1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
Good morning.

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000
Good morning.

3
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,000
Congratulations.

4
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,000
You made it on time.

5
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,000
Yeah.

6
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000
I was telling John during announcements

7
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,000
when all the late people show up in an hour

8
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,000
we'll say, and for those of you that were on time

9
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000
you know, the prize you got

10
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000
you know, just enjoy that.

11
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,000
And then have all the late people going, what did we miss?

12
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,000
Right? Well welcome

13
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,000
everybody that is here

14
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,000
and for those of you that may be watching this later

15
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,000
today because daylight savings time

16
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000
got you, welcome.

17
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,000
We're so glad you're all here today

18
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000
to join us in worship and we just love

19
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,000
to start the day by welcoming

20
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,000
anybody that's here for the first time or online

21
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,000
for the first time. We just love

22
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,000
worshiping with all of you.

23
00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,000
So I am Pastor Nathan and

24
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,000
today we are

25
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,000
doing part three

26
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000
of our four part series

27
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000
on generosity and giving

28
00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,000
dealing with what I am calling

29
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,000
the doctrine of giving.

30
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000
So far in this series

31
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,000
we have looked at things like what the church

32
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000
is, really establishing

33
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000
a basis for our

34
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000
called collective

35
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,000
participation in the

36
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,000
body of Christ because we are

37
00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,000
the body of Christ. And then we

38
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,000
looked at the heart of giving. Really

39
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,000
kind of looking at why we

40
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000
give. Why giving is a thing in the Bible

41
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,000
and we really saw that giving is

42
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,000
primarily for us. It's not

43
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,000
for God. It's not that God is

44
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,000
desperate for our money

45
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000
and our time. He's not, you know,

46
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000
missing out and just wringing his hands

47
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000
going oh shoot if we could just afford this

48
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,000
and that. It's for us because

49
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000
giving is a part of our

50
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000
faith walk. It's a part of us

51
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000
living the life that reflects

52
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,000
our savior. It's a part of

53
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000
us living in obedience to him and

54
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000
following his example

55
00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000
of generosity as

56
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,000
well as when we do so there are so

57
00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,000
many promises in God's word that

58
00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000
he will bless us when we are obedient

59
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000
in every way and this includes

60
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,000
our giving and our financial

61
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000
outlooks. And so today

62
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000
we're going to look at what scripture

63
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000
says about giving and generosity

64
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,000
from a doctrinal point of

65
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,000
view. And that word doctrine for

66
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,000
those of you that may not know it simply means instruction.

67
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,000
But it's instruction

68
00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,000
especially as it applies

69
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,000
to lifestyle

70
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000
application.

71
00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,000
It's not just knowledge but it's living

72
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,000
the knowledge. That's what doctrine is about.

73
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,000
How should we live?

74
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000
Doctrine is teaching imparted

75
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000
by an authoritative source

76
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000
and in the case of the Bible

77
00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,000
that's God. So everything we

78
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,000
read in scripture about everything

79
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,000
about living, about life including

80
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,000
our finances, it is God's

81
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,000
teaching for how we should

82
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,000
be living. 2 Timothy

83
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,000
3 16 tells us this. It says

84
00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,000
all scripture

85
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,000
and that includes both the Old Testament

86
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,000
and the New Testament is

87
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,000
inspired by God and is profitable

88
00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,000
for teaching, for rebuking,

89
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,000
for correcting and for training

90
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000
in righteousness.

91
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,000
And that word there you see

92
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,000
there teaching in that verse in

93
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,000
the New King James Version it actually says

94
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,000
doctrine. So it's

95
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,000
profitable for doctrine.

96
00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,000
Now biblical doctrine is what

97
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,000
helps us understand the will of God for our

98
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,000
lives as His people. It teaches

99
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000
us the nature and the character

100
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,000
of God. It teaches us

101
00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,000
the path to salvation.

102
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,000
It teaches us about sin

103
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,000
and who we are in relation

104
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,000
to all of that. It also

105
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,000
gives us instructions for the church,

106
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,000
how we're to operate together as the

107
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000
body of Christ as well as God's standard

108
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000
for holiness or his

109
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,000
standard of holiness for

110
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,000
our living.

111
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,000
And yes this includes what we do

112
00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,000
with our money and that is why we are going

113
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,000
through this series.

114
00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,000
When we base our doctrine soundly on

115
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000
scripture

116
00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,000
we can know that we're living the way

117
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,000
God wants us to live and behaving

118
00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,000
the way God wants us to behave and

119
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,000
doing what God wants us to

120
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,000
do. And so today we're going to develop

121
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,000
a number of principles taught

122
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,000
in the word of God in

123
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,000
scripture both the Old Testament

124
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,000
and the New Testament and we're going to talk

125
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,000
about how those principles that we find

126
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,000
in God's word apply to us today,

127
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,000
how we apply those things in our lives today

128
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,000
so that when it comes to our

129
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,000
finances, when it comes to our money

130
00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,000
we can know that we're living the way

131
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,000
God wants us to live.

132
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000
Not the way any

133
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,000
church wants us to live or any

134
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,000
pastor wants you to live or any

135
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,000
organization wants you to live but how God

136
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,000
wants you to live because he is the

137
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,000
source, he is the authority

138
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,000
and he is the one we want to model our lives after.

139
00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,000
Amen. Alright let's pray

140
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,000
Father we love you

141
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000
we thank you God

142
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,000
and Lord we know that our

143
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000
relationship with you is a

144
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,000
daily, moment by moment

145
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,000
yielding of our life and laying

146
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,000
down our life at your feet God.

