WEBVTT 00:00:02.250 --> 00:00:05.250 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:07.669 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.669 --> 00:00:10.169 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:12.689 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:15.929 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:20.109 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:24.929 enjoy this week's message. It is a privilege 00:00:24.929 --> 00:00:29.719 to be here, and I don't... I really prayed. Last 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:31.719 night I had a lot of activity in the spirit. 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:33.859 I didn't get much sleep. I had a lot of prophetic 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:37.320 activity right over here at the, I don't know 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:38.979 what to call the hotel. What do y 'all call it? 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:45.439 Yeah, whatever. It is. No, but it was a portal 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.619 for me is what it was. And I was like, I need 00:00:48.619 --> 00:00:51.340 to come here more often just to sleep and try 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:55.219 to sleep and see what the Lord says. But I want 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:58.759 to. Say this, I'm not here to teach today. I 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:01.820 know we got two services. And if you, I'll say 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:03.740 a lot different things in the second service. 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:06.000 So if you'd watch the stream, it'd make me feel 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.859 better. Because I want to make sure the house 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:12.379 gets the word that I feel like you have. I heard 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:14.159 that scripture where Paul said, I don't come 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.280 to you with enticing words of man's wisdom, with 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.040 the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:22.350 And I'm not here to entice you with words. Really, 00:01:22.350 --> 00:01:25.049 you have a pastor that can blow it up teaching, 00:01:25.189 --> 00:01:30.049 and I call him Moses and Paul in one rap right 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.590 there. And he's a phenomenal teacher and minister, 00:01:33.890 --> 00:01:36.629 and I'm not going to try to be like that. I want 00:01:36.629 --> 00:01:39.730 to just be who I am and be as a prophet here 00:01:39.730 --> 00:01:41.290 today because that's really what I feel like 00:01:41.290 --> 00:01:44.129 I've come to be, is to be a prophetic voice in 00:01:44.129 --> 00:01:46.890 this house and to help you press through this 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.450 crisis, not just because of the river, but there's 00:01:49.450 --> 00:01:52.469 more going on than the river. That is just one 00:01:52.469 --> 00:01:54.870 manifestation of what you've been battling here. 00:01:55.569 --> 00:01:59.030 And the whole thing that you're doing about voter 00:01:59.030 --> 00:02:01.150 registration, et cetera, is another picture here. 00:02:01.650 --> 00:02:03.650 Because one of the times I came here, the Lord 00:02:03.650 --> 00:02:05.349 told me, because of the movement here to leave 00:02:05.349 --> 00:02:08.349 the state and become part of Idaho, the Lord 00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:11.330 told me, tell them that's not my will. And it 00:02:11.330 --> 00:02:15.169 got real silent in here. And it wasn't what you 00:02:15.169 --> 00:02:18.069 wanted to hear. But the Lord said, if the light 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:21.360 leaves, the darkness gets greater. And so you're 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.360 required to stay. Too bad, too sad. It's the 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.500 will of the Lord. I was in Louisiana when we 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:30.780 were the most corrupt state in America. And we 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:33.479 were at the bottom of everything, ranked 49th 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.099 and 50th in everything. I remember I prophesied, 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:38.979 I had a vision, and I prophesied to the state 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:43.159 of Louisiana of a turnaround. Especially in our 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:46.060 kids. I said our kids will become brilliant in 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:48.740 Louisiana. Had a whole prophecy of what God was 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:50.759 going to do. The prophecy went all the way to 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:53.240 the governor's house. They did a painting of 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.539 it. And he actually hung it in the governor's 00:02:55.539 --> 00:03:00.020 mansion. And with the prophecy on it. And I got 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:02.400 to go to the mansion quite often to pray with 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.580 the governor. And we would just reiterate what 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.340 God was saying for Louisiana. We were ranked 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:11.360 50th in education. This year we're ranked 32nd. 00:03:11.849 --> 00:03:14.689 Now, I realize that's not great, but it's a lot 00:03:14.689 --> 00:03:17.729 better than 50. All right? So we're trending. 00:03:18.169 --> 00:03:21.389 That's a better way of putting it. And the economy 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:24.330 turned around. Everything started rocking. We 00:03:24.330 --> 00:03:26.789 have all Christian leaders in our leadership. 00:03:26.909 --> 00:03:29.430 From the top all the way down, Christians are 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:32.270 leading every office in the state. And we went 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:35.509 from where we were nothing but total corruption 00:03:35.509 --> 00:03:38.770 to that. And so I tell you, as somebody who's 00:03:38.770 --> 00:03:41.639 seen it work, I'm praying for Oregon that there 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:44.000 will be a transformation in this state. I believe 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:50.500 that. Now, as I said, I'm here on assignment, 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:52.580 but I do want to give the prophetic first, and 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:56.400 then we'll get in. I know how long I have, so 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:00.900 I'll make sure we time it right. But for 2026, 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.199 I know some of you listen to our podcasts and 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:05.379 stuff, so this will be just a reencouragement 00:04:05.379 --> 00:04:08.520 to you. But in 2026, I usually don't get a word 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.740 for the year, but I did this year. And in this 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:15.620 vision I had, I was given a vision, and the Lord 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:17.699 took me through a whole journey of the book of 00:04:17.699 --> 00:04:21.560 Joel and this vision. And all that Joel and what 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:23.860 he was talking about, what Israel went through 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:25.540 and the difficulties that they went through and 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:28.459 all that they lost because of many reasons. There's 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:31.720 multiple reasons why they lost inheritance, they 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:34.560 lost their land, they lost hope, they lost so 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:37.250 many different things. But then he highlighted 00:04:37.250 --> 00:04:41.550 Joel 2 .25, and he told me 2026 was the year 00:04:41.550 --> 00:04:43.089 that he's going to restore the years that have 00:04:43.089 --> 00:04:46.850 been lost. They restore the years that the locusts 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:48.870 and the worms and everything has stolen from 00:04:48.870 --> 00:04:51.569 you. Now we can go through the process of repentance 00:04:51.569 --> 00:04:54.730 of what we played a role in and what we lost. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.699 But the Lord said, don't worry about all that 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:00.720 after you repent. It's done with. And he said, 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:02.720 I want you to begin to decree to the people that 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.980 2026 will be a year that people get back what 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:08.139 they've lost in the past at least three to four 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:11.279 years. And it's going to be a real defined moment 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.519 in the spirit. And so in the vision, I was taken 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:17.540 back in time at least for three, four years. 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:19.720 I was taken back in time and I watched this timeline. 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:22.939 And so if I could have a timeline here, you know, 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:26.180 I'm back here 21, 22, you know, around that time. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:29.399 And we're moving toward 26. I watched people 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:32.680 walk and they did not get what they were deserved 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.259 because of the crisis they were in. And things 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.560 were being stolen by the locusts and by the worms. 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.060 Everything was being stolen. And so they were 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:43.279 losing blessings and opportunities. They were 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:46.079 losing increase all during this time until they 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.279 came here. And I thought, Lord, that's sad. I 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:50.819 was watching this whole vision. I said, that's 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:52.680 sad what they lost. And he said, oh, they didn't 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:56.560 lose it. He said, I just kept it. And I watched 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:58.660 and I saw like what it was like a bank vault. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.519 That's the best way I can describe it. And every 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.060 blessing that you were supposed to have in the 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:06.339 last three, four years that you did not obtain 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:09.040 for multiple reasons. There's many reasons why 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.060 not. I want to say this and I want to decree 00:06:11.060 --> 00:06:14.279 in the house today. You did not lose it. Okay, 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.639 you may not own it and you may not have possession 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:21.839 of it right now, but it is in storage. And then 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:24.560 the Lord said, when you decree that I'm going 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.220 to restore the years, I'll open the vault to 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:29.939 them and I'll release the blessings back to them. 