 --> 00:25:18.670 inside of you, which is the Spirit of God. Say 00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:22.279 amen to that. By going to Egypt, then Isaac was 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:26.359 following the natural or logical solution to 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:31.740 a situation, a trial. maybe a setback. And we've 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:34.319 had those setbacks, believe me. We've had those 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:36.579 setbacks. I've had setbacks in my life. I've 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:39.660 made bad decisions, and boy, I had to pay the 00:25:39.660 --> 00:25:42.960 price for them. But nonetheless, you know, I 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:46.220 did not give in to what the world offered. I 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:50.140 had a lot of opportunities, believe me. And my 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:53.420 father, especially, he had so many opportunities 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:57.839 that the world was offering him, you know, because... 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:01.849 I don't know, the devil is out to hurt him or 00:26:01.849 --> 00:26:05.430 distract him. And I've had many, many opportunities 00:26:05.430 --> 00:26:08.690 that have come my way. But when I look at them 00:26:08.690 --> 00:26:13.009 now, I realize as I reflect on that, I just thank 00:26:13.009 --> 00:26:16.569 God I didn't go that way. I thank God that I 00:26:16.569 --> 00:26:20.970 did not pursue that endeavor or whatever it may 00:26:20.970 --> 00:26:23.430 have been, that investment or whatever that might 00:26:23.430 --> 00:26:26.339 have been in your life as well as in mine. But 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:29.700 if we keep our focus and know that greater is 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:34.420 he that's in me. When you have the greatest thing 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:38.240 ever in your life, you don't need nothing else. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:41.460 You don't need to be seeking or touching or messing 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:46.180 around with the things of this world to experience 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:48.680 the greatness. In fact, I was just telling my 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:50.619 wife this morning, you know, there's people that 00:26:50.619 --> 00:26:54.180 really... Really, they think that if they have 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:58.380 this or after this, their endeavor is to be a 00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:01.920 millionaire, wealthy, and have all these things 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.339 in life. And I say, you know what? That's not 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:06.740 our desire. That has never been our desire. Our 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:10.119 desire is always just to be content in God. My 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:12.339 wife reminded me that of this morning. We're 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:15.519 just content in the Lord. And that's all that 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.819 matters when we're content with what we're doing. 00:27:17.819 --> 00:27:19.119 Isn't that right? We were talking about this 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.740 morning. It's just to be content. content in 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:24.420 God. That means you're satisfied. That's what 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:26.880 my wife says. That means you're satisfied inside 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.319 of your spirit, inside of your life. You're not 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:31.480 looking for things. You don't want that. You 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:34.119 don't desire. You don't envy those kinds of things. 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:37.640 What you have is enough. When we have God in 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.339 our life, that's enough. You don't need to be 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:43.119 looking nowhere else. Man, when you've got the 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:46.539 Lord with you and he's greater than anything 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:48.920 in the world, let me tell you something. You 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:51.299 can put in front of me the richest man in the 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:55.160 world, but if he does not have Jesus, I'm greater. 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:00.000 I said, I'm greater than him. I have more than 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:06.140 him. I have all the riches and glory. Bless the 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:09.599 Lord, somebody. There will be times in our Christian 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:13.140 lives that because of our struggles, our challenges, 00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:17.220 in the natural sense, in the natural things of 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:21.640 life, it will be tempting to seek answers from 00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:27.960 the philosophical or illogical remedies of this 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:32.559 world to resolve spiritual challenges. I have 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:36.759 never, I remember years ago, You know, in fact, 00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:39.099 it was here in Mountain View when my father had 00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:42.380 that work over on the other side of the freeway. 