147
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,000
Yielding ourselves to your authority and

148
00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000
your Lordship because

149
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,000
you're our Lord and Savior and

150
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,000
God there's so many areas of our

151
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,000
lives Lord that your word teaches us about

152
00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,000
where we do need to lay down

153
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,000
our will, submit

154
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,000
our will to your will and God

155
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,000
our finances, our money

156
00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,000
is no different Lord.

157
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,000
God there are people who

158
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,000
may look at teaching within the

159
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,000
church about money and want to lay

160
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000
accusation and point the finger

161
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,000
and but Lord is your

162
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000
people we don't want to

163
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,000
shy away from what your word teaches about

164
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,000
anything. We don't want to

165
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,000
turn away from it, we don't want to neglect

166
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000
it God but we want to know.

167
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,000
We want to know what it is you have

168
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,000
for us God and that's why we turn to your

169
00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,000
word for teaching. We turn to

170
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,000
your word for doctrine.

171
00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,000
And so teach us today God.

172
00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,000
Encourage us Lord from your word these principles

173
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,000
on stewardship and

174
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,000
principles of finances and principles of

175
00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,000
what you want us to do with the

176
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,000
resources you've given us God that

177
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000
we would be people who glorify your name

178
00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,000
in every area of our life

179
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,000
God. And Lord we

180
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,000
don't want to do anything else but your

181
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,000
will. We want to know how you want

182
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000
us to react, how you want us to live

183
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000
so that we glorify you with our lives.

184
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,000
God teach us today,

185
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,000
encourage us today, speak to us today.

186
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,000
Lord challenge us today

187
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,000
if that's what is necessary.

188
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,000
God we even invite you to rebuke

189
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,000
us today God if that's what you

190
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,000
need to do Lord because all scripture

191
00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,000
truly is inspired by you

192
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,000
and is profitable

193
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,000
Lord for teaching us, for

194
00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,000
rebuking us, for correcting us

195
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,000
and training us Lord in right

196
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,000
living and righteousness.

197
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,000
We love you God and we want to praise

198
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,000
your name today for what you're about to share with

199
00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,000
us and we want to praise your name for what you've done

200
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,000
in our lives and we want to thank you God

201
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,000
for every blessing

202
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,000
and everything you've given to us Lord.

203
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,000
You are almighty.

204
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,000
You are so worthy. You are love.

205
00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,000
You are everything God. We love

206
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,000
you and we thank you. It's in Jesus

207
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,000
name we pray. Amen.

208
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,000
Well good morning.

209
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,000
Need to make a clarification

210
00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,000
from last week because there was at least

211
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,000
two of you who approached me

212
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,000
which means there was probably more of you

213
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,000
that are thinking it. But I told

214
00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,000
a story last week about

215
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,000
me going to the bank and withdrawing

216
00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,000
some money. Right?

217
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,000
And somebody came up to me after and they're like

218
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,000
you didn't take the ten dollars back to the bank?

219
00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,000
So I'd like to give a

220
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,000
clarification there.

221
00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,000
I legally withdrew

222
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,000
too much money

223
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,000
which was ten dollars more than I had intended

224
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,000
to withdraw but it was

225
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,000
legitimate. It was on the withdrawal slip

226
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,000
and so it was indeed

227
00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,000
legally my money and so

228
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,000
I didn't think I was withdrawing

229
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,000
that much and so I wanted

230
00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,000
to clarify that for those of you that were

231
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,000
concerned that your pastor is a bank

232
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,000
thief.

233
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,000
I'm not. Maybe

234
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,000
in another life without Jesus but no

235
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,000
I'm not a bank thief you know.

236
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,000
And I wanted to straighten that

237
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,000
out. So

238
00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000
today I'm going to attempt

239
00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,000
to be as thorough

240
00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,000
as I can with the hour

241
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,000
that we have together to go through

242
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,000
scripture and to

243
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,000
bring out the principles

244
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,000
that scripture teaches us so that we know

245
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000
what God's word says about giving,

246
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,000
about generosity.

247
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,000
Now it is said that from

248
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,000
Genesis to Revelation that there's

249
00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,000
about five hundred

250
00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,000
verses about prayer.

251
00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,000
It's also said that there's

252
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,000
about five hundred verses

253
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,000
about faith but there's over

254
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,000
two thousand verses

255
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,000
on the subject of money

256
00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,000
and our possessions.

257
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,000
And so we're going to look at every single one of

258
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,000
those today. Just kidding.

259
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,000
Some of you

260
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,000
are like we don't doubt you Pastor Nathan.

261
00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,000
Okay.

262
00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,000
Now we don't have time to go

263
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,000
through everything exhaustively but I'm

264
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,000
going to pull out some highlights there but

265
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,000
really we have to understand that money is an important

266
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,000
topic. It affects

267
00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,000
so much of our life.

268
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,000
Relationships

269
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,000
sometimes have struggles over finances

270
00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,000
and arguments over finances.

271
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,000
And it governs so much

272
00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,000
of our lives and we're constantly thinking about

273
00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,000
these things and I think that's why

274
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,000
God speaks so much

275
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,000
into the reality of our finances

276
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,000
and our money and what we do with it

277
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,000
and our understanding and approach

278
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,000
to all of it. You know Jesus talked about money and

279
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,000
possessions a lot. I said

280
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,000
in a previous study that he actually talked about

281
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,000
money more than he talked about love.

282
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,000
If you can imagine that. It's

283
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,000
quite an important topic.

284
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,000
Sixteen of his 38 parables

285
00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,000
deal with how we handle

286
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,000
our finances and our possessions.