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:31.680 And then all of a sudden what will happen in 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.120 one year, they'll have an accumulation of blessing, 00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:36.259 what they should have had for at least three 00:06:36.259 --> 00:06:41.699 years. And then he confirmed it in Leviticus 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:44.139 when he talked to the people of Israel and he 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:47.540 said, rest your crops on the seventh year. And 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:49.319 when they would do that, when they'd enter into 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:52.060 the rest that year, God would give him a threefold 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:55.740 harvest to bless that year, the next year, and 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:58.600 the year after. And the Lord told me that there 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.040 will be many people this year that believe this 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.480 word and enter into my rest that will have a 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:06.360 threefold blessing this year and will have triple 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:11.339 increase this year. Amen, Pastor Tim. That's 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:14.459 a good word. I'll amen myself. I don't have a 00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:17.079 problem doing that. But I want to say this, and 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.300 I know that sounds like a great, wow, that's 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:21.160 a good word, Pastor, but I'm telling you, you 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:24.560 better push into it if you want it. And I've 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.920 already seen people that have had three times 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:32.220 income come to them this year before we were 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:33.680 already in. We're just now about to come into 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:35.600 May and they've already had three times income 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.879 this year because they said, I believe that word. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:42.339 And it has to, you have to add your faith. So 00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:44.560 it's not a promise. It's a conditional word. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:48.399 You have to come into agreement with it. And 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.879 I don't know a church in the country that probably 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:52.660 needs a three year more blessing than you do. 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:55.769 Because of what you've got. The enemy has been 00:07:55.769 --> 00:07:58.910 stealing back here. Did you hear me? There's 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:01.670 been a thief back here that's been stealing your 00:08:01.670 --> 00:08:03.649 time, your money, your energy, your peace, your 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:06.850 joy. It's been stolen. And the Lord said it's 00:08:06.850 --> 00:08:09.930 time to get it back. And it's a place that you 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:13.529 cannot force it to happen. Stress will not increase 00:08:13.529 --> 00:08:18.250 it. When I became pastor, our church was in so 00:08:18.250 --> 00:08:21.290 much debt. Our church was in such bad shape when 00:08:21.290 --> 00:08:24.560 we took over. And if the Holy Spirit hadn't told 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.240 me to do it, I wouldn't have done it. You know, 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:30.279 I was an idiot to take over. But in the natural, 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:32.460 because they couldn't pay their bills every week, 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.480 et cetera, et cetera. And the Lord told me to 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.159 do this, to believe for this. And I remember 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.080 I just had so much faith. that God was going 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:44.740 to bless us. And each week, it was like our accountant 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:46.720 would just freak out, like we were going to have 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:48.919 enough money to pay the bills that week. And 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:50.820 I just stayed in faith, and I just kept saying, 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:52.399 God, you're going to provide for us. I don't 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:54.139 worry about that. I'm not going to get into stress 00:08:54.139 --> 00:08:57.340 about that. And for weeks and months at a time, 00:08:57.379 --> 00:08:58.980 the accountant would call me, and he said, I 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.519 need to talk to you. He said, first of all, you're 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:04.159 not stressed out enough. That's what he told 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:06.960 me. He said, I'm stressed every week. I said, 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.860 well, that's your job. That's not mine. My job 00:09:10.860 --> 00:09:13.840 is not to be stressed about this issue. My job 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:15.899 is to stay in faith. You can go ahead and take 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:18.039 care of the stress for me. I'm gonna stay in 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:21.000 faith. And every week, well, you don't see the 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:22.679 numbers. I said, I see the numbers of heaven. 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:26.059 Now, I know that sounds naive and immature to 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:28.799 some people, but when you walk by faith and not 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:30.860 by sight, there's a time that you gotta press 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:34.419 into that and say, God, you're my provider. Look, 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.840 my worrying is not gonna change anything. It's 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:42.000 not bringing more money in. You understand? It's 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.899 not like there's a money tree and I just look 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:46.220 at it and it starts dressing and all of a sudden 00:09:46.220 --> 00:09:49.139 money starts growing on that tree. It does not 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:55.379 happen. What happens is by faith we trust the 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.899 Lord. And y 'all are pushing into faith right 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:00.710 now. And you're at a moment where God is going 00:10:00.710 --> 00:10:03.610 to do a great thing. I kept feeling this as we 00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:06.470 walked back here yesterday and we were just picking 00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:09.549 up in the spirit. This is a preparation for an 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:12.769 awakening. And I know that doesn't make sense 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:17.649 to you right now, but it is a purpose thing that 00:10:17.649 --> 00:10:20.070 God is going to allow you to go through in order 00:10:20.070 --> 00:10:22.830 that you will honor what comes in the next season. 00:10:23.409 --> 00:10:26.190 And what's going to come is an outpouring. And 00:10:26.190 --> 00:10:27.909 it's going to be a wall that's going to protect 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:30.090 you from the enemy so that you can hold what 00:10:30.090 --> 00:10:33.149 God's bringing. And that is what I believe God 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:35.769 is doing in this house right now. And I believe 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:38.070 he's stretching you. He's stretching this pastor 00:10:38.070 --> 00:10:41.669 right here. You know, he's not very tall, but 00:10:41.669 --> 00:10:45.490 he's getting wider. You know, it's just, he's 00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:51.450 got it. I'm in the spirit. What are y 'all thinking? 00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:54.029 All right, I was talking in the spirit. All right, 00:10:54.029 --> 00:10:56.370 we're talking about that. But I believe God has 00:10:56.370 --> 00:11:00.450 stretched him in a mighty way. He married up. 00:11:00.450 --> 00:11:02.850 Y 'all know that, right? He married up, so his 00:11:02.850 --> 00:11:06.429 wife is really pressing into this thing with 00:11:06.429 --> 00:11:09.370 him, and God is growing their faith in the middle 00:11:09.370 --> 00:11:12.409 of this. I realize discouragement is always part 00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:15.950 of the process, but it makes you find what's 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:21.670 inside of you that's not believing God. Because 00:11:21.670 --> 00:11:24.789 if you have a place where you get discouraged, 00:11:25.029 --> 00:11:27.710 that's a place you've left God out of that place. 00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:31.330 Because now you're saying that he can't provide 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:33.690 for that. In some way, you're saying that. And 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:36.850 I want to say this. I had a dream. I'm going 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:38.909 to get to the word here in just a second. I had 00:11:38.909 --> 00:11:42.429 a dream, and the Lord gave me Psalm 56, and this 00:11:42.429 --> 00:11:45.129 is a word for this house. And he gave me this 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:49.500 in a dream, and this is a whole story of... of 00:11:49.500 --> 00:11:53.019 God's deliverance and supplication to trust God 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:54.600 in whatever you're going through. And Israel's, 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:56.940 David's going through all this stuff. The battle's 00:11:56.940 --> 00:11:59.320 going on. And it's just, he's wondering, where 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.299 are you, God? And there's no doubt when you go 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:04.980 through those seasons is why are you not here? 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:07.080 It seemed like you're waiting. I know you're 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.159 coming, but I sure would like you to be here 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:13.759 now. Amen. I don't know what the deal is with 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:15.879 God, like to show up, like to show up at the 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.899 last minute, but it's something, he's into it. 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:24.259 And I know it's a death process in all of us 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:29.240 because in the waiting, in the waiting, we find 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:35.000 out where our faith is. And so you will do crazy 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.610 stuff while you're waiting. You'll do things 00:12:38.610 --> 00:12:40.649 that you've never done before trying to make 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:43.149 something happen. I think God just looks back 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:47.509 and smiles. It's like I complain to God and he 00:12:47.509 --> 00:12:50.230 like totally ignores what I'm complaining about. 