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:47.779 And there was a break -in in our church. And 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:51.279 it took me a lot, a lot. I worked hard to buy 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:54.299 a set of drums for our church. And it was a used 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:58.180 set, but it was drums. We had not had drums before. 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:00.460 And then I was learning how to play them because 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:02.839 nobody else did. And I says, okay, I'm going 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.700 to learn how to play them. And then one day. 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.559 I got to church because I would get there early 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:10.380 to set up everything, you know, like you do here. 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:14.200 And I do it, bless your heart and for your work 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:16.819 and your sacrifice and your labor. And I used 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:20.180 to do that. And when I got to the church, it 00:29:20.180 --> 00:29:22.599 looked kind of strange. And it says that, you 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:24.819 know, things don't look right. You know, and 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:27.480 I opened the door to the little building. And 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:30.200 when I walked in, lo and behold, over there where 00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:35.369 my drums were. Well, actually, I used to put 00:29:35.369 --> 00:29:40.390 them in the bathroom and lock up the door. Because, 00:29:40.529 --> 00:29:42.730 man, they were precious to me, man. Drum set, 00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:44.769 you know. We never had drum set. And they were 00:29:44.769 --> 00:29:47.829 red. And they glittered with glitter and everything, 00:29:48.029 --> 00:29:50.970 you know. I was more attracted to the glitter, 00:29:51.069 --> 00:29:54.329 I guess, than the quality. But nonetheless, you 00:29:54.329 --> 00:29:58.029 know, we sacrificed and we bought them. But right 00:29:58.029 --> 00:30:01.819 where the drum set would be. There was a huge 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:07.740 hole in the wall. I couldn't believe it. Somebody 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:12.480 broke through the wall of the church. Never mind 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:15.039 messing around with the locks or window. They 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:18.000 came through the wall of the church. They made 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:21.829 a big hole. And they came in and they stripped 00:30:21.829 --> 00:30:24.730 us of the few things we had. And one of the things 00:30:24.730 --> 00:30:27.829 they took was my drums. And they stole them. 00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:31.650 And, you know, and I was just so disappointed 00:30:31.650 --> 00:30:35.730 and discouraged. And then my father starts calling 00:30:35.730 --> 00:30:39.130 people of the church. Hey, does anybody see anything? 00:30:39.390 --> 00:30:41.869 You don't know. Nobody saw nothing. And then 00:30:41.869 --> 00:30:45.390 he gets a call from somebody. He gets a call 00:30:45.390 --> 00:30:48.950 from somebody that, you know, that person's already. 00:30:49.630 --> 00:30:51.869 Gone with the Lord. Back then it wasn't converted. 00:30:52.170 --> 00:30:54.869 But that person says, I can tell you exactly 00:30:54.869 --> 00:31:00.130 who it was. And my father says, you're lying. 00:31:00.390 --> 00:31:05.670 She was a witch. And she knew. She says, I can 00:31:05.670 --> 00:31:08.450 tell you. And my father says, I don't need the 00:31:08.450 --> 00:31:12.819 devil to tell me nothing. I says, I rebuke you 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:15.140 in the name of Jesus. I don't need the devil 00:31:15.140 --> 00:31:18.539 to tell me where my stuff is. God knows where 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:22.500 my stuff is. If anything, God's going to show 00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:25.140 it to me, not some devil somewhere. And, man, 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.779 he rebuked her on the phone, and he told me about 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:30.819 it. I got the shivers. I says, whoa. I said, 00:31:30.859 --> 00:31:33.480 because I knew that person. And, yeah, that person 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:36.140 used to mess around with witchcraft. You know 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:40.019 what? We don't need that. When we have God. In 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:44.519 our lives, we don't need to depend on... spirits 00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:47.759 from the world or this or that or whatever. Hey, 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:51.019 I got a remedy for you. Really? You know, no, 