287
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,000
In the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke,

288
00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,000
and John one out of every ten verses

289
00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,000
deals directly with the subject

290
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,000
of money.

291
00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,000
So how we handle our money

292
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,000
it really is an important thing.

293
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,000
It reveals much about

294
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,000
our priorities, about our loyalties,

295
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,000
about our affections.

296
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,000
And when it comes to us being God's children

297
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,000
and understanding our finances it has

298
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,000
a lot to do with just our walk and our

299
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,000
obedience and our life for him.

300
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,000
So one of the foundational

301
00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,000
principles to understand when it comes

302
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,000
to our finances biblically is the

303
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,000
principle of stewardship.

304
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,000
Stewardship.

305
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,000
You see in Genesis chapter

306
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,000
one verse one, see I told you we're

307
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,000
starting at the beginning here.

308
00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,000
It says in the beginning God

309
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,000
created the heavens

310
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000
and the earth.

311
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,000
That's a foundational understanding.

312
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,000
I'm excited to dig into that when we start

313
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,000
the book of Genesis.

314
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,000
But Psalms chapter 24 verse one

315
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,000
says the earth and everything in it,

316
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,000
the world and its inhabitants belong

317
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,000
to who?

318
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,000
Belong to the Lord.

319
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,000
Right? This tells us something

320
00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,000
very important

321
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,000
that as creator

322
00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,000
God has

323
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,000
absolute rights

324
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,000
of ownership

325
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,000
to everything.

326
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,000
Everything. All things.

327
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,000
Missing

328
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,000
this foundational principle

329
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,000
really causes everything

330
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,000
else not to line up properly when we

331
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,000
go through scripture and understanding

332
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,000
everything including our finances.

333
00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,000
That God owns

334
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,000
everything. It all belongs

335
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,000
to him. He is the owner.

336
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,000
We as his

337
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,000
creation are

338
00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,000
blessed and honored to

339
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,000
be managers or

340
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,000
stewards of what is

341
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,000
his. And that's where the idea

342
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,000
of stewardship

343
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,000
comes from. Now stewardship

344
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,000
extends far past

345
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,000
our money, right?

346
00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,000
As his creation

347
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,000
we are stewards of the time

348
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,000
he gives us and how we use that time.

349
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,000
As his creation we are stewards

350
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,000
of the talents and the gifts he gives

351
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,000
us and how we use those.

352
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,000
But we're also stewards of the

353
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,000
financial and material resources that

354
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,000
he gives us. It's about

355
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,000
stewarding our entire being

356
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,000
as his servants.

357
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,000
And so stewardship defines our

358
00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,000
practical obedience in

359
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,000
the administration of everything

360
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,000
that's under our control.

361
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,000
Everything

362
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,000
entrusted to us by

363
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,000
him is what falls

364
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,000
under that umbrella.

365
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000
Which is everything

366
00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,000
because as we've established

367
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,000
it belongs to his because he is

368
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,000
creator. Stewardship

369
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,000
acknowledges in practice

370
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,000
that we do not have the right of

371
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,000
control over ourselves

372
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,000
or over our possessions.

373
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,000
They're given

374
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000
to us to manage on his

375
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,000
behalf.

376
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,000
And so that's the idea is that we simply manage what

377
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,000
belongs to him under his authority

378
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,000
according to his

379
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,000
word. And so the

380
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000
idea of stewardship really is something

381
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,000
that expresses our total

382
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,000
obedience to Jesus

383
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,000
Christ who we call as

384
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,000
his children he's our Lord

385
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,000
and he's our Savior.

386
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,000
And right so this idea of stewardship

387
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000
really begs the question in

388
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,000
our lives. Am I

389
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,000
the Lord of my life

390
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,000
or is Jesus the

391
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,000
Lord of my life?

392
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,000
That's what the concept of stewardship

393
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,000
really brings up.

394
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,000
Is my life yielded to him

395
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,000
or am I running the

396
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,000
show? And again

397
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,000
as we've mentioned in previous studies you know

398
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,000
there are areas of our lives where it's

399
00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,000
really easy to yield to him

400
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000
and there are some areas where we

401
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,000
still kind of hold on right?

402
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000
You know the famous song Jesus

403
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000
take the wheel right?

404
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000
You know and in many cases

405
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000
when it comes to our finances we're like bro

406
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,000
the back seat's comfortable.

407
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,000
You stay there I'll drive

408
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,000
right?

409
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000
And really that's not the

410
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,000
obedience that God calls from us. We don't

411
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,000
pick and choose the areas

412
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,000
of our life where we yield.

413
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,000
Where we lay down our

414
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,000
will to his will. It's in every area of life

415
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,000
we're called to. And so the next

416
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,000
principle I want to bring up biblically is this

417
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,000
principle of firstfruits. We see

418
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,000
this from the Old Testament and even

419
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000
through the New Testament but the idea of

420
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000
the first fruit

421
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,000
was the idea that the first

422
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,000
and the best part

423
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,000
of a harvest of crops

424
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,000
or produce

425
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,000
or animals

426
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000
and all of that and even sons

427
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000
in the family the first. The

428
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,000
best of what God had given

429
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000
in that was really called

430
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000
the first fruit right?

431
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,000
It was the first off the top.

432
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,000
In Exodus chapter 23 19 we

433
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,000
read this. It says bring the best

434
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,000
of the first fruits

435
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000
and that word best really means the first.

436
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,000
So it's the first of your first fruits

437
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000
of your land to the house

438
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,000
of the Lord your God.