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:55.309 Jeremiah 1 is a picture of that, right? He tells 00:12:55.309 --> 00:12:56.809 him what he's called to do. You're a prophet 00:12:56.809 --> 00:12:58.870 to the nations. He starts complaining. I'm too 00:12:58.870 --> 00:13:01.809 young. I can't speak. And God totally ignores 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:04.210 him. And says, here's what you're gonna do. The 00:13:04.210 --> 00:13:05.889 word of the Lord's gonna be on your mouth. You're 00:13:05.889 --> 00:13:07.289 gonna plant, you're gonna pluck up, you're gonna 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:09.169 do all these things. I imagine Jeremiah's like, 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:13.190 did you not hear me? It's like God does not, 00:13:13.330 --> 00:13:15.429 he'll allow you to complain, but it means nothing 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.269 to heaven. Because it's not in agreement with 00:13:18.269 --> 00:13:22.429 heaven. So you're complaining, and there's a, 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:24.029 I think it's Psalm, I can't remember what Psalm 00:13:24.029 --> 00:13:26.070 it is, where David says he murmurs and complains 00:13:26.070 --> 00:13:29.639 morning, noon, and night. Some of y 'all go more 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:31.899 than three times a day, but he was at least doing 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:36.600 it three times a day. And so it's in scripture, 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:39.539 so it's okay to do it. But there's nothing that 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:42.240 produces fruit out of it, but it's there, all 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.240 right? Just so some of y 'all just enjoy it. 00:13:44.379 --> 00:13:47.259 It's in 55, it's right before this. Anyway, so 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:50.419 in this passage, in this dream, he began to show 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:53.440 me what God was doing and he wanted me to know 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.080 and to all of us to know that he's very aware. 00:13:56.990 --> 00:13:59.929 Of the difficulty and the wonderings that we're 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:03.169 going through. And that's what David was declaring 00:14:03.169 --> 00:14:06.929 this. He says here in verse 8, he says, you take 00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:10.129 account of my wonderings. Now I like this, you 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:13.110 take account of them. Because that means that 00:14:13.110 --> 00:14:16.769 God is recording your wonderings. He's watching 00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:19.429 where you're going. He's watching the difficulties 00:14:19.429 --> 00:14:21.789 that you're going through. He sees the pain. 00:14:21.950 --> 00:14:24.450 He sees the stress of what you're processing 00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:27.210 through. And he keeps an account of it. And I 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:29.490 like this because there is a book of remembrance 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:32.929 mentioned in Malachi, the third chapter. And 00:14:32.929 --> 00:14:35.370 the Lord showed me in the dream that it's in 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:38.649 the book. So I want you to know, how long y 'all 00:14:38.649 --> 00:14:40.870 been fighting this thing back here? Three years. 00:14:41.450 --> 00:14:44.090 Boom shakalaka. There we go. I had a three -year 00:14:44.090 --> 00:14:47.169 word. There it is. Boom shakalaka. You don't 00:14:47.169 --> 00:14:51.750 know what that is, right? It's a video game, 00:14:51.850 --> 00:14:57.899 NBA. All right, here we go. I used to play my 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:00.899 boys and beat them. I never let my boys beat 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:03.039 me. Anyway, they're going through therapy now. 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.500 But so now I lost my train of thought. Anyway, 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:11.139 yeah, The Wanderings. Yeah, here we go. The Wanderings, 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:14.259 the three years thing here. He's been watching 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:19.039 for three years and recording everything that's 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.840 gone on here for three years. He's recorded the 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:25.799 injustices. Of the Army Corps of Engineers. He's 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:28.080 recorded the injustices of the governments. He's 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.500 been recording all the things that have happened. 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:32.899 All the battles that have been going on here. 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:37.840 Okay, so he's recorded, he's taken account all 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.100 your wonderings. I want you, that's number one. 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:44.539 Then he goes on here and says, he put my tears 00:15:44.539 --> 00:15:48.500 in a bottle. That's your intercession. That's 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:52.000 your crying out to God. So we got three years. 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:55.929 A bottle filled tears. I know that man's been 00:15:55.929 --> 00:15:59.070 crying. I know some of you've been crying. Look, 00:15:59.549 --> 00:16:01.570 if you go to this house and you've been fed in 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:04.769 this house, you better be crying. It shouldn't 00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:07.070 be his burden or just a few other people's burden. 00:16:07.730 --> 00:16:09.730 This should be us all. If we can get this whole 00:16:09.730 --> 00:16:13.429 place crying out to God, feeling the bottles, 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:17.870 then what happens? It starts moving heaven and 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:20.409 earth. And that's where we are. And he goes on 00:16:20.409 --> 00:16:23.590 to say here, And he says, are they not in a book? 00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:25.950 So he talks about that book of remembrance. And 00:16:25.950 --> 00:16:27.929 here's what's going to happen. Then, everybody 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:32.190 say then. My enemies will turn back in that day 00:16:32.190 --> 00:16:36.269 when I call. This I know that God is for me. 00:16:37.370 --> 00:16:40.330 Now, for David to say that, that meant he came 00:16:40.330 --> 00:16:43.090 out of his discouragement and came into faith. 00:16:44.149 --> 00:16:47.690 Because prior to that, he couldn't say that God 00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:51.230 was with me. And now he was saying it. So that 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:53.649 meant there was a major transformation. And we're 00:16:53.649 --> 00:16:55.809 in a moment right here in this house where God 00:16:55.809 --> 00:16:58.789 is taking to a moment of transformation. And 00:16:58.789 --> 00:17:00.169 we're going to get to a place that you're going 00:17:00.169 --> 00:17:02.490 to know God's for you. And God's going to get 00:17:02.490 --> 00:17:04.150 the victory of what's going to happen back here. 00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:07.230 Look, I know 2 .3 million is a lot of money. 00:17:08.230 --> 00:17:11.470 And I know that sounds, it's almost like unreachable. 00:17:12.109 --> 00:17:14.869 And I tell you, how do you raise 2 .3? Little 00:17:14.869 --> 00:17:18.170 by little. Now, I believe there may be somebody 00:17:18.170 --> 00:17:20.460 online can write a check. Who knows? Some of 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:22.500 you may be. Shake it out. Come on, let's hear 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:25.220 God for what you're supposed to sow. I'm not 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.980 a hit man here today trying to pull money out 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:31.019 of you. I am here to say that God has a greater 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:32.940 purpose, and we've got to fight for that purpose. 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:36.700 That's why we're here. So this is a word for 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:40.220 you, and it just seems that it's difficult right 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.660 now, but I want to get into why I'm here today. 00:17:43.409 --> 00:17:46.170 First fruit principle. I call it first fruits 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:47.809 offering, but I mean, we call it first fruits 00:17:47.809 --> 00:17:49.730 offering, but I call it a principle as well. 00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:53.390 And Pastor Brad and I have talked to a lot of 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:56.250 people that taught us, mentored us in this. We 00:17:56.250 --> 00:17:58.910 have the same mentors. We learned it a lot of 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:00.849 the same ways, but I've also just gotten my own 00:18:00.849 --> 00:18:04.910 revelation about this. And this message or this 00:18:04.910 --> 00:18:07.410 time I'm with you here is not about raising an 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:11.109 offering. It's about changing your mindset. to 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:13.750 where you understand first fruit principle. And 00:18:13.750 --> 00:18:15.549 that's what the Lord was, I had some dreams last 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:19.170 night about what it can do for you. Now, first 00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:22.670 is everything, right? We always want the best. 00:18:22.769 --> 00:18:25.690 I don't know about you, but if you have a piece 00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:28.349 of pie, the first piece is the best, right? Whatever 00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:31.710 you do is the best. But when we give, it should 00:18:31.710 --> 00:18:34.630 be the best we give. We know that not only with 00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:38.500 our finances, but with our lives. I I'll tell 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:42.460 you one story. This is my dream last night when 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:45.440 I don't know how my son, my oldest son, Jacob, 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.819 he's he was five years old. We went to a conference 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:52.920 in Washington, D .C. In time, handmaids and servants 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:55.460 is called this craziest women I've ever seen 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:59.660 in my life. If you've ever seen that group. Anyway, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.200 so we were there and they brought in a children's 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.059 minister, a guy named David Walters. And he loves 00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:08.920 the nations. And, of course, I love the nations 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:12.799 anyway. And he spoke to the parents in the room. 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.980 And he said, I want you to pray right now that 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:18.920 God would ask you to give your firstborn to the 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:23.099 nations. Now, for me, I was new in the prophetic. 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:25.619 I was just growing in it and understanding a 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:28.980 few things. And I had plans for my firstborn. 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:31.980 I wanted to name him after a baseball player. 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:36.400 And my wife didn't let me do that. I had plans 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.900 already thinking about coaching, scouts, you 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:41.019 know, things like that, being this manager, you 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:43.599 know, the whole thing. I could see the money. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.880 I could just see everything, right? I'm not making 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.980 that up. That was my plan. I already had him 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:51.259 watching baseball when he was little. This is 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:54.119 it. This is your destiny. Because I could never 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:56.579 do it because I was too short and I didn't have 00:19:56.579 --> 00:19:58.900 any power, you know, all those things. So, you 00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:00.720 know, some parents can't live in themselves. 