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:54.079 thank you. I'll trust in God. I'm going to put 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:57.259 all my trust in the Lord. And if you just give 00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.880 me $100, I can go multiply it. I'm trusting in 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:02.859 the Lord. I'm going to give it to the Lord, not 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:05.279 to you. You know, and God's going to bless me. 00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:08.539 And so, I mean, I've been tempted in so many 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:12.180 different ways to go the wrong direction. But 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:16.000 thank be to God. that always remembered, greater 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.740 is he that is in me than anything that is in 00:32:19.740 --> 00:32:22.359 the world, and everything is going to be all 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:25.690 right. Praise the Lord, somebody. This is an 00:32:25.690 --> 00:32:28.309 unfortunate mistake, though, that many people 00:32:28.309 --> 00:32:32.309 make in seeking a solution for a spiritual trial 00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:36.829 in their lives of natural things and, you know, 00:32:36.869 --> 00:32:40.049 from this world. And they pursue those things. 00:32:40.170 --> 00:32:44.109 Isaac was trying to deal with his situation in 00:32:44.109 --> 00:32:48.309 a worldly way. He was being tempted. You know, 00:32:48.430 --> 00:32:53.630 it's not always greener on the other side as 00:32:53.630 --> 00:32:56.099 we would perceive. He was following the same 00:32:56.099 --> 00:33:01.039 pattern as his relative Lot and following after 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:06.619 Sodom through carnal eyes. The grass will always 00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:11.299 be greener on the other side. If we look at things 00:33:11.299 --> 00:33:14.599 carnally, we're going to see green over there, 00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:19.359 beyond, on the other side, and we're going to 00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:23.019 see it dry right here where we're standing. But 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:25.859 if you have spiritual eyes, you're going to see 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:30.440 it green where you're standing and nothing but 00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:34.000 dust on the other side. Because you have to see 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:36.400 things through God's eyes. We've got to see things 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:39.619 the way God. How does God see it? God doesn't 00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:43.700 see dirt and desert. He sees green right here. 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:46.559 Praise God. We have to look through spiritual 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:51.839 eyes and know that God, the blessing is right 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.859 here. We're standing on the blessings of God. 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:57.759 I'm standing on the victory dance right now. 00:33:57.839 --> 00:34:00.259 I'm standing in the place where God can bless 00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:03.279 me. I don't need to. to look to the world for 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:06.480 anything. I don't need for somebody to counsel 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.739 me or to give me some philosophical idea from 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:12.980 the world because greater is he that is still 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:15.900 in me. And God is telling me, you're standing 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:19.380 on green turf right now because I'm going to 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:23.039 bless you. Everywhere your foot is set is blessed. 00:34:23.219 --> 00:34:28.239 Everything your hand touches is blessed. That's 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.590 how God works in our lives. Whatever Isaac's 00:34:31.590 --> 00:34:35.750 motive was, he was warned by a divine appearance 00:34:35.750 --> 00:34:42.989 of God not to go to Egypt, but to remain in a 00:34:42.989 --> 00:34:46.670 city called Gerar for a season, for a season. 00:34:47.170 --> 00:34:52.610 Don't go, Isaac. Don't go to Egypt. Don't go 00:34:52.610 --> 00:34:56.400 looking for a solution. Don't go over there thinking, 00:34:56.519 --> 00:34:58.139 oh, I'm just going to go over there for a season. 00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:00.239 I just got to go over there because they're offering 00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:02.340 overtime. I just got to go over there because 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:05.119 this and that. I know I got to work on Sundays, 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:07.519 and I know that, but it's going to be only for 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:09.760 a short while. The lying devil. I'm going to 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:12.920 tell you, in my time and in my experience, I've 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:15.500 seen a lot of people fall for that, and they're 00:35:15.500 --> 00:35:19.559 not with us. Why? They listen to those voices. 