439
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,000
Now the principle

440
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000
of the first fruit

441
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,000
is essentially that it's about

442
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000
putting the Lord first in

443
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000
every area of your life.

444
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,000
It's putting

445
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,000
him first. It's giving him the

446
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,000
best of everything in your life. It's

447
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000
committing it to him. It's the first of our

448
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,000
time right?

449
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,000
It's the first of our finances.

450
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,000
It's the first of our

451
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,000
talents. It's the first

452
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000
place in our families.

453
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000
It's that God gets

454
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000
the first and the idea of the first

455
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,000
fruits principle is

456
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,000
God you get the first of

457
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,000
everything in my life and then I'm

458
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000
going to trust your provision

459
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,000
with the rest. This is the

460
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,000
principle of the first fruits.

461
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,000
This applies

462
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,000
in many different areas of our lives.

463
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
Now again these things aren't

464
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,000
to be a legalistic type of thing and we're going

465
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,000
to talk about that more but coming

466
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,000
to church on the first day of

467
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,000
the week is

468
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,000
a picture. It's a form of

469
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,000
giving God the first of our time.

470
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,000
The very first

471
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,000
of the week we start our week with gathering together

472
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,000
and saying God we want to worship

473
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,000
you. Now that doesn't mean if you're

474
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000
unable to come to church on Sunday that

475
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,000
you're doing something wrong.

476
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,000
We know that Paul said look

477
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,000
some of you esteem one day over the other and it's

478
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,000
like just worship God. But

479
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000
for most of us it's we set aside

480
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000
this time on the first of the week to give to

481
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,000
him. Giving to God

482
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000
the first from our financial

483
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,000
increase is a picture

484
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,000
of giving God the first

485
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,000
of our finances. The first fruit

486
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,000
of what he's given us. Proverbs

487
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,000
chapter 3 verse 9 says it this way

488
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,000
honor the Lord with your possessions

489
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,000
and with the first produce

490
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,000
of your entire harvest.

491
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,000
Then your barns will be completely filled

492
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,000
and your vats will overflow

493
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,000
with new wine.

494
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,000
Now that phrase first produce

495
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000
there in other translations

496
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,000
it's first fruits.

497
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,000
And then when he says the first produce

498
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,000
of your entire harvest

499
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,000
in the New King James that phrase entire

500
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,000
harvest is simply increase.

501
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,000
So you read it in the New King James where he

502
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,000
says honor the Lord with the

503
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,000
first fruits of your

504
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,000
increase.

505
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,000
Now in the Old Testament

506
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,000
we understand that most

507
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,000
of the people were farmers.

508
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,000
They raised crops, they

509
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,000
raised animals, and

510
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,000
so these crops as they raised these crops

511
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,000
they would partake of the

512
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,000
crops but then they would also sell these things

513
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000
as a part of their income.

514
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Those that raised animals. They would

515
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,000
birth animals and these animals would get

516
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,000
sold and given off. And it was a part of

517
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,000
their income.

518
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
Well today not

519
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,000
many of us are farmers.

520
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,000
Right?

521
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,000
Is there anybody in here an active farmer?

522
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,000
No, not a one,

523
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,000
right? I can't see.

524
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000
Now we might know farmers

525
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,000
but in our culture today here

526
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000
in Southern California not many of us

527
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000
are farmers but instead we're

528
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,000
bankers, we're mechanics,

529
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,000
we're teachers,

530
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,000
we're professionals of one kind

531
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,000
or another, we might be business owners,

532
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,000
right? And so our increase,

533
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,000
our harvest

534
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000
comes in a different way. It doesn't

535
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,000
come in crops,

536
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,000
it doesn't come in a high birth rate

537
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,000
with our animals that we're taking care of

538
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000
but it comes in the form of what we call our

539
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,000
paycheck. Okay?

540
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000
It's our income.

541
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,000
It's the increase that is promised to us

542
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,000
and the biblical principle of first fruits

543
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,000
is simply this. Honor

544
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,000
the Lord first

545
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,000
with the first part of the fruits

546
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000
of your labor.

547
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,000
That's the idea of the first fruit principle,

548
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,000
okay? And then he gives a promise

549
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,000
here in Exodus

550
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,000
or I'm sorry in Proverbs, he says

551
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,000
you won't have lack, right? He goes,

552
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,000
then your barns will be completely filled and your vats will overflow

553
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,000
with new wine.

554
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,000
The idea is that as you

555
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,000
honor the Lord with your possessions

556
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,000
and you honor the Lord with the first

557
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,000
part of your increase,

558
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,000
what you're given, what you earn, what you make,

559
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,000
the picture here is he says

560
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,000
you won't have lack. You're not going to go

561
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,000
without your needs being fulfilled.

562
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000
And that's often one of the big

563
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,000
reasons we struggle with giving.

564
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,000
Oh no, I'm not going to have enough.

565
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
Oh no, my needs aren't going to be

566
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000
fulfilled. Oh no, oh no.

567
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,000
And constantly

568
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,000
the idea is God is constantly trying

569
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000
to get us, his people, to say

570
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000
I trust you Lord. I trust

571
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,000
you, right?

572
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000
And so this idea

573
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,000
of the first

574
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000
goes to God.

575
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,000
This is all over the Old Testament.

576
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,000
We see it in so many different ways.

577
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,000
In the story of Cain and Abel, and I'm going to talk

578
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,000
more about this next week,

579
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,000
we see that Abel brought an offering to God

580
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,000
and so did Cain. And we read

581
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,000
that God accepted Abel's offering, he didn't

582
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,000
accept Cain's offering, right?