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:04.529 They live through their kids. Or at least they 00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:08.230 try. I'm not making this up. That's where I was. 00:20:08.609 --> 00:20:11.150 And this man said, I want you to give your firstborn 00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:14.029 to the nations. And he's sitting right next to 00:20:14.029 --> 00:20:19.369 me. And I said, no. I said, he can't play baseball 00:20:19.369 --> 00:20:25.390 in the nations. And so I sat there and the anointing 00:20:25.390 --> 00:20:28.390 just got so strong. They started standing, they 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:30.190 started worshiping, and the anointing got so 00:20:30.190 --> 00:20:32.829 strong in the room. And he kept making this cry, 00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:34.849 I want you to give your first to the nations. 00:20:36.269 --> 00:20:38.869 And I don't know what happened. This is a massive 00:20:38.869 --> 00:20:42.410 auditorium. I don't know, 4 ,000 people were 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:45.130 there. It was massive. And I cannot remember 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:48.970 what happened, except I was standing at the altar 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:51.970 with him holding my hand. I had walked all the 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:53.730 way to the front and didn't know I walked there. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.980 And we're all standing up here in front and he's 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:59.759 about to bless us and send our kids to the nations. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:05.440 And I'm going, how did I get up here? My goal 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:11.480 was the first was for me. I was gonna let him 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:16.059 live out my dreams. I wasn't surrendering my 00:21:16.059 --> 00:21:20.900 best to the Lord. I wanted it for myself. And 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:25.809 the Holy Spirit overrode me. Amen. Some of y 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:27.829 'all need an override button where you just let 00:21:27.829 --> 00:21:31.650 the Holy Spirit override you. And I'm standing 00:21:31.650 --> 00:21:34.630 there and I'm weeping because the more this guy 00:21:34.630 --> 00:21:38.089 spoke, the more the anointing was breaking my 00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:44.509 soul. And I realized it wasn't just my firstborn, 00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:48.589 it was the first of everything I own. I can't 00:21:48.589 --> 00:21:51.730 just hold what I want for myself and give him 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:55.039 what I wanted. I have to give him the best of 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.519 everything that I have. And my child, my children 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:00.779 are the best. It's the best I can do. It's all 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:04.759 I had at that time. And so as he prayed, he said, 00:22:04.819 --> 00:22:06.319 now I want you to pray this over your children 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:08.599 right now. And I prayed and he made us commit 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.380 that we surrender our kids to the nations. And 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:15.299 I did. I knew it was the right thing. My soul 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:18.240 said, no. My spirit said, yes. Thank God for 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.900 a spirit override. That it will override. You 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.500 know, the scripture says the spirit's willing, 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:27.079 but the flesh is weak. I reversed that. I say 00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:29.099 my flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing. 00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:33.039 And I surrendered to the spirit that day. And 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:34.839 I'm telling you, from that day forward, that 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:39.299 kid didn't care anything about baseball. I mean, 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:41.519 he would play and he could do it, but he didn't 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:46.960 give a flip about it. He's 6 '3". I'm 5 '9". 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.359 Come on. He was built for this, right? All right, 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:52.180 this whole thing. But it wasn't his destiny. 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:57.000 And it wasn't his purpose. See, I have a struggle 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:59.039 with these people. Like, they'll come to a school 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:00.559 and they'll say, how many of you kids want to 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:02.559 be president of the United States? And, you know, 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:04.140 they'll all raise. You can have whatever you 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:09.519 want. That's not true. The Bible says all the 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:11.500 days about our life are written in a book before 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:13.880 there was ever one of them. And if you're not 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:15.920 written to be president, you can't be president. 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:20.920 So we're looking for the ones who've been written 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:25.859 about. That messed up some people in this house 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:28.759 just then. All right. Because your plans, you 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:30.859 know, dream the American dream. Well, you need 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:35.160 to have a Holy Ghost dream. And follow the Holy 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:37.619 Ghost dream that you have for you. Anyway, so 00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:41.920 my son. He began to embrace this thing about 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.759 nature. He's one of these kids that whatever 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:46.880 the Lord says, that's what we're going to do. 00:23:47.900 --> 00:23:50.859 From the time he was a little boy, he's been 00:23:50.859 --> 00:23:53.779 that way. He's always said, Dad, that's not what 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:57.579 God says. We can't do that. I'm like, shut up. 00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:05.160 I'm the dad here. Anyway, he's always been that 00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:08.900 way. I remember he took a test in school. You 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:10.339 had to count these sheep, and they were black 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:12.480 sheep and white sheep. And he made every question 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:16.440 right except one. And I said, son, you know this 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:18.440 test. I said, why didn't you get it? He said, 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:21.339 dad, sheep are not black. You know, he was just 00:24:21.339 --> 00:24:24.680 kind of that way. Whatever it was, he had to 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:26.319 believe in it. And so he believed it. So the 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.420 next thing you know, he's thinking about nations 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:31.339 all the time. He's studying nations. We'd pray 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:33.140 every single night. I'd go in his room, and we'd 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:35.519 pray. I'd lay in bed with him and pray. And he 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:38.049 said, dad, I think I'm called Italy now. I said, 00:24:38.089 --> 00:24:40.549 oh, Italy. I said, why Italy? He said, I love 00:24:40.549 --> 00:24:43.069 pizza. I believe that God has called me there. 00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:47.190 I mean, it was kind of, it was hilarious for 00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:50.650 a while. But eventually, God just began to move 00:24:50.650 --> 00:24:54.309 him and just began to woo him. And he decided 00:24:54.309 --> 00:24:58.069 that God had called him to Asia. And that was 00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:00.789 really where his call was. And so then Chuck 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:03.480 Pierce came to our church. And he prophesied 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:05.759 from our church. He said, from here to Tokyo 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.819 to all the way to Asia, you will go. And me and 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:11.920 Susan are sitting there going, no. You know, 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.059 because my son's sitting there. He's so literal. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.319 I know what he's doing in the back of the auditorium. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:23.400 That's my word. And I thought, great. He's going 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:28.460 to Japan. That's it. It's over. And sure enough, 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:30.740 Chuck prophesied over him, didn't know anything, 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:33.059 walked up to him. It was on his birthday that 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:35.640 they actually prophesied it. And he prophesied. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:37.940 He says, you will go to Japan. You will go to 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:48.200 other eight nations in Asia. It didn't consult 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:53.519 me. It didn't ask me one. But anyway, so my son, 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.240 he said, Dad, I'm going to college. I'm going 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:56.740 to work one year and save money. I'm going to 00:25:56.740 --> 00:26:00.019 Asia. He said, I'm going to Japan. And I remember 00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:02.240 we took him to that airport and we put him in 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.099 that, we walked to that security line and me 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:05.319 and Susan looked at him. He didn't even look 00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:09.619 back. He didn't say goodbye to nothing. He gone. 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:13.980 He went there, did a language school for two 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:17.119 years, lived with Japanese families. Now he reads, 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.299 writes, speaks Japanese. Missionary. They married 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:22.740 a Japanese girl. I got a Japanese half baby there. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:25.400 I mean, half American, half Japanese. She's beautiful. 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:28.950 I'll show you a picture. She's awesome. And it 00:26:28.950 --> 00:26:33.029 was all because I gave my first. You understand? 00:26:33.529 --> 00:26:36.789 I gave my best. I decided it didn't belong to 00:26:36.789 --> 00:26:39.430 me. I decided it belonged to him. I recognized 00:26:39.430 --> 00:26:42.150 that he gave me that child. It wasn't mine anyway. 