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:22.239 It's not greener. I told a brother, I said, brother, 00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:24.559 don't do it, man. He said, yeah, but I can get 00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:26.340 a house and I can get this. I said, brother, 00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:29.460 don't do it, man. Don't do it. It's going to 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:31.820 cost you, man. Don't do it. I know. I'm telling 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:34.340 you by experience. Don't do it. He says, well, 00:35:34.519 --> 00:35:37.599 you know, I just got to, man, because they showed 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:40.360 us what we can get. I said, the devil is a liar, 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:44.079 brother. The devil is a liar. He says, well, 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:46.760 you know, pastor, we're just going to have to 00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:48.940 do it. I says, all right, brother, but you know 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:51.800 where we're at. Man, they went over there. Yeah, 00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:53.940 they got this big old house, you know, swimming 00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:56.599 pool. Yeah, praise God. They had everything. 00:35:56.840 --> 00:35:59.239 But a little short time later, his wife divorces 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:04.599 him. Then his kids got into drugs. And then he 00:36:04.599 --> 00:36:09.619 gets sick. He loses his job. Then he loses the 00:36:09.619 --> 00:36:13.000 house. He loses everything. And then one day 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:15.820 I seen him driving into the parking lot. I said, 00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:20.119 brother, you're back. Yeah. But I lost everything, 00:36:20.460 --> 00:36:24.860 including my family. I says, well, I'm not going 00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:27.300 to say I told you so. I'm just going to say, 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:31.659 welcome home. Welcome home. It's not green over 00:36:31.659 --> 00:36:35.500 there, is it? No, it's not. The devil tricked 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:38.840 me. I lost everything. I says, well, praise God. 00:36:38.900 --> 00:36:40.679 And then he didn't live much longer. He was so 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:43.159 sickly. He didn't last too long, but at least 00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:45.579 he got right with God, you know, in that short 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:48.639 time that he was with us. But here's the thing. 00:36:48.699 --> 00:36:52.079 It's not always what we think. Don't fall for 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:53.840 it. Tell your neighbor, don't fall for that. 00:36:54.500 --> 00:36:57.500 Don't fall for that. Whatever Isaac's motive 00:36:57.500 --> 00:37:00.920 was then, he said, it's just for a season. But 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:06.110 the Lord told him, stay put. He said, stay put. 00:37:06.510 --> 00:37:10.250 Isaac, don't go for it. Stay put. Stay where 00:37:10.250 --> 00:37:15.010 you are. Amen. And your place in God. And stay 00:37:15.010 --> 00:37:19.289 in the faith. Stay where God has you. And whatever 00:37:19.289 --> 00:37:21.750 it is he's having you do for his kingdom work, 00:37:21.849 --> 00:37:25.250 stay there. Don't give up. And you're going to 00:37:25.250 --> 00:37:27.289 see how God's going to come through for you. 00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:32.099 Isaac obeyed. Somebody say, he obeyed. Obedience 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:37.239 was key for him. He obeyed nevertheless at thy 00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:42.659 word, Lord. Nevertheless at thy word. And I've 00:37:42.659 --> 00:37:45.639 had to use that so many times in my Christian 00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:49.699 walk. Nevertheless, by your word I'm going to 00:37:49.699 --> 00:37:52.889 do it. At thy word I'm going to do it. I'm not 00:37:52.889 --> 00:37:54.829 going to do it. I'm not going to. By your word, 00:37:54.949 --> 00:37:58.590 God, I'm going to follow that. And we've learned 00:37:58.590 --> 00:38:01.909 to apply that. And I encourage somebody here 00:38:01.909 --> 00:38:04.949 today, Isaac obeyed and followed the counsel 00:38:04.949 --> 00:38:08.949 of God more than that of man. There is a great 00:38:08.949 --> 00:38:12.800 example for us today in obeying God. In the midst 00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:16.900 of difficulties and uncertainty. 