583
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,000
Now when you read the details of that story, what you

584
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000
see is that Abel brought the first

585
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,000
of his harvest.

586
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,000
In Cain's

587
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,000
portion of the story it says, basically I'm going to

588
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,000
paraphrase, when he got around to it,

589
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000
he brought God an offering.

590
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,000
It wasn't the first fruit.

591
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,000
And God rejected

592
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,000
Cain's offering and took Abel's, right?

593
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,000
We're going to see more of that next week when we get into

594
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000
those ideas of the practicality of

595
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,000
stuff, but one of the stories that I think

596
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000
really illustrates this in a neat way is the fall of

597
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,000
Jericho. You guys remember that story in the Old Testament?

598
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,000
Right? Israel entered the promised

599
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,000
land, the very first

600
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000
city that they were going

601
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,000
to go conquer and God's name was Jericho.

602
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,000
And it's a beautiful

603
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,000
story, but in that story,

604
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000
what God told Joshua and

605
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,000
the people of Israel that

606
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,000
they were not to keep any of the spoils

607
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,000
of that city. All of

608
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000
it was to go to God. Don't take the silver,

609
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,000
don't take the gold, don't take any of the spoils

610
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,000
of the conquest. It all belongs

611
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,000
to God.

612
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,000
Now there are other conquests, they were able to

613
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,000
keep some of the spoils. You might go, well that's interesting,

614
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,000
why did God say that?

615
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,000
Well because it was the first

616
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,000
city conquered in the promised land.

617
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,000
It was the first

618
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,000
fruit of the conquest.

619
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,000
And the first belongs

620
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,000
to God. And so

621
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,000
you'll notice there, he didn't say, hey Joshua,

622
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,000
take Israel and

623
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,000
go conquer ten cities.

624
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,000
Take everything you want and then give

625
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,000
me what was left over.

626
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000
He doesn't say that, he says the first

627
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,000
one belongs to me.

628
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,000
It goes to the Lord.

629
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,000
And so,

630
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,000
as you can imagine, that took faith.

631
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000
They had been wandering the wilderness for forty years.

632
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,000
They're finally in the

633
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,000
promised land. God says,

634
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,000
I've given you this land, you're going to conquer.

635
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,000
So go conquer this

636
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000
city with these big walls, right? And then he tells

637
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,000
him this crazy plan, march around it for seven

638
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,000
days and do all this really seemingly

639
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000
silly stuff and then the walls fall down,

640
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,000
but don't keep any of it. It belongs

641
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,000
to the Lord.

642
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,000
What if

643
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000
we don't conquer another city?

644
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,000
What if

645
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000
God doesn't come through?

646
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
What if, right?

647
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000
They had all the fears.

648
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,000
And then in that story we read that when

649
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,000
one person violated God's command,

650
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,000
a man named Achan, it

651
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,000
cursed the entire effort to take

652
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,000
the promised land. The whole

653
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000
effort was cursed.

654
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,000
Everything. And then fortunately they dealt

655
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,000
with that and things got back on track.

656
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,000
We have to understand that in our lives

657
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,000
we have to deal with our disobedience

658
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000
in giving

659
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000
God the first of our lives as well.

660
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,000
And when we're off track we have to deal with that so

661
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000
we can get back on track.

662
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,000
Now the first part that was given to

663
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000
God in the Old Testament

664
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,000
was often referred to as the

665
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000
tithe. Many of you are familiar with

666
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000
this word, the tithe, and this is the

667
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000
principle of the tithe. Now the

668
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,000
tithe was something that was considered

669
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,000
consecrated to the Lord. It was

670
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,000
consecrated to God.

671
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000
It was consecrated to the Lord's

672
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,000
house, which was at the time the

673
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,000
tabernacle and then the temple, right?

674
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,000
It was to be given to

675
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,000
God's house. The place that was

676
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000
the central gathering point

677
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,000
of God's people and their spiritual

678
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,000
growth and efforts.

679
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,000
And they said it goes there. Now

680
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,000
the tithe, for those of you that

681
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000
don't know, is a word that literally means

682
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,000
a tenth. That's what

683
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000
tithe means. Tithe

684
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,000
means ten percent, right?

685
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,000
That's where we get that idea, and you

686
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000
might hear it when people talk about their giving

687
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000
and they go, we'll give ten percent, right? It comes

688
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000
from this idea of the tithe.

689
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,000
Now it was a command

690
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000
that was given to the Israelites as part of the

691
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000
Mosaic law, right?

692
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000
And it was ten percent of everything they

693
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000
earned. Ten percent of everything

694
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,000
they grew went to

695
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,000
the temple. We read about this in

696
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,000
Leviticus 2730 and

697
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Numbers 1826 and

698
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,000
Deuteronomy 1424.

699
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,000
But these funds that were given to

700
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,000
the temple were to fund

701
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,000
the temple. They were also

702
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,000
there to provide for the full-time Levitical

703
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,000
priests. Because in the Old

704
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000
Testament we understand that all the tribes of Israel

705
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,000
were given land. They

706
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,000
were given businesses. They were given

707
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,000
ways to earn income, right?

708
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000
But those that were called to serve

709
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,000
God and then minister to the people full

710
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000
time, they didn't get any land.

711
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,000
And so they depended solely

712
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000
on the donation, the generosity of the

713
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000
people they served so that they could eat,

714
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000
so that they could live, so that they had a livelihood.

715
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000
And so that was part of where the tithe went to.