00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:46.730 And when we talk about our first fruits, we've 00:26:46.730 --> 00:26:51.000 got to understand it's not ours. And when we 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.140 analyze what we're going to give with our lives 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:55.599 or our money, whatever, we start measuring it 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:57.819 this way. Most people do it this way. What can 00:26:57.819 --> 00:27:02.819 I give that will not cause me pain? What can 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:04.920 I give and I still get to keep all the other 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:09.839 stuff? And that's how they measure how much they're 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:12.079 going to give their life to or give their finances 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:15.200 to. And they'll open their billfold and say, 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:17.500 if I give so much, I can still go do all the 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:18.980 other stuff I want to do. I give that amount. 00:27:20.019 --> 00:27:24.519 Not asking the Lord what we should give. We should 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:28.500 always do that. I remember once I was in Los 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:31.900 Angeles and I had some friends there. I don't 00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:33.980 think we were ministers. I can't remember. Yeah, 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:37.640 I'd gone to Lancaster. Lord, that's a great place. 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:41.549 No. Yeah, that was Lancaster. Anyway. And so 00:27:41.549 --> 00:27:43.609 I was there, and I was with some friends. He's 00:27:43.609 --> 00:27:45.509 a kind of wealthy guy, and we spent some days 00:27:45.509 --> 00:27:47.150 with him, and he was going to send me back to 00:27:47.150 --> 00:27:49.829 the airport. So he brought a limousine for Pastor 00:27:49.829 --> 00:27:52.750 Tim to go to the airport, which I thought, God, 00:27:52.789 --> 00:27:55.190 I hope Charisma Magazine is not taking pictures 00:27:55.190 --> 00:27:58.789 here, you know. Especially now, all this stuff 00:27:58.789 --> 00:28:02.230 is going on. But anyway, I'm in this limousine. 00:28:02.230 --> 00:28:05.789 It's so long, I could barely see the front. It's 00:28:05.789 --> 00:28:08.130 a big stretch limo. I'm in the back with this 00:28:08.130 --> 00:28:12.039 driver, young Hispanic guy. I'm in the back and 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:14.740 I'm just driving. We're driving on LA. We have 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:18.220 about an hour to drive. The traffic, crazy LA 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:20.900 traffic. And the Lord starts speaking to me about 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:24.339 the driver, little Hispanic guy. And the Lord 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:27.500 said, hey, prophesy to him. I said, Lord, he 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.140 can barely hear me. He's so far up there. And 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.279 he said, prophesy to him that he's supposed to 00:28:32.279 --> 00:28:36.259 own his own limo company. I said, okay. And I 00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:38.759 said, hey, man. I started yelling. He was so 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:41.769 far away. And I said, look, I know this may sound 00:28:41.769 --> 00:28:44.150 strange because I didn't think he was a Christian. 00:28:44.549 --> 00:28:46.670 I just said, hey, you're supposed to own your 00:28:46.670 --> 00:28:48.950 own limousine company. I just realized that. 00:28:49.390 --> 00:28:52.150 And he turned around at me while we're driving 00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:55.890 in L .A. traffic. And I was like, I said, look, 00:28:56.029 --> 00:29:00.269 look at the road, dude. Look at the road. He 00:29:00.269 --> 00:29:03.029 goes, how do you know that? I said, I just know 00:29:03.029 --> 00:29:07.539 it, okay? That's all. And he's like, he's nervous 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:09.440 now. Like, who's this freak in the back, you 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:12.859 know? And I could tell he was real nervous. And 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:15.359 I said, okay, Lord, I obeyed you. He said, yeah, 00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:18.900 now tell him his son is going to be a professional 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:21.720 athlete. And don't worry about all the other 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:23.900 stuff in his life because he's going to. I said, 00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:26.740 hey, man. I yelled at him. I said, hey, you have 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:28.819 a little boy? Because I saw a little boy. He 00:29:28.819 --> 00:29:30.319 says, yeah, I have a little son. I said, oh, 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:33.079 he's five. I said, he's going to be a professional 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:35.940 athlete. I said, just train him that way. God's 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:38.359 going to use him mightily in that way. And he 00:29:38.359 --> 00:29:41.799 like, he turns around. I said, what's the traffic 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.799 do? Anyway, he said, how do you know that? I 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.619 said, look, I just know it. He goes, look, that 00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:48.519 boy only wants to play with balls all the time. 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:50.299 I can't get him to do his schoolwork, nothing. 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:52.099 That's all he wants to do. I said, because that's 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:55.799 what he's called to do. So anyway, we finally 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:58.250 made it to the airport. And I'm getting out of 00:29:58.250 --> 00:30:00.349 the car, and the Lord says, give him every dime 00:30:00.349 --> 00:30:03.450 you have, every dollar you have, give it to him 00:30:03.450 --> 00:30:07.910 as a first fruit seed for his business. And I'm 00:30:07.910 --> 00:30:11.529 thinking, Lord, how much money do I have? I think, 00:30:11.650 --> 00:30:13.329 because I usually don't carry a lot of cash, 00:30:13.549 --> 00:30:16.009 but I had a lot of cash that day. And I'm thinking, 00:30:16.089 --> 00:30:18.710 oh, Lord, should I count it? And he said, no, 00:30:18.789 --> 00:30:21.869 give it all. And so I pulled my billfold. I didn't 00:30:21.869 --> 00:30:23.230 even look. I didn't want to look. I didn't want 00:30:23.230 --> 00:30:27.240 to feel any pain. And I just took it out and 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:31.200 I put it in his hand. I said, hey, son, I said, 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:34.259 I know it sounds strange, but God told me to 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:36.880 sow a first fruit into you for your business, 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:39.440 for your limousine. I want this to be the first 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:42.460 offering for this, that God would help you establish 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:44.900 this business. And he said, man, you don't understand. 00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:48.480 I just talked to my uncle today and we talked 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:50.039 to each other about starting our own business. 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:53.539 I said, well, today's the day. It's a first fruit 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:56.099 day for you. And I want to sow into this right 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:58.500 now. The guy starts crying. He does not know 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:01.299 Jesus. You understand? He knows him now. All 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:03.960 right? Because when Jesus comes and visits you 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:06.059 that way, and I think that's one of the things, 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:10.039 when we give our best, it's Jesus coming. When 00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:13.259 we give half or we give a portion of who he is 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:15.759 and what he is and how much he is, then what 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:17.940 happens? We give a portion of Jesus to people. 00:31:20.269 --> 00:31:22.430 And so when we're sowing our offerings, what 00:31:22.430 --> 00:31:24.789 we're saying is, Lord, I want to give my best. 00:31:24.990 --> 00:31:29.029 What portion of Christ are we giving? How much 00:31:29.029 --> 00:31:32.650 has he blessed us with? How can we say, no, I 00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:35.309 can't give it all. I can't give what you asked 00:31:35.309 --> 00:31:38.589 me to give. The first time Susan and I gave a 00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:41.130 first fruit offering, it's been 25 plus years 00:31:41.130 --> 00:31:44.789 ago, we decided that you hear a number, I hear 00:31:44.789 --> 00:31:46.450 a number. That thing, you know, you ever do that 00:31:46.450 --> 00:31:50.069 in a marriage? I was hoping she didn't hear what 00:31:50.069 --> 00:31:52.329 I heard. But, you know, it's one of those things. 00:31:52.390 --> 00:31:54.750 But she heard the same number I heard. I'm like, 00:31:54.789 --> 00:31:58.289 dang. That's not what I was hoping for. I thought 00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:01.970 she had more discernment than that. But no, she 00:32:01.970 --> 00:32:04.650 had the right discernment. It was the exact same. 00:32:04.849 --> 00:32:08.109 And we started our journey. And it is a journey. 00:32:08.190 --> 00:32:11.690 First fruit's a journey. And I was the financial 00:32:11.690 --> 00:32:13.990 advisor last week, a couple weeks ago. And I 00:32:13.990 --> 00:32:15.630 started talking to him about first fruits. He's 00:32:15.630 --> 00:32:18.819 a financial planner. And I'm telling you, it's 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:21.599 like deer looking at headlights. He had never 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:24.259 heard this principle before. And I thought, man, 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:25.859 if somebody in the business that needs to know 00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:27.920 this principle, you need to know this. He's a 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:30.019 Christian. He needs to know this principle. He 00:32:30.019 --> 00:32:32.420 was excited when I started sharing about the 00:32:32.420 --> 00:32:35.319 first fruit principle. And I think he can impart 00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:37.700 it to all his clients. Because I think if we 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:39.799 get more of the body of Christ walking in this 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:42.119 anointing of giving our best and the first of 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:44.440 what we have, we're going to see a major awakening 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:47.160 come to our country. They're going to see a major 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:49.400 awakening come to Oregon. That's what I'm believing 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:53.500 for. And so as we sow it this way, we've got 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.559 to understand God is faithful to provide. And 00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:00.759 when we put this together in our giving, I don't 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:02.259 know about you, what's your background? I'm just 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:04.960 telling my story for a second. I grew up in a 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:09.099 household that my father that I grew up with, 00:33:09.140 --> 00:33:11.980 I was adopted, but I grew up with, his parents 00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:14.980 grew up in the Great Depression. His father was 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:18.740 an immigrant from Canada. But they got through 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:22.880 the Great Depression. And it was a hard house 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:25.619 to live in when it came to finances. Because 00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:28.940 my dad's favorite saying was, we can't afford 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:32.799 that. Y 'all remember that? I had that drilled 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:35.279 into me. Every time I asked for something, we 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.440 can't afford that. He didn't even know we could 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:39.839 afford it. He just would say it. Because he had 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:42.259 learned it. It was a learned iniquity that he 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:44.789 had learned from his father. And it was being 00:33:44.789 --> 00:33:47.809 passed from generation to generation. And because 00:33:47.809 --> 00:33:50.470 there was no teaching against that or about that, 00:33:50.569 --> 00:33:54.230 I began to embrace that same philosophy. That 00:33:54.230 --> 00:33:56.970 you just say you can't have anything. And you 00:33:56.970 --> 00:34:00.670 actually embrace a poverty mentality. And see, 00:34:00.750 --> 00:34:02.690 poverty is more than finance. It's a mindset. 