1 Samuel 15, 00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:19.440 22 it says, and that's what I said that Samuel 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:23.079 said. He said, has the Lord as great delight 00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:25.659 in the burnt offerings and the sacrifices as 00:38:25.659 --> 00:38:30.059 obeying the voice of the Lord? It was nuts. God 00:38:30.059 --> 00:38:35.039 wanted... Saul, to obey, that's it. Behold, to 00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:37.860 obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than 00:38:37.860 --> 00:38:41.739 the fat of rams. Don't look at what's on the 00:38:41.739 --> 00:38:44.539 other side of the fence. Don't be looking unto 00:38:44.539 --> 00:38:47.880 the world and what the world has and what it 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:51.300 has to offer you today. Because, yes, it looks 00:38:51.300 --> 00:38:54.119 good for the moment. It's going to look good. 00:38:54.179 --> 00:38:59.960 And I'll tell you what, it might be new and shiny 00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:02.769 for a while. but it's going to get worn out. 00:39:02.909 --> 00:39:06.429 It's going to decay. And you know, because anything 00:39:06.429 --> 00:39:10.269 that we attempt to hold, to accumulate in this 00:39:10.269 --> 00:39:13.309 life, the Bible says it's going to decay. But 00:39:13.309 --> 00:39:17.500 he says, invest. In heaven where there is no 00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:22.280 decay. Invest in the Lord where God's protection 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:24.880 will be upon your investment. If you're going 00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:28.460 to invest in anything in this life, invest in 00:39:28.460 --> 00:39:32.639 the kingdom of God. Invest in the Lord. And you're 00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:35.980 going to see how the payday is coming. Amen. 00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:39.900 You know, it might endure for a night. You know, 00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:42.659 your trouble might endure for a night or so. 00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:44.880 But joy is going to come in the morning. brother, 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:48.380 and that morning is coming to you. Amen. Just 00:39:48.380 --> 00:39:51.340 keep trusting the Lord. Amen. Trust him with 00:39:51.340 --> 00:39:55.619 all your heart and know that God is going to 00:39:55.619 --> 00:40:00.239 bless you. God promised that he would bless Isaac 00:40:00.239 --> 00:40:03.800 in the land of Gerar to give him all these lands, 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:06.820 he says, and confirm the covenant he made with 00:40:06.820 --> 00:40:10.420 him, his father Abraham. In other words, the 00:40:10.420 --> 00:40:12.559 Lord was saying, yeah, you know everything I 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:15.670 promised your dad? You're going to get it. He's 00:40:15.670 --> 00:40:17.389 probably saying, well, where is it, man? When 00:40:17.389 --> 00:40:19.789 I was a kid, we were wealthy. Look at me now. 00:40:20.030 --> 00:40:23.099 No, hang in there, Isaac. Don't get anxious. 00:40:23.280 --> 00:40:26.920 Don't be in a hurry. Just wait and see what I 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:32.320 got for you, Isaac. And it took faith and courage 00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:36.739 to obey God and not go to Egypt as he had already 00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:41.260 determined. His bags were packed and everything 00:40:41.260 --> 00:40:45.440 was rounded up. We're going to Egypt. No, stay 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:49.679 put. Don't go where there seemed to be an abundance 00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:53.000 to satisfy the fear. physical needs, and your 00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:56.219 urgent needs. Yes, that's Egypt. Maybe, maybe 00:40:56.219 --> 00:41:00.519 it's a quick fix for somebody today. Maybe you're, 00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:03.460 I didn't, I just, this just came to my mind, 00:41:03.460 --> 00:41:05.880 amen, because sometimes this happens. You know, 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:08.639 I've, I've seen people that say, well, I'm gonna, 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:11.380 I'm gonna date her anyway, or I'm gonna date 00:41:11.380 --> 00:41:14.119 him anyway. God, I'll convert them later. I'm 00:41:14.119 --> 00:41:16.199 gonna tell you something. I've seen a lot of 00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:18.940 conversions, and it ain't this way. It's usually 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:23.710 the other way. Oh, come on. Tell your neighbor, 00:41:23.789 --> 00:41:29.329 don't believe him. Don't believe her. Stay in 00:41:29.329 --> 00:41:31.789 the Lord. If you're going to get married, get 00:41:31.789 --> 00:41:33.530 married in the Lord, man. Don't get married. 00:41:33.909 --> 00:41:35.989 I know this is not a marriage counseling and 00:41:35.989 --> 00:41:39.289 all that. But I've seen it too many times, man. 00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:43.150 I've seen it too many times. You know, yeah, 00:41:43.250 --> 00:41:48.469 but that guy's got a, man, he's got a BMW, man. 00:41:49.369 --> 00:41:52.809 He works for this and he does this and that. 00:41:53.349 --> 00:41:57.130 Stop it already. The devil is painting it all 00:41:57.130 --> 00:42:00.349 nice and green for you. Fast remedy, right? He 00:42:00.349 --> 00:42:01.690 probably owns a home. You're just going to have 00:42:01.690 --> 00:42:05.849 to move in. Move your stuff in. Really? Listen. 