716
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,000
It was also to fund the

717
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000
festivals and the celebrations that Israel

718
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000
had, like Passover and

719
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,000
all the different feasts. The money that everybody

720
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,000
participated and collectively gave

721
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
to the temple went to fund those

722
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000
things. And it also went to just help

723
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,000
the poor and to feed those that were

724
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,000
suffering and that

725
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,000
had lack. And so the idea there

726
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,000
again in the Old Testament was that the body,

727
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,000
the people of God collectively

728
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,000
participated in the work

729
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,000
of what was the spiritual center of their

730
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000
culture. Now it's

731
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000
interesting if you study through the Old Testament,

732
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,000
you'll find that

733
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,000
there was multiple

734
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,000
tithes required of the people.

735
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,000
The first one, the 10%,

736
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,000
that was just the first one.

737
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,000
Collectively, the legally

738
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,000
required tithes under the Mosaic Law

739
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000
actually came to about 23.3%

740
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000
of their annual income.

741
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
So 10% was just the starting

742
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,000
point. It wasn't the ending point,

743
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000
okay? Now I could feel

744
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,000
right now the whole room just went, ugh.

745
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,000
Okay, we're still

746
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,000
going through this, right?

747
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000
On top

748
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,000
of the Old Testament commanded tithe

749
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,000
of 23.3%, again

750
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,000
there was multiple tithes,

751
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,000
God also directed His people, the Israelites,

752
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,000
to give what was called a freewill offering.

753
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,000
We read about this in Deuteronomy 16,

754
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,000
10. He says, you are to celebrate

755
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,000
the festival of weeks to the Lord

756
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,000
your God with a freewill offering

757
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,000
that you give in proportion

758
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,000
to how your Lord God has blessed you.

759
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,000
So there was tithes

760
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000
of percentages, you're going to

761
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,000
give 10%, it was commanded,

762
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,000
you're going to give da-da-da-da, and it all totaled out

763
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,000
to 23.3%, it was commanded.

764
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,000
Then on top of that, there was

765
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000
a commanded, you pick

766
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,000
the amount you want to give in proportion

767
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,000
to how God has blessed you offering.

768
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,000
It was called a freewill offering.

769
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,000
Now for Israel,

770
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,000
not giving

771
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000
according to the commandments of God,

772
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000
according to the law, the Mosaic law,

773
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,000
was considered stealing

774
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,000
from God. It wasn't considered like

775
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,000
oh, you just didn't give, you were actually

776
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,000
stealing from God. God said

777
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,000
so Himself in Malachi chapter 3.

778
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,000
We read this last week, but

779
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,000
we're going to read it again. Verse 8

780
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000
it says, God speaking, will a man rob God?

781
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,000
Yet you are

782
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,000
robbing me. How do we

783
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000
rob you, the people ask, by not making

784
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000
the payments of the tenth, that's the tithe

785
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,000
and the contributions, that's the freewill

786
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,000
offerings. You are suffering under

787
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,000
a curse, yet you, the whole nation, are

788
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000
still robbing me.

789
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000
Bring the full tenth into the storehouse

790
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,000
so that there may be food in my house.

791
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,000
Test me in this way, says the Lord of armies.

792
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,000
See if I will not open

793
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000
the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing

794
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000
for you without measure.

795
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000
I will rebuke the devourer for you

796
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000
so that it will not ruin the produce of your

797
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,000
land and your vine in your field

798
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,000
will not fail to produce fruit, says

799
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,000
the Lord of armies.

800
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,000
So, that shows us that

801
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000
when the people disobeyed

802
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000
God, when it came to

803
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000
the tithes and offerings, the law that

804
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,000
they were commanded to do, they fell under

805
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,000
a curse.

806
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,000
What does that mean?

807
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000
Their crops didn't grow as well.

808
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,000
Their animals didn't give offspring as well.

809
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,000
Their grapes didn't,

810
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,000
their vineyards didn't produce as well.

811
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,000
And so, their ability to

812
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,000
earn decreased.

813
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,000
It says it was hindered by the devourer.

814
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,000
Now, in the original language, that word

815
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,000
devourer, most commentators

816
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000
believe it's referring to locusts,

817
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,000
right? Locusts would come and devour the

818
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000
field. And if you guys know anything about

819
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,000
locust swarms, they're devastating, right?

820
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000
They're devastating. They just eat everything.

821
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,000
But, when the people were

822
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,000
obedient to what God had

823
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,000
commanded them to do, God

824
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,000
himself, he says, I will rebuke

825
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,000
the devourer.

826
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,000
And the fruit of their labor was then

827
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,000
decursed, right?

828
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,000
So, God was saying, look, you do what I

829
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,000
tell you to do,

830
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,000
I'm blessing you. You disobey me,

831
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,000
well, sorry, I'm not going

832
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,000
to rebuke the devourer, right?

833
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,000
So, the principle here, again, the principle

834
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,000
is that when we don't honor God

835
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,000
in our giving, blessing in our lives is

836
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,000
impacted negatively, right?

837
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,000
That's the principle here.

838
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,000
Conversely, when we're obedient to God

839
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000
in the area of generosity and giving,

840
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,000
God works on our behalf that blessing

841
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,000
will not fail, okay?

842
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,000
But the big question that comes up

843
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,000
when we talk about the Old Testament

844
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,000
and tithing and stuff is, is

845
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,000
the tithe for

846
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,000
Christians today?

847
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,000
Are we bound by that?

848
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,000
Are we under the 10%

849
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,000
rule? Or the

850
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,000
23.3% rule?

851
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,000
Some of you are going, please don't say that.

852
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,000
Right? Are

853
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,000
we required?