00:34:03.650 --> 00:34:07.259 It's a mindset that says we can't have. It's 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:11.159 like if you drive down and you see a new house 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:13.960 being built and you have an old house and they're 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:15.460 a Christian, you think, well, God, there goes 00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:17.679 that money. God's only got a limited amount of 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:19.980 resources, so now I can't have one. See, that's 00:34:19.980 --> 00:34:23.400 what a poverty mindset is. A kingdom mindset 00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:27.679 is God owns everything. And look, I should celebrate 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.039 my brother or sister in Christ being blessed. 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:33.199 And as I celebrate them, then God will begin 00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:36.949 to release it back to me as well. And so as we 00:34:36.949 --> 00:34:40.869 went through this process, my family, and then 00:34:40.869 --> 00:34:44.610 my mom grew up in abstract poverty in the Appalachian 00:34:44.610 --> 00:34:47.869 Mountains in eastern Kentucky. I mean, just utter 00:34:47.869 --> 00:34:50.789 poverty. So you had two people that came from 00:34:50.789 --> 00:34:54.429 poverty and now married, and they're imparting 00:34:54.429 --> 00:34:57.849 it to their children. And so I had no mindset 00:34:57.849 --> 00:35:01.369 of what it meant to be blessed. I just kept thinking 00:35:01.369 --> 00:35:04.340 we were never going to have. And so therefore 00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:07.480 you dare not give because if you give, you'll 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:10.320 have less. You understand that's how it's taught. 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:12.860 That's how poverty is taught. And so the next 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:15.199 thing you know, you live in that cycle and you 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:18.619 reproduce it over and over again. And so it finally, 00:35:18.739 --> 00:35:21.219 you know, when I got saved and I started getting 00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:24.260 spirit filled, started hearing a different message, 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:27.460 it still took a while for it to break. My wife 00:35:27.460 --> 00:35:30.739 was a key part of it breaking in my house because 00:35:30.739 --> 00:35:33.780 when God kept trying to bless me, I would turn 00:35:33.780 --> 00:35:36.820 it down because I thought that's ridiculous. 00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:39.300 You're supposed to make it on your own. You shouldn't 00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:41.659 receive from anybody. And I remember we were 00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:43.500 struggling one time. We needed groceries. We 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:46.440 needed simple things. And I turned it down. And 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:48.900 Susan said to me one time, she said, how long 00:35:48.900 --> 00:35:54.280 are you going to make us suffer? She's a redemptive 00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:58.019 prophet. So you understand, I'm totally opposite. 00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:01.260 I give mercy to everybody. She's totally opposite 00:36:01.260 --> 00:36:03.820 that way, all right? We need that in a marriage, 00:36:03.980 --> 00:36:07.380 right? And redemptive gifts, mercy, and prophets, 00:36:07.780 --> 00:36:11.420 90 % of all mercies marry prophets because they 00:36:11.420 --> 00:36:14.300 need each other. It's a real balance in their 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:16.980 lives. And so God put us together that way. And 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:20.820 then I started learning to receive. And as I 00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:23.900 gave more, I learned to receive more. And I started 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:26.619 to cycle in my life and my family's life that 00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:28.980 we began to understand that as we sow into the 00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:31.500 kingdom with our first and our best, God is going 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:35.519 to be more than faithful to us. This house is 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:38.500 a blessed house because you've been a part of 00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:42.000 that. And right now, the enemy wants to cause 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:44.679 this thing to go the wrong direction. And right 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:47.139 now, as we rise up in this moment, we're going 00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:49.360 to tell the devil we're giving our best in the 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:53.980 middle of what seems to be a crisis. I think 00:36:53.980 --> 00:36:55.960 that's one of the things about when I learned 00:36:55.960 --> 00:36:59.800 to tithe. So I wasn't tithing when we first got 00:36:59.800 --> 00:37:02.059 married. I wasn't a minister or anything because 00:37:02.059 --> 00:37:05.960 we were having such a financial crisis. And our 00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:08.539 kids were sick and our insurance wasn't covering 00:37:08.539 --> 00:37:11.079 it all. And so we were having to pay constantly. 00:37:11.780 --> 00:37:14.199 Anyway, we were in debt. I was paying everything 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:17.159 on credit cards. It just got worse and worse 00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:19.320 and worse. And I kept telling God every Sunday. 00:37:19.699 --> 00:37:21.860 I said, God, you understand why I'm not tithing. 00:37:22.690 --> 00:37:25.829 Because we're barely making it. And I said, I'm 00:37:25.829 --> 00:37:29.110 not buying boats and cars and guns and different 00:37:29.110 --> 00:37:31.869 things. You know, I'm not wasting money. I said, 00:37:31.889 --> 00:37:34.170 I'm just trying to pay the bills. And so me and 00:37:34.170 --> 00:37:37.630 God had an agreement. We were tight. He agreed 00:37:37.630 --> 00:37:39.630 with me, right? No, he didn't agree with me. 00:37:40.630 --> 00:37:43.269 And that scripture, when it says, when you don't 00:37:43.269 --> 00:37:46.570 tithe, it closes the heavens and the devourer 00:37:46.570 --> 00:37:50.039 comes into your house. I was living that. The 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:53.400 devourer was destroying everything we had. It's 00:37:53.400 --> 00:37:56.780 like we couldn't dig out of the hole. I had creditors. 00:37:56.960 --> 00:38:01.079 They had my number on speed dial. Let's call 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:03.320 Tim again today. Let's ask for that money again. 00:38:03.820 --> 00:38:07.360 And I had nothing. I couldn't give. It was getting 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:09.340 worse and worse. We were getting further and 00:38:09.340 --> 00:38:12.199 further behind. And every Sunday when they took 00:38:12.199 --> 00:38:14.440 that offering up, I mean, there was someone again, 00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:16.599 of course, Susan was just praying. She knew I 00:38:16.599 --> 00:38:19.230 was in rebellion. Some wives are wonderful that 00:38:19.230 --> 00:38:23.650 way. They just quiet and pray. Thank you for 00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:26.989 laughing. I appreciate that. But some are Holy 00:38:26.989 --> 00:38:30.489 Ghost nags, you know, in the sense that, and 00:38:30.489 --> 00:38:32.909 I mean that in a good way, all right? It's just 00:38:32.909 --> 00:38:35.849 like they hear the Holy Ghost and they tell you 00:38:35.849 --> 00:38:40.489 what the Holy Ghost is saying. We have a saying 00:38:40.489 --> 00:38:42.570 that what the Holy Spirit doesn't tell us, our 00:38:42.570 --> 00:38:48.929 wives do, right? Anyway. You want to talk, baby? 00:38:49.050 --> 00:38:54.230 You want the mic? All right, here we go. So it 00:38:54.230 --> 00:38:56.909 was just, it got so bad, we were about to lose 00:38:56.909 --> 00:38:59.170 our house. We were about to lose everything. 00:38:59.289 --> 00:39:01.869 They were going to repossess everything. And 00:39:01.869 --> 00:39:03.849 I remember it was about, we were probably two 00:39:03.849 --> 00:39:06.570 weeks away from losing everything. And it was 00:39:06.570 --> 00:39:09.070 Saturday night. I just got paid on Friday a whopping 00:39:09.070 --> 00:39:15.650 $750. And the Lord said to me, I sit on the side 00:39:15.650 --> 00:39:17.789 of my bed. I was so depressed. I'm thinking we 00:39:17.789 --> 00:39:19.190 won't be able to be in this house in a couple 00:39:19.190 --> 00:39:22.409 weeks. And I'm sitting there in my bed, just 00:39:22.409 --> 00:39:27.050 discouraged, depressed. And the audible voice 00:39:27.050 --> 00:39:30.010 of God came into my room. And he said, I want 00:39:30.010 --> 00:39:33.389 you to tithe tomorrow. And I started laughing 00:39:33.389 --> 00:39:36.250 at the audible voice of God. How stupid is that? 00:39:36.989 --> 00:39:40.610 And I said, God, you understand I don't have 00:39:40.610 --> 00:39:44.190 anything. I said, I have nothing to give. We're 00:39:44.190 --> 00:39:48.449 barely surviving. And he said again, audibly, 00:39:48.550 --> 00:39:51.389 he said, I want you to tithe tomorrow. And all 00:39:51.389 --> 00:39:53.469 of a sudden, the Spirit of God just came over 00:39:53.469 --> 00:39:57.349 me. And it overwhelmed me. And the Spirit came 00:39:57.349 --> 00:39:59.369 to me. And here's the thought that came to me. 00:39:59.449 --> 00:40:02.730 You're going under. You might as well go under 00:40:02.730 --> 00:40:06.230 with Jesus. That's what he said. That's what 00:40:06.230 --> 00:40:08.789 it came over me. And I was reminded of David 00:40:08.789 --> 00:40:10.690 when he said, I went to Sheol, there you were. 00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:14.219 When I went to the depths of sea, there you were. 00:40:14.780 --> 00:40:17.320 And I realized then that this was my moment. 00:40:18.099 --> 00:40:21.579 And all of a sudden, I was carefree. That poverty 00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:25.639 spirit just, it just lifted off of me. And I 00:40:25.639 --> 00:40:27.699 said, well, we're going down, but I want to do 00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:31.900 going down doing the right thing. And I got that 00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:34.199 check, that $75 check. I didn't write any more 00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:37.039 than 75, being 10%. I did the math, did all the 00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:40.409 calculations, right, 75. I wrote that check. 00:40:40.510 --> 00:40:42.710 I couldn't wait to get to church that morning. 00:40:43.610 --> 00:40:45.989 And when that, I mean, they're doing worship. 00:40:46.090 --> 00:40:47.829 I said, hurry up. Let's get to this offering. 00:40:48.570 --> 00:40:51.550 I didn't sing anything. I said, offering, offering, 00:40:51.670 --> 00:40:54.590 offering, because I want to get this out of my 00:40:54.590 --> 00:40:58.110 system. I want to start being obedient to Christ. 