00:42:06.329 --> 00:42:08.269 Don't go for it. Don't fall for that. Tell your 00:42:08.269 --> 00:42:10.590 neighbor, don't fall for that. Come on. Don't 00:42:10.590 --> 00:42:14.269 fall for it. It took faith and courage then to 00:42:14.269 --> 00:42:16.230 obey God. And this is what it's going to take. 00:42:16.469 --> 00:42:19.590 Faith and it's going to take courage. Be courageous 00:42:19.590 --> 00:42:24.750 in your faith. And don't... Cast your tent towards 00:42:24.750 --> 00:42:27.730 Egypt. How many times have we gone through these 00:42:27.730 --> 00:42:30.849 kinds of things and situations, amen, and realized 00:42:30.849 --> 00:42:34.369 that it didn't go so well? And I can sit down 00:42:34.369 --> 00:42:36.889 and I can write a book, man, without mentioning 00:42:36.889 --> 00:42:39.909 names. And, you know, all John Doe's and whatnot 00:42:39.909 --> 00:42:44.389 and Jane Doe's about what they thought was on 00:42:44.389 --> 00:42:47.190 the other side of the fence. And it didn't work 00:42:47.190 --> 00:42:50.150 out for them. Praise the Lord. Amen. Don't take 00:42:50.150 --> 00:42:53.579 the easy way out. Or satisfy personal desires 00:42:53.579 --> 00:42:57.679 or needs for right now. It's not an instant payback 00:42:57.679 --> 00:43:01.480 check. It's not. It's going to cost you a lot 00:43:01.480 --> 00:43:05.360 more. Isaiah 55, 8 and 9, it says, For my thoughts 00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:07.460 are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:10.019 says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher. 00:43:10.360 --> 00:43:13.219 than the earth, so are my ways higher than your 00:43:13.219 --> 00:43:15.880 ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. In other 00:43:15.880 --> 00:43:19.159 words, don't pay attention to your ideas and 00:43:19.159 --> 00:43:22.599 what you think. No, don't. Close your carnal 00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:26.960 eyes. and open your spiritual eyes and see that 00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:30.420 the ways of God are higher. The ways of God are 00:43:30.420 --> 00:43:33.420 better. It may be a little uncomfortable for 00:43:33.420 --> 00:43:36.900 a season, but I'm telling you, it has a great 00:43:36.900 --> 00:43:40.079 reward for you. You're going to be all right. 00:43:40.280 --> 00:43:42.579 You're going to get through this thing. You're 00:43:42.579 --> 00:43:45.579 going to be victorious at the end. Your children 00:43:45.579 --> 00:43:47.800 are going to serve the Lord. Your grandchildren 00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:50.639 are going to serve the Lord. Your family is going 00:43:50.639 --> 00:43:55.170 to come to Christ. got to stay faithful. Praise 00:43:55.170 --> 00:43:58.349 the Lord, somebody. Isaac obeyed God and settled 00:43:58.349 --> 00:44:00.949 in Gerar. Praise God. I'm almost done. Don't 00:44:00.949 --> 00:44:03.909 think, you know, it's going to, well, maybe it 00:44:03.909 --> 00:44:05.710 will. I don't know. I'm starting to feel pretty 00:44:05.710 --> 00:44:11.449 good. And I didn't even bring the sling to hold 00:44:11.449 --> 00:44:13.849 up my arm here. But there is a deeper lesson 00:44:13.849 --> 00:44:17.670 that we can learn from the decision Isaac made 00:44:17.670 --> 00:44:22.480 in obeying God's voice in spite of this desperate 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:27.460 situation, Isaac's faith was tested and it was 00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:30.960 proven so that the will and the plan of God would 00:44:30.960 --> 00:44:34.460 be fulfilled in his life. And it's the same way 00:44:34.460 --> 00:44:38.639 for us. Your faith is going to be tested. You 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:42.079 will be tested. You're going to go through some 00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:45.320 things in life and maybe you're on the mountaintop 00:44:45.320 --> 00:44:48.840 right now. But let me tell you, there's valleys 00:44:48.840 --> 00:44:51.940 in life. And you may find yourself in a valley 00:44:51.940 --> 00:44:55.039 for some reason or another. And it's not easy. 00:44:55.239 --> 00:44:58.320 There's death in the valley. That's why the psalmist 00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:00.960 said in 23, you know, though I walk through the 00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:03.559 valley of the shadow of death. It didn't say 00:45:03.559 --> 00:45:06.159 he was a sinner and all of that. No, we walk 00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:09.420 through there sometimes. And you can smell the 00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:14.400 stint of death. And it's unfortunate, but there 00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:17.539 it is, you know. And you don't get to smell it 00:45:17.539 --> 00:45:19.420 until you're there, you know. You don't smell 00:45:19.420 --> 00:45:21.780 it from the mountaintop. Hey, it looks good down 00:45:21.780 --> 00:45:24.719 there. Well, when you get down there, it stinks 00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:27.719 like death, let me tell you. And it's not a place 00:45:27.719 --> 00:45:31.280 where you want to plant yourself. Yes, you've 00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:34.059 got to walk. Through it, the Bible says, through, 00:45:34.179 --> 00:45:37.340 I walk through the valley of the shadow. It doesn't 00:45:37.340 --> 00:45:39.539 say, though I live in the valley of the shadow. 00:45:39.599 --> 00:45:41.960 No, you got to walk through it sometimes, amen, 00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:45.659 but don't, like my grandfather used to tell us, 00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:49.940 no más mirando y no agarrando. He would take 00:45:49.940 --> 00:45:52.619 all his grandsons to the store with him, and 00:45:52.619 --> 00:45:55.019 he knew that we, you know, we wanted to be getting, 00:45:55.099 --> 00:45:57.539 no más mirando y no agarrando. Like that, and 00:45:57.539 --> 00:45:58.980 then we were walking like this, you know, in 00:45:58.980 --> 00:46:01.710 the store with him. Yeah, there's a lot of temptation. 