854
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,000
If not, is

855
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,000
there any required amount of giving

856
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000
that is required of Christians? And we're going to deal

857
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000
with some of those questions, but first,

858
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,000
let's look at what the New Testament has to say

859
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,000
about giving.

860
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,000
In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses

861
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,000
1 and 2, Paul writing

862
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,000
to the Corinthian church says, now about the

863
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000
collection for the saints, and this is

864
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,000
a financial collection that they were

865
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,000
doing. He says, do the same as

866
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,000
I instructed the Galatian churches.

867
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,000
On the first day of the week,

868
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,000
each of you is to set something aside

869
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,000
and save in keeping with how

870
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,000
he is prospering, so that no collections

871
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,000
will need to be made when I come.

872
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,000
Now I mentioned

873
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,000
in a previous study that that word instructed

874
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,000
there in the Greek is a word

875
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,000
that literally means commanded.

876
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000
So Paul is saying to the Corinthian

877
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000
church regarding the collection

878
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,000
for the saints, do the same

879
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,000
as I commanded the Galatian

880
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,000
churches. So

881
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,000
giving, generosity,

882
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,000
financial support

883
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,000
within the church from God's people for the

884
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,000
work of the ministry is

885
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000
a commandment of the New Testament, right?

886
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000
Giving is not optional

887
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,000
is what this is telling us.

888
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,000
Now there's a number of details here

889
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000
that kind of show us what the New Testament

890
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,000
says about giving.

891
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000
You'll notice there that he said on the first day of the week,

892
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000
each of you is to set something

893
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000
aside. What does that tell us?

894
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,000
Nobody's exempt.

895
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000
Nobody's exempt. All in the

896
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,000
church are expected to give,

897
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000
to be generous, including

898
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,000
with their finances, every single

899
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,000
person. And then he says

900
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,000
on the first day of the week,

901
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,000
what does that tell us?

902
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,000
That giving is to be regular,

903
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000
regular, consistent.

904
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000
It's not to be every once in a blue

905
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,000
moon when you feel

906
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,000
like it or when you're feeling

907
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,000
particularly generous or when

908
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000
you feel like, okay, I have enough extra,

909
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,000
but it's meant to be regular

910
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,000
and consistent. You know, how often

911
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,000
does the first day of the week come around?

912
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,000
Every seven days.

913
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,000
Right?

914
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,000
Now, I will

915
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,000
say this, that as I was studying this and I was thinking

916
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000
about this, again, we are not

917
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,000
under a legalistic type of

918
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,000
law in the New Testament, right?

919
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,000
We're not bound legalistically to things

920
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,000
and so the question comes up, well, if

921
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,000
I give once a month, is that considered

922
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,000
regular? If I give every two weeks, is that

923
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,000
considered regular? I believe so.

924
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,000
I believe the point here, the idea

925
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,000
of what this is, is be regular,

926
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,000
be consistent,

927
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,000
okay? So you're not sinning if you don't

928
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,000
do it every seven days per se,

929
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,000
but there is this idea of

930
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000
being regular in your giving.

931
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,000
It's interesting because I was looking up

932
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,000
some statistics and

933
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,000
according to 2023

934
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000
statistics of the church in America,

935
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,000
only 10 to 25 percent

936
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,000
of modern church congregations

937
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,000
give regularly.

938
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Only 10 to 25 percent.

939
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,000
You know, that's tough.

940
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,000
It makes it difficult to do things

941
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,000
collectively, you know, as the body of Christ,

942
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,000
but he said,

943
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000
set something aside.

944
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,000
He was telling the Corinthians

945
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000
church, on the first day of the week, each of you is to

946
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000
set something aside.

947
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000
That phrase indicates

948
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,000
forethought, right? It indicates

949
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,000
preparation, it indicates

950
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000
intentionality, it indicates

951
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,000
decision.

952
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,000
It's not the, oh shoot,

953
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,000
they're about to do the giving right now,

954
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,000
what do I have with me?

955
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,000
Oh, here's, here's,

956
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,000
right? It's, no, no, no,

957
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,000
I've thought about what

958
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,000
I want to do. I've planned it. We're going to

959
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,000
see more scriptures about that later,

960
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,000
but the idea here is I've thought about it,

961
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,000
I've planned

962
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,000
what I'm going to give, right? This is the idea of

963
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,000
budgeting, we're going to talk about that next week.

964
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,000
I've talked to my spouse

965
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,000
about it, right? For you married couples, you guys

966
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000
have together talked about what you want to give.

967
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,000
This is one of the

968
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,000
reasons why I personally, myself,

969
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,000
I love the reoccurring

970
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,000
giving feature in our

971
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,000
online giving platform, right? You could just set up

972
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,000
a reoccurring thing, you know,

973
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000
because I'm terrible, right? I was the guy

974
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,000
early in my church years where

975
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,000
it was cash or a checkbook, and I never

976
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,000
carried either one, right? And then every week it was

977
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,000
like, oh shoot, oh shoot,

978
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,000
oh shoot, and then six

979
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,000
months later you're like, oh I got a tab.

980
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,000
Wow.

981
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,000
You know, well I can't do that, you know, right?

982
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,000
And then the devil capitalizes that, and the

983
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,000
guilt and condemnation, and

984
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000
that's not the intent of this relationship,

985
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,000
right? That's not the relationship

986
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,000
God wants to have with us

987
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,000
regarding our finances, and so

988
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,000
for me, I just, I love setting up

989
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,000
reoccurring giving, just do it on this schedule

990
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000
and poof, you know? I'm faithful

991
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,000
in that, you know? But then

992
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,000
he tells the Corinthian church

993
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,000
this really interesting phrase, he goes,

994
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000
set something aside

995
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000
and save in keeping with how

996
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,000
he is prospering.