00:40:58.469 --> 00:41:01.050 I want to start following his ways. I want to 00:41:01.050 --> 00:41:04.710 be in those principles that he has. And for all 00:41:04.710 --> 00:41:07.469 those years, I was making my family suffer. Let 00:41:07.469 --> 00:41:09.659 me tell you, dads, If you're the one that's holding 00:41:09.659 --> 00:41:11.639 this thing up, you're making your whole house 00:41:11.639 --> 00:41:15.760 suffer. And it shouldn't be the wife that has 00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:18.219 to sneak around and give offerings. That's what 00:41:18.219 --> 00:41:21.539 my mom did to my dad. She was sneaking and giving 00:41:21.539 --> 00:41:23.960 offerings because he didn't want to give anything. 00:41:25.300 --> 00:41:27.679 And I remember when that plate came by, I couldn't 00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:31.519 wait. Come on, come on, come on. And that was 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:34.019 it. I was like, I have peace. I mean, just peace 00:41:34.019 --> 00:41:37.619 overwhelmed me. Now, I had bills. Racked up, 00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:40.380 but it didn't matter. I knew Jesus was on my 00:41:40.380 --> 00:41:44.719 side now. Before then, he wasn't on my side because 00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:51.519 I left him out. And so, I'm not making this up. 00:41:52.500 --> 00:41:54.800 It was on a Sunday, on a Tuesday, this woman 00:41:54.800 --> 00:41:59.840 comes to my house. She said, yeah, the Lord told 00:41:59.840 --> 00:42:01.960 me to come by and give you this. It's a check 00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:05.699 for $2 ,000. And she's like, come on, Jesus. 00:42:06.619 --> 00:42:10.900 Now, I had so much debt, that was nothing. But 00:42:10.900 --> 00:42:14.280 it's okay. God was trying to prime me. There's 00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:18.579 more coming. I worked at a hospital at that time. 00:42:18.980 --> 00:42:22.179 I'm walking through the parking lot. And I have 00:42:22.179 --> 00:42:27.280 a special love for bald men. Because in this 00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:30.519 encounter, this bald man walked up to me. That's 00:42:30.519 --> 00:42:35.500 why I like your breast. Anyway. So he walks up 00:42:35.500 --> 00:42:38.860 to me, and he's got a paper towel in his hand. 00:42:38.980 --> 00:42:41.619 I don't know. It's wrapped up. It's just a paper 00:42:41.619 --> 00:42:45.199 towel. And he doesn't say a word. He hands me 00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:48.300 this paper towel and just walks by me. And I 00:42:48.300 --> 00:42:51.119 felt something inside the paper towel. I unfold 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:54.179 it, and there's a stack of $100 bills about that 00:42:54.179 --> 00:42:59.119 thick. I said, who was that? I was like, that 00:42:59.119 --> 00:43:02.719 was pretty good. I believe angels can give you 00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:08.679 cash. Come on. So I had that. I thought, wow, 00:43:08.800 --> 00:43:12.619 God, you're turning this thing around. This is 00:43:12.619 --> 00:43:16.980 awesome. That Friday, I get a letter from my 00:43:16.980 --> 00:43:22.380 grandmother, and she says, you know, people give 00:43:22.380 --> 00:43:24.500 their inheritance away after they die. She goes, 00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:26.360 I don't want that to happen. I want to see my 00:43:26.360 --> 00:43:28.659 grandkids have their inheritance before I die. 00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:32.599 And she sent me my inheritance. And within two 00:43:32.599 --> 00:43:36.940 weeks, I caught up with all my debt. And I've 00:43:36.940 --> 00:43:39.360 been tithing ever since, and we've never had 00:43:39.360 --> 00:43:42.420 to go through that again. It was a whole process, 00:43:42.519 --> 00:43:45.840 right? Because I trusted the Lord in my sowing. 00:43:45.940 --> 00:43:49.340 Listen to me. I gave in my poverty, not my wealth. 00:43:51.619 --> 00:43:53.360 Because a lot of people say, well, as soon as 00:43:53.360 --> 00:43:57.010 I get it, I'm going to give. I had a young man 00:43:57.010 --> 00:43:59.530 in my church. He said he had a business I prayed 00:43:59.530 --> 00:44:01.989 for. We prophesied to him. He said, Pastor, if 00:44:01.989 --> 00:44:04.269 I ever hit it, I'm going to bless you. I said, 00:44:04.309 --> 00:44:05.989 well, you do whatever you want to do. I'm just 00:44:05.989 --> 00:44:08.909 praying for you. I'm caring for your soul. He 00:44:08.909 --> 00:44:12.510 became a multimillionaire in his business. Then 00:44:12.510 --> 00:44:14.630 when it came time, he said, you know, I know 00:44:14.630 --> 00:44:16.849 I told you I was going to give, brother. But, 00:44:16.869 --> 00:44:18.889 you know, we've decided to do something different 00:44:18.889 --> 00:44:20.469 with the income. I said, that's up to you. It 00:44:20.469 --> 00:44:22.530 doesn't bother me. I said, you do whatever you 00:44:22.530 --> 00:44:25.119 want to do. And I watched his next business go 00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:28.019 in the toilet. And I watched him, everything 00:44:28.019 --> 00:44:30.760 got on drugs, lost everything, lost his marriage, 00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:33.500 lost his family, lost everything. Because see, 00:44:33.619 --> 00:44:35.820 when you make a commitment to the, not to me, 00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:39.239 to the Lord, to sow and to give what he's told 00:44:39.239 --> 00:44:42.300 you to give and you withhold, you curse yourself. 00:44:44.860 --> 00:44:46.920 And I don't want anybody to do that. When God 00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:51.280 speaks to you about what you should do, sow what 00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:54.500 God says to sow. So I preached my first fruit 00:44:54.500 --> 00:44:58.139 sermon in her house a couple of weeks ago, whatever. 00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:00.260 And we had some, I have a young couple that are 00:45:00.260 --> 00:45:02.980 new to the Lord and he'd never heard the message 00:45:02.980 --> 00:45:05.480 and he got lit. They're, they're engaged to get 00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:06.840 married. We're going to marry him next weekend. 00:45:07.619 --> 00:45:11.260 And, uh, but his, his wife is former Catholic, 00:45:11.340 --> 00:45:14.639 not a good one, but anyway, she, uh, he, there 00:45:14.639 --> 00:45:16.260 were twice a year Catholic, you know, those type 00:45:16.260 --> 00:45:19.570 people. Anyway, and so when they're struggling 00:45:19.570 --> 00:45:21.329 for money, they need a house and all that, and 00:45:21.329 --> 00:45:23.969 he tells her, I get that revelation Pastor Tim 00:45:23.969 --> 00:45:25.530 was talking about. We're giving first fruits. 00:45:26.429 --> 00:45:30.329 And she goes, we need a house. And he goes, I 00:45:30.329 --> 00:45:32.630 don't care. We're giving. He's not married yet, 00:45:32.650 --> 00:45:34.449 so he can go ahead and do this. He said, we're 00:45:34.449 --> 00:45:37.449 going to go ahead and give our first fruits. 00:45:38.630 --> 00:45:40.909 And they testified this to me the other day. 00:45:41.570 --> 00:45:44.150 And she said she didn't believe it at all. She 00:45:44.150 --> 00:45:45.769 said, I don't understand what he was preaching 00:45:45.769 --> 00:45:48.219 about. Because she just came to Christ and she'd 00:45:48.219 --> 00:45:50.340 never heard anything like it. And she said, I 00:45:50.340 --> 00:45:51.719 didn't believe any of that, what he was saying. 00:45:52.019 --> 00:45:54.780 And she said, when the day came to take up the 00:45:54.780 --> 00:45:57.019 first fruit offering, he was going to give one, 00:45:57.139 --> 00:45:59.159 he was choosing between two smaller amounts, 00:45:59.300 --> 00:46:01.340 a smaller amount and a bigger one. And she said 00:46:01.340 --> 00:46:04.300 in her spirit, she said, he should give the more. 00:46:05.360 --> 00:46:08.239 And she didn't even know why. And she told him, 00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:11.610 you need to give the more. And he did. Now, he's 00:46:11.610 --> 00:46:14.989 been struggling. He's an electrician, air -conditioned 00:46:14.989 --> 00:46:17.710 guy, and he had no work hardly at all. He gave 00:46:17.710 --> 00:46:20.110 that offering, and from that day forward, he 00:46:20.110 --> 00:46:22.210 cannot keep up with the work that has come to 00:46:22.210 --> 00:46:24.909 his house. He said, I'm working late. I'm tired. 00:46:25.050 --> 00:46:26.389 I'm tired all the time. I said, I'm working all 00:46:26.389 --> 00:46:30.309 the time. I said, amen, brother. I'm excited. 00:46:30.429 --> 00:46:33.409 But it started with faith, and he got the revelation 00:46:33.409 --> 00:46:37.510 of what it meant to sow his best. His wife -to 00:46:37.510 --> 00:46:39.809 -be didn't even understand what that meant, but 00:46:39.809 --> 00:46:43.010 the Holy Spirit said that's what it means. And 00:46:43.010 --> 00:46:45.110 there are times you walk by faith and not by 00:46:45.110 --> 00:46:47.630 sight when you sow your best, and when you do 00:46:47.630 --> 00:46:50.409 this, you trust the Lord, and what happens? There's 00:46:50.409 --> 00:46:53.210 an outpouring more than you can handle. That's 00:46:53.210 --> 00:46:55.570 the way he couldn't handle it because he was 00:46:55.570 --> 00:46:58.050 so blessed. How many of y 'all want some of that? 00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:01.599 I do, I want it all for what the Lord's doing 00:47:01.599 --> 00:47:04.860 right here in this house right now. And so I'm 00:47:04.860 --> 00:47:08.559 challenging you because not to give more, I think 00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:10.780 you probably should, but I'm just saying that 00:47:10.780 --> 00:47:14.280 you've got to say, God, what do you want me to 00:47:14.280 --> 00:47:19.099 give? And when we started doing this and we started 00:47:19.099 --> 00:47:20.880 sowing, I remember the first time, one of the 00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:22.559 first times I sowed, I didn't even know all the 00:47:22.559 --> 00:47:24.679 scriptures about first fruits. I'd heard this 00:47:24.679 --> 00:47:27.099 sermon and I gave and I was just trusting my 00:47:27.099 --> 00:47:31.389 faith. And it did, but I was in Northern California, 00:47:31.550 --> 00:47:35.630 and it was like 2002 or something, 2003. I can't 00:47:35.630 --> 00:47:38.010 remember what it was. And they were speaking, 00:47:38.050 --> 00:47:39.510 and they had this word that we were supposed 00:47:39.510 --> 00:47:42.389 to go to Israel. We were going to meet the prime 00:47:42.389 --> 00:47:43.909 minister. We were going to do all this stuff. 00:47:44.090 --> 00:47:45.750 And, of course, I love Israel, and I go there 00:47:45.750 --> 00:47:47.889 a lot and do a lot of work with Israel and the 00:47:47.889 --> 00:47:50.610 Jewish people. And I thought, Lord, I want to 00:47:50.610 --> 00:47:52.650 go. I feel like I'm supposed to go on that trip. 00:47:52.710 --> 00:47:55.269 Did not have the money. It's $5 ,000. I did not 00:47:55.269 --> 00:47:57.210 have the money to go, but I felt I was supposed 00:47:57.210 --> 00:48:00.630 to go. And this guy's talking about the trip, 00:48:00.710 --> 00:48:03.610 and I walked out of the room, went outside of 00:48:03.610 --> 00:48:05.510 this building, and I started pacing. I started 00:48:05.510 --> 00:48:07.409 praying. I said, God, I'm supposed to be on that 00:48:07.409 --> 00:48:08.849 trip. I know I'm supposed to be on that trip, 00:48:08.889 --> 00:48:11.030 but I don't have the money. And the kicker was 00:48:11.030 --> 00:48:12.829 it was Saturday, and he said, you've got to have 00:48:12.829 --> 00:48:15.579 the money in by Monday. So when you don't have 00:48:15.579 --> 00:48:17.340 the money, that's not like you can go raise it 00:48:17.340 --> 00:48:20.780 in two days. So I was just praying, and here's 00:48:20.780 --> 00:48:22.780 what I said. I said, Lord, I gave my first fruits 00:48:22.780 --> 00:48:25.539 this year. I trusted you in all my ways, and 00:48:25.539 --> 00:48:28.179 I trust you to do this for me. I'm just going 00:48:28.179 --> 00:48:30.719 to do that. And so I went back inside, and he 00:48:30.719 --> 00:48:33.199 said, okay, tomorrow I need you to tell me whether 00:48:33.199 --> 00:48:34.860 you're going to go or not. So it's Saturday. 00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:38.679 So I go to bed that night, and I'm in bed, and 00:48:38.679 --> 00:48:40.000 I said, come on, Lord, you've got to show me 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:43.039 something. And so I'm laying in bed, and I have 00:48:43.039 --> 00:48:46.969 a dream. And I'm driving in this dream. I'm driving 00:48:46.969 --> 00:48:49.969 down this road and I come to a dead end. There's 00:48:49.969 --> 00:48:52.489 nowhere else to go. And I thought, where do I 00:48:52.489 --> 00:48:55.449 go now? And I look up in the sky and there written 00:48:55.449 --> 00:48:58.510 in the sky is Proverbs 3, 9 and 10. Honor the 00:48:58.510 --> 00:49:00.570 Lord with your wealth and from the first of your 00:49:00.570 --> 00:49:02.750 produce so your barns will be filled to plenty 00:49:02.750 --> 00:49:05.909 and your vats will overflow with new wine. Written 00:49:05.909 --> 00:49:07.570 in the sky. You talk about a sign and a wonder. 