00:46:01.829 --> 00:46:05.630 There's a lot of things that are tasty and good 00:46:05.630 --> 00:46:10.210 and they're bright and they're shiny. But don't 00:46:10.210 --> 00:46:12.730 go for it. Don't fall for it. Stay faithful in 00:46:12.730 --> 00:46:15.570 the Lord and know that God is going to do something 00:46:15.570 --> 00:46:18.829 for me. God promised me something and I'm sticking 00:46:18.829 --> 00:46:21.150 with it, man. I'm not going to change. I'm not 00:46:21.150 --> 00:46:23.409 going to look to the left or the right. I'm looking 00:46:23.409 --> 00:46:26.909 forward because greater is he. Greater is he, 00:46:26.909 --> 00:46:28.650 the spirit that's in me, and I'm going to be 00:46:28.650 --> 00:46:33.219 all right. Praise the Lord. He put all his trust 00:46:33.219 --> 00:46:37.539 in God, Isaac did, and began to sow seeds in 00:46:37.539 --> 00:46:41.800 dry land where there was a severe drought and 00:46:41.800 --> 00:46:44.820 barren land. You know, sometimes people will 00:46:44.820 --> 00:46:48.940 ridicule you and mock you and say things about 00:46:48.940 --> 00:46:51.440 you because you're investing in something that 00:46:51.440 --> 00:46:55.559 they don't see. They don't see the harvest behind. 00:46:55.679 --> 00:46:57.960 They don't see the benefit. And there's people, 00:46:58.099 --> 00:47:01.219 I mean, I've been attacked by people all over 00:47:01.219 --> 00:47:05.480 the place. And, you know, in my serving of the 00:47:05.480 --> 00:47:08.480 Lord and attempting to spread the gospel, and 00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:11.000 they've told me that. You know, you can do this. 00:47:11.119 --> 00:47:15.300 And I had an individual that he knew that I was 00:47:15.300 --> 00:47:18.960 a Christian, and he liked to invest in the stock 00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:22.719 market and all of that. And, boy, he was a big 00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:27.119 -time investor. He was a Japanese man. And he 00:47:27.119 --> 00:47:30.239 had a big corner office there where I worked 00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:35.159 at my company at IBM. And he had a bigger office 00:47:35.159 --> 00:47:39.280 than mine for sure. And he was always investing. 00:47:39.380 --> 00:47:43.500 But I went through hard times. But I would always 00:47:43.500 --> 00:47:47.289 give to the Lord. I said, no, no, no. I'm not 00:47:47.289 --> 00:47:50.849 going to stop giving of the first fruits and 00:47:50.849 --> 00:47:54.210 the tithings and the offerings to missions and 00:47:54.210 --> 00:47:56.469 all. I'm going to keep giving. I'm going to keep 00:47:56.469 --> 00:48:00.170 giving. And I always did. But he tried to make 00:48:00.170 --> 00:48:02.510 a fool out of me and say that, you know, I'm 00:48:02.510 --> 00:48:05.690 putting my money in the wrong place. I said, 00:48:05.730 --> 00:48:08.489 no, I'm okay, man. I'm okay. You do what you 00:48:08.489 --> 00:48:10.650 do and I'll do what I do. He says, oh, man, look 00:48:10.650 --> 00:48:13.789 at this market. He always had the stock market, 00:48:13.949 --> 00:48:17.670 you know, Wall Street. this desk, journal, and 00:48:17.670 --> 00:48:20.030 going, oh, he's on the phone, you know, making 00:48:20.030 --> 00:48:23.630 calls. And one morning, they called it Black 00:48:23.630 --> 00:48:28.329 Monday. Way back in the late 80s, I think it 00:48:28.329 --> 00:48:30.590 was, or somewhere out there. I don't remember 00:48:30.590 --> 00:48:32.489 the exact date, but they called it Black Monday. 00:48:32.570 --> 00:48:37.750 I came into work, and I heard a crying, like 00:48:37.750 --> 00:48:43.349 somebody died. This man was screaming like a 00:48:43.349 --> 00:48:49.909 baby. Screaming and just pounding his desk. And 00:48:49.909 --> 00:48:54.130 I says, what happened to him? He says, he lost 00:48:54.130 --> 00:49:00.449 everything. Everything. He's in debt. He owes. 00:49:01.369 --> 00:49:04.889 He's lost everything and he owes a lot. I says, 00:49:04.949 --> 00:49:06.489 you're kidding. What happened? Oh, the market 00:49:06.489 --> 00:49:08.690 crashed. You didn't hear? I said, no. What do 00:49:08.690 --> 00:49:11.670 I know about the market? 7 -Eleven? Yeah, I know 00:49:11.670 --> 00:49:15.280 that. But the stock market, what do I know about 00:49:15.280 --> 00:49:20.519 that? But I know where I put my investment. I 00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:23.940 put my investment in the Lord. And when you invest 00:49:23.940 --> 00:49:28.500 in the Lord, let me tell you something, he pays 00:49:28.500 --> 00:49:33.159 with interest. Yes, he does. I'm telling you, 00:49:33.179 --> 00:49:35.380 I know this. I've been through this. I've experienced 00:49:35.380 --> 00:49:38.260 it. I've got so many. I should write another 00:49:38.260 --> 00:49:42.690 book. on the experiences that I've had by just 00:49:42.690 --> 00:49:46.190 trusting in God. What, you know, what appears 00:49:46.190 --> 00:49:50.150 to be good for the world, I'm not saying don't 00:49:50.150 --> 00:49:51.710 invest. That's up to you, you know, whatever 00:49:51.710 --> 00:49:55.389 you want to do. But don't invest what belongs 00:49:55.389 --> 00:49:59.210 to God. God, if I win the lotto, I'm going to 00:49:59.210 --> 00:50:02.130 pay my tithes. Really, why don't you pay your 00:50:02.130 --> 00:50:05.750 tithes first? Because if you win the lotto, there 00:50:05.750 --> 00:50:08.849 was an hermana that won the lotto one time. In 00:50:08.849 --> 00:50:14.510 Texas. I won't say what happened. Sometimes it's 00:50:14.510 --> 00:50:20.750 not good. But Isaac sowed in the middle of a 00:50:20.750 --> 00:50:23.829 drought. But what does the scripture say? It 00:50:23.829 --> 00:50:29.789 tells us that the first year he reaped a hundredfold. 00:50:30.530 --> 00:50:36.869 One hundredfold. Wow. The promise of God was 00:50:36.869 --> 00:50:40.559 being fulfilled. for Isaac. The Lord said, plant, 00:50:40.860 --> 00:50:44.519 Isaac, plant. Put the seed out there. But Lord, 00:50:44.579 --> 00:50:48.820 no, put the seed out there. Just plant the seed. 00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:53.260 Don't worry about it. What does that mean? A 00:50:53.260 --> 00:50:57.460 hundred -fold harvest in the Bible represents 00:50:57.460 --> 00:51:05.119 an exceptional, supernatural return on spiritual, 00:51:05.559 --> 00:51:11.889 financial, Or personal investments. One hundred 00:51:11.889 --> 00:51:16.449 fold. It symbolizes the maximum productivity. 00:51:17.409 --> 00:51:23.190 A hundred times the seed you sow. Resulting in 00:51:23.190 --> 00:51:28.030 an immense spiritual fruitfulness. A blessing 00:51:28.030 --> 00:51:31.900 and a reward. Wow. How many want that upon your 00:51:31.900 --> 00:51:35.260 life? Amen. I want that. Praise God. But I'm 00:51:35.260 --> 00:51:37.920 not talking about just material things. I'm talking 00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:41.840 about God's blessings upon my life. My spiritual 00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:44.820 walk with him. I want to feel strong. I want 00:51:44.820 --> 00:51:49.260 to be able to tell that blind man, amen, in the 00:51:49.260 --> 00:51:52.079 name of Jesus, you're going to see. Amen. I like 00:51:52.079 --> 00:51:54.760 to tell somebody, silver and gold I have not, 00:51:54.820 --> 00:51:58.380 but such as I have. Get up in the name of Jesus. 00:51:58.619 --> 00:52:03.389 We don't have. all the monetary things in the 00:52:03.389 --> 00:52:07.010 bank. But what we got, we can give. And the more 00:52:07.010 --> 00:52:11.929 we get from God, the more we can give. The secret 00:52:11.929 --> 00:52:15.130 to spiritual wealth is to learn the principle 00:52:15.130 --> 00:52:19.369 of planting and sowing. Galatians 6 -7 tells 00:52:19.369 --> 00:52:24.789 us, for whatever a man sows, that... he will 00:52:24.789 --> 00:52:27.449 also reap. And I know I had a previous to that 00:52:27.449 --> 00:52:30.289 talking about, you know, not to mock God, but 00:52:30.289 --> 00:52:33.309 this is a principle. This is a principle. God's 00:52:33.309 --> 00:52:37.650 principle is stable and true and it's effective 00:52:37.650 --> 00:52:42.869 today. Whatever we sow, we reap. If you sow your 00:52:42.869 --> 00:52:48.409 time, your resources, or your finances, you are 00:52:48.409 --> 00:52:51.710 sowing into God's kingdom that will give you 00:52:51.710 --> 00:52:55.130 a return. that cannot be compared to anything 00:52:55.130 --> 00:53:00.469 Egypt can provide. You cannot compare it with 00:53:00.469 --> 00:53:05.489 what the world has. 2 Corinthians 9, 6, But this 00:53:05.489 --> 00:53:08.590 I say, he who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly, 00:53:08.590 --> 00:53:12.130 but he who sows bountifully, thank you, Isaac, 00:53:12.269 --> 00:53:15.940 for this example, will also reap. bountifully. 00:53:16.159 --> 00:53:20.280 One seed brought back a hundredfold. I don't 00:53:20.280 --> 00:53:22.719 know if the stock market can do that. Maybe it 00:53:22.719 --> 00:53:26.460 has from time to time, but in God's kingdom, 00:53:26.659 --> 00:53:30.840 it's not a risk. It's not a chance. Let's see. 00:53:30.960 --> 00:53:37.079 No, it's a reality. God blesses. If anybody is 00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:41.400 an expert in multiplying, it's God. God multiplies. 00:53:41.480 --> 00:53:44.769 You know, it's just like the space. The astronauts 00:53:44.769 --> 00:53:47.570 that went up the other day, they made some comments. 00:53:47.690 --> 00:53:49.409 And one of them made a comment and says, you 00:53:49.409 --> 00:53:54.230 know, we should just be so grateful that God 00:53:54.230 --> 00:54:00.929 gave us earth to live. He says, let us live in 00:54:00.929 --> 00:54:05.670 harmony on earth. What God gave us to live in. 00:54:05.769 --> 00:54:12.949 He says, out here, it's immense. It's so big. 00:54:14.699 --> 00:54:18.239 They couldn't captivate it in their limited mind 00:54:18.239 --> 00:54:23.219 how big it is. And that's our God. Our God is 00:54:23.219 --> 00:54:26.860 so enormous. To him, that's nothing. He knows 00:54:26.860 --> 00:54:29.500 the names of all the stars, you know. He's been 00:54:29.500 --> 00:54:33.480 to Mars. Hello. He put Mars there, you know. 00:54:33.519 --> 00:54:37.019 He did all of that. I mean, he knows exactly 00:54:37.019 --> 00:54:39.659 what's out there. And when the rapture takes 00:54:39.659 --> 00:54:41.239 place, we're going to go right through that. 00:54:41.820 --> 00:54:46.760 Boom. opening of an eye. Not only did God prosper 00:54:46.760 --> 00:54:50.800 Isaac's seed, he prospered his livestock. Here 00:54:50.800 --> 00:54:54.820 comes the steak. Man, I think I'm getting hungry 00:54:54.820 --> 00:54:58.639 here. I don't know. But livestock during the 00:54:58.639 --> 00:55:02.360 time of famine and drought. Wow, what an amazing 00:55:02.360 --> 00:55:08.059 thing. And so when God prospers livestock in 00:55:08.059 --> 00:55:12.260 the Bible, listen to this, it serves as a prophetic 00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:18.039 picture or a symbol. When God prospers livestock, 00:55:18.739 --> 00:55:23.679 it's prophetical. And it's also a symbol, a prophetical 00:55:23.679 --> 00:55:28.739 symbol of his divine favor and the ultimate spiritual 00:55:28.739 --> 00:55:32.380 blessing that he can provide to mankind. That 00:55:32.380 --> 00:55:37.519 is so powerful to me that prophetical means it's 00:55:37.519 --> 00:55:41.219 going to come to pass. His favor is upon your 00:55:41.219 --> 00:55:41.760 life.