00:49:07.949 --> 00:49:10.730 That is a true sign and a wonder. Just like looking 00:49:10.730 --> 00:49:13.889 up here on your screen. And I said, so I came 00:49:13.889 --> 00:49:15.670 out of that dream. I said, that's it. I'm going. 00:49:16.170 --> 00:49:18.809 I don't know how, but I'm going. And I walked 00:49:18.809 --> 00:49:20.409 in there the next day. He said, Tim, you going? 00:49:20.510 --> 00:49:22.750 I said, me and Susan are going. Write us down. 00:49:22.929 --> 00:49:24.989 He said, good. Get us the money tomorrow. I said, 00:49:25.010 --> 00:49:30.269 you got it. I don't have no money. Anyway, so 00:49:30.269 --> 00:49:32.730 I drive. I fly home. I had a midnight flight 00:49:32.730 --> 00:49:35.050 there Saturday night. Get home early in the morning. 00:49:35.630 --> 00:49:37.909 And I walk up to Susan. I tell Susan that morning. 00:49:37.969 --> 00:49:40.550 I said, Susan, I said, we need a sign this morning. 00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:43.500 I said, I know we're supposed to go. And I said, 00:49:43.519 --> 00:49:45.699 but we don't have the resources. So we go to 00:49:45.699 --> 00:49:48.780 church. Susan, I'm already up front. She walks 00:49:48.780 --> 00:49:50.599 in the back door. There's a lady sitting by the 00:49:50.599 --> 00:49:52.980 back door. She walks up there and hands her a 00:49:52.980 --> 00:49:54.579 check. And he said, the Lord said, y 'all need 00:49:54.579 --> 00:49:59.780 a sign. Here it is. It was a $4 ,000 check. And 00:49:59.780 --> 00:50:01.619 I said, we raised the other thousand that day. 00:50:01.780 --> 00:50:04.480 And I said, there we go. We're going. And we 00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:07.500 went on that trip to a first people, which is 00:50:07.500 --> 00:50:11.000 the Jewish people. First fruit people. First 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:15.099 nation people. And I go there. I meet the prime 00:50:15.099 --> 00:50:18.380 minister -to -be. I get an impartation and favor 00:50:18.380 --> 00:50:20.840 comes on my life like I've never seen before. 00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:25.139 I tell you, I began to open doors that no man 00:50:25.139 --> 00:50:27.860 could open after that day. And it all started 00:50:27.860 --> 00:50:30.699 with the first fruit offering. Because, see, 00:50:30.739 --> 00:50:33.539 God had destiny. And what happens when you sow 00:50:33.539 --> 00:50:36.159 your best and your first, what happens is the 00:50:36.159 --> 00:50:39.570 Lord says, I can trust that saint. That child 00:50:39.570 --> 00:50:42.570 to do whatever I ask them to do. And therefore, 00:50:42.650 --> 00:50:45.170 I want to bless them more because I can use them 00:50:45.170 --> 00:50:47.030 more because they're going to be faithful with 00:50:47.030 --> 00:50:50.550 everything that I give them. And when they withhold 00:50:50.550 --> 00:50:53.510 what I give them, then I can't trust them to 00:50:53.510 --> 00:50:57.030 give them more authority. So to me, a first fruit 00:50:57.030 --> 00:50:59.789 principle also releases greater authority in 00:50:59.789 --> 00:51:02.130 your life. Because what you're saying to the 00:51:02.130 --> 00:51:05.360 Lord is it's not mine, it's yours. You're the 00:51:05.360 --> 00:51:08.539 one that provided it for me, so therefore I have 00:51:08.539 --> 00:51:11.019 no ownership of it. Now, that's not easy. I understand 00:51:11.019 --> 00:51:13.800 that. That's not easy. Everybody, you know, this 00:51:13.800 --> 00:51:15.659 is Jesus' car. Well, good. Let me borrow the 00:51:15.659 --> 00:51:18.099 keys. You know, it's like, well, no, I didn't 00:51:18.099 --> 00:51:19.940 say it was for you. It was for Jesus, not for 00:51:19.940 --> 00:51:22.980 you. But I understand that's kind of a twisting 00:51:22.980 --> 00:51:26.219 of that. But it's hard. You still obey the Lord. 00:51:26.239 --> 00:51:27.940 Somebody says, you know, I've given away cars 00:51:27.940 --> 00:51:31.280 before. Thank you, Jesus, for that. He blesses 00:51:31.280 --> 00:51:34.500 us with that. And I'd love to do that. I'd love 00:51:34.500 --> 00:51:37.360 to see more people do that. If the body of Christ 00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:39.219 would take care of each other that way, we wouldn't 00:51:39.219 --> 00:51:41.639 have any of these issues we're having. You understand 00:51:41.639 --> 00:51:44.360 what I'm saying? So as we press into this moment 00:51:44.360 --> 00:51:46.960 here this morning for this house, we've got to 00:51:46.960 --> 00:51:49.199 understand it's a heavenly calling. Our first 00:51:49.199 --> 00:51:51.690 fruit principle is a heavenly calling. It's not 00:51:51.690 --> 00:51:55.489 just something we do in giving an offering. It's 00:51:55.489 --> 00:51:57.409 the whole thing. So I always struggled because 00:51:57.409 --> 00:51:59.489 it's Old Testament. You gave it to the high priest, 00:51:59.670 --> 00:52:02.110 right? You gave the tithe to the Levite. You 00:52:02.110 --> 00:52:06.829 gave the first fruit to the high priest. And 00:52:06.829 --> 00:52:09.730 I thought, well, the Levite, your tithe, is really 00:52:09.730 --> 00:52:14.050 a picture of you sowing to the local house. And 00:52:14.050 --> 00:52:16.489 as you sow here, who cares for your soul? The 00:52:16.489 --> 00:52:18.710 Levite does. The pastoral ministry does. That's 00:52:18.710 --> 00:52:21.090 why we tithe here. But the first fruit is the 00:52:21.090 --> 00:52:23.429 apostle, right? The high priest. It says that 00:52:23.429 --> 00:52:27.190 in Hebrews chapter 3 that Jesus is our high priest 00:52:27.190 --> 00:52:31.369 and our great apostle. So he taps in. He brings 00:52:31.369 --> 00:52:34.090 the Old Testament to the New. And I understand 00:52:34.090 --> 00:52:36.289 when I give my first fruit, I'm giving it to 00:52:36.289 --> 00:52:39.289 our great high priest, our great apostle. And 00:52:39.289 --> 00:52:41.750 what does a high priest do? High priest goes 00:52:41.750 --> 00:52:45.820 to the Father and intercedes for us. And begins 00:52:45.820 --> 00:52:48.800 to cry out for us. So when we're doing this, 00:52:48.820 --> 00:52:51.039 we're not giving our first fruit to like Bible. 00:52:51.159 --> 00:52:52.860 We're giving our first fruit to our great apostle. 00:52:53.619 --> 00:52:55.579 You understand what I'm saying? And when you 00:52:55.579 --> 00:52:58.699 sow it to him, he goes to the father what your 00:52:58.699 --> 00:53:01.619 needs are. And whatever you're believing for 00:53:01.619 --> 00:53:05.280 in this season. And I want, I have my whole house, 00:53:05.340 --> 00:53:07.579 I'm preaching to my house about being debt free. 00:53:07.719 --> 00:53:11.349 How many of y 'all like to be debt free? I believe 00:53:11.349 --> 00:53:13.690 in the years to come, we're going to need a group 00:53:13.690 --> 00:53:17.550 of people that don't have debt so that they can 00:53:17.550 --> 00:53:20.530 have total freedom in that area. When Susan and 00:53:20.530 --> 00:53:22.809 I took over our church, we were in debt. I told 00:53:22.809 --> 00:53:24.289 you all the problems we were having. We couldn't 00:53:24.289 --> 00:53:26.730 pay the bills every week. God gave us a vision 00:53:26.730 --> 00:53:30.409 on how to get out of debt. And within a year 00:53:30.409 --> 00:53:32.150 and a half of me becoming pastor, and we had 00:53:32.150 --> 00:53:34.869 a lot of debt, we got our church out of complete 00:53:34.869 --> 00:53:38.130 debt. That way the Lord did. And it all starts 00:53:38.130 --> 00:53:41.380 with that first, that best. And it's so much 00:53:41.380 --> 00:53:44.099 freedom for everybody. Because debt, mortgage 00:53:44.099 --> 00:53:46.119 is horrible. I remember when we got out of debt, 00:53:46.219 --> 00:53:48.980 I was wondering why the elders were so happy 00:53:48.980 --> 00:53:51.199 when we got out of debt. We had a group of elders 00:53:51.199 --> 00:53:54.039 that I inherited. And there was about 12. Actually, 00:53:54.260 --> 00:53:55.699 one of them, the day we announced we got out 00:53:55.699 --> 00:53:57.940 of debt, he did a square dance. This guy was 00:53:57.940 --> 00:54:00.179 a former Presbyterian. He did a square dance. 00:54:00.539 --> 00:54:02.619 And I was like, why are these guys so excited? 00:54:02.739 --> 00:54:04.099 They never showed me this excitement before. 00:54:04.380 --> 00:54:06.420 And I found out, didn't even know it, but their 00:54:06.420 --> 00:54:10.880 names were on the mortgage. So I was, oh, oh, 00:54:10.900 --> 00:54:14.320 that's why they're excited. You see, when you 00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:16.639 get set free of debt, there's a real freedom 00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:18.900 comes because now you know nobody has a chain 00:54:18.900 --> 00:54:21.019 on you. That's what mortgage represents, right? 00:54:21.159 --> 00:54:24.599 I want this house to be totally free. I want 00:54:24.599 --> 00:54:29.260 you to be totally free in everything that you're 00:54:29.260 --> 00:54:31.639 doing. So if you will, let's stand. I'm gonna 00:54:31.639 --> 00:54:36.519 turn this over to Pastor Brad. And I want you 00:54:36.519 --> 00:54:39.570 to trust the Lord in your giving. That wasn't 00:54:39.570 --> 00:54:42.650 in any of my notes. Anyway, they look good on 00:54:42.650 --> 00:54:46.030 my computer. But I just felt I was supposed to 00:54:46.030 --> 00:54:49.050 prophesy to you and pour into you this morning 00:54:49.050 --> 00:54:52.610 that God is going to be faithful for you and 00:54:52.610 --> 00:54:56.190 to you. That as you give your best this year, 00:54:56.329 --> 00:54:59.710 not only your finances, you need to do that, 00:54:59.730 --> 00:55:02.309 but I'm talking about your whole life. That this 00:55:02.309 --> 00:55:04.489 house is going to turn around. Your house is 00:55:04.489 --> 00:55:07.489 going to turn around. As we sow to our great 00:55:07.489 --> 00:55:12.329 apostle. Jesus Christ. He goes to the Father. 00:55:13.230 --> 00:55:18.349 And He makes a way. Do you understand this thing 00:55:18.349 --> 00:55:21.389 that's been locked up here for three years? God's 00:55:21.389 --> 00:55:23.449 going to open the vault. I like the idea of a 00:55:23.449 --> 00:55:28.150 vault, a bank vault. And just open it up. 2 .3 00:55:28.150 --> 00:55:34.230 is nothing to the Lord. I know He's going to 00:55:34.230 --> 00:55:36.449 do it. I had a vision back here. When y 'all 00:55:36.449 --> 00:55:39.429 start cleaning this mess up here, major hope 00:55:39.429 --> 00:55:44.190 and faith's coming back to this house. And so 00:55:44.190 --> 00:55:46.510 it's ugly now, but it's going to be pretty soon. 00:55:48.190 --> 00:55:50.210 Lord, I thank you for what you're doing in Life 00:55:50.210 --> 00:55:53.309 Bible. Lord, I thank you for every life that's 00:55:53.309 --> 00:55:56.530 represented here, that God, you're going to provide 00:55:56.530 --> 00:55:58.789 for them. And as they dig within their spirit, 00:55:58.829 --> 00:56:01.889 man, to hear these numbers, to hear what they're 00:56:01.889 --> 00:56:05.469 supposed to sow this year. Lord, even when it's 00:56:05.469 --> 00:56:08.099 a season where it seems like Lord, I've already 00:56:08.099 --> 00:56:10.559 sowed to the ball. Now I gotta give my first, 00:56:10.619 --> 00:56:12.760 it's a double honor, double blessing to you. 00:56:14.019 --> 00:56:16.119 God is gonna pour out on you more than you can 00:56:16.119 --> 00:56:20.280 handle. I share this testimony because I've experienced 00:56:20.280 --> 00:56:22.880 it. So I speak it over you right now. I speak 00:56:22.880 --> 00:56:26.679 it over this house. And we decree today that 00:56:26.679 --> 00:56:31.559 you will make it and you will overcome and you 00:56:31.559 --> 00:56:34.699 will see the salvation of the Lord and you'll 00:56:34.699 --> 00:56:36.840 see the goodness of God in the land of the living. 00:56:37.280 --> 00:56:40.340 We decree that right now in the name of Jesus 00:56:40.340 --> 00:56:43.320 Christ. Let's give the Lord a hand. Amen. We 00:56:43.320 --> 00:57:08.340 thank you, Lord. You can also help us by subscribing 00:57:08.340 --> 00:57:10.880 to this podcast and sharing it with your friends 00:57:10.880 --> 00:57:14.280 and family. Lastly, if you are in need of prayer 00:57:14.280 --> 00:57:20.239 send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365. We 00:57:20.239 --> 00:57:21.420 would love to pray with you.