997
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,000
That is the closest

998
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,000
thing the New Testament says

999
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,000
to an amount that we're supposed to

1000
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,000
give, right?

1001
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000
That word keeping with is the

1002
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,000
idea of in proportion,

1003
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,000
right? In other translations it says

1004
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000
in proportion to how he is

1005
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,000
prospering. That word

1006
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,000
proportion means a part or an amount that

1007
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,000
is considered in relation to a whole.

1008
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,000
There's other words in the English

1009
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,000
language that might say that

1010
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,000
like, I don't know, percentage?

1011
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,000
You know what I mean?

1012
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,000
There's words that talk about

1013
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,000
an amount considered in

1014
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,000
relation to a whole.

1015
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,000
And so what he's telling the Corinthian church here is there's a

1016
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,000
part or an amount of your material

1017
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,000
financial prospering, he goes, set it aside.

1018
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,000
Set it aside.

1019
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,000
It indicates

1020
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,000
very clearly that it's

1021
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,000
in proportion. So if you're

1022
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,000
prospering more,

1023
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,000
you should be more

1024
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,000
generous. If you're prospering

1025
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,000
less, it's okay

1026
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,000
to be less generous

1027
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,000
in that sense, right?

1028
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,000
The idea is it's in proportion

1029
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,000
to how God is blessing you.

1030
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,000
That's the idea.

1031
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,000
And it

1032
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,000
also means that as what

1033
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,000
God has

1034
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,000
entrusted to you increases,

1035
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,000
so should your generosity.

1036
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,000
That's the idea here.

1037
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Interesting again, those stats that I was looking

1038
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000
up, it

1039
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,000
said in 2023, for families

1040
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,000
that were making

1041
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000
$75,000 a year or more,

1042
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,000
only

1043
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000
1% of those people gave

1044
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000
at least 10% to the work

1045
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,000
of the ministry.

1046
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,000
Now again,

1047
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000
I'm going to build this point here.

1048
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,000
There's no number in the New Testament.

1049
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,000
There's no percentage in the New Testament,

1050
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,000
okay? It's in

1051
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000
proportion, and that's something that is between

1052
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,000
you and the Lord to

1053
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000
decide. But the idea

1054
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000
here is that you think about it, you

1055
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,000
look at your situation, you budget, you

1056
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,000
plan, and then you give.

1057
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,000
Paul says, do this so

1058
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,000
that no collections will need to be made when I come.

1059
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,000
You know, Paul didn't want to show up to the

1060
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,000
Corinthian church and make a big

1061
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,000
plea and hold a special fundraiser

1062
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,000
and do a bake sale and

1063
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,000
all that. He just simply

1064
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,000
wanted the church there in

1065
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000
the Corinthian church to just, hey everybody,

1066
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,000
just be giving regularly

1067
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,000
in proportion to what

1068
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000
God is blessing you with. Just do that

1069
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,000
regularly so that when I show up, we don't need to

1070
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,000
do an extra special offering

1071
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,000
for the need that come up because it's

1072
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,000
already there, right? This is the

1073
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000
idea. It's when the body collectively

1074
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,000
together, each one as it says

1075
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,000
here, gives in proportion

1076
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,000
to what God has blessed them with.

1077
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,000
When everybody does that,

1078
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,000
the needs of the body and the saints

1079
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,000
and the church, they're met when those needs

1080
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,000
arise. That's the idea here.

1081
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,000
Some of you have heard the statistic before

1082
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,000
and I'm going to paraphrase

1083
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,000
it, but

1084
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,000
the stat goes, if every

1085
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,000
single person in the church today

1086
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,000
tithed

1087
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,000
or gave 10%

1088
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,000
off of a welfare income,

1089
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,000
you guys follow that?

1090
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000
Every single person was on a

1091
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,000
welfare income and gave 10%.

1092
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000
Every single church in America

1093
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,000
would be debt free. Every building

1094
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000
would be paid off. Every missionary would be funded.

1095
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,000
Every parachurch ministry would have all the

1096
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,000
funding they need to do the work of the kingdom.

1097
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,000
Now, I know that some of us are

1098
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,000
on very difficult

1099
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,000
situations and are on welfare incomes,

1100
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,000
but many of us are not, you know?

1101
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,000
And so, again, I'm not

1102
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,000
here to try and lay guilt on anybody, alright?

1103
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000
I just want to tell you what the word of God says

1104
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000
about these things.

1105
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000
So that's 1 Corinthians 16. We learn a number

1106
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,000
of things there that kind of characterize how

1107
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,000
giving in the New Testament church should be.

1108
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,000
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 8,

1109
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,000
Paul is still writing to the

1110
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,000
Corinthian church about this issue

1111
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,000
and this is what we read starting in verse 1.

1112
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,000
It says, We want you to know, brothers and

1113
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,000
sisters, about the grace of God that was given

1114
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,000
to the churches of Macedonia

1115
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,000
during a severe trial brought about

1116
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,000
by affliction, their abundant joy

1117
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000
and their extreme poverty

1118
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,000
overflowed in a wealth of

1119
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,000
generosity on their part.

1120
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000
I can testify that according

1121
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,000
to their ability, and even beyond

1122
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,000
their ability, of their own accord,

1123
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,000
they begged us earnestly

1124
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,000
for the privilege of sharing

1125
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,000
in the ministry of the saints. And not

1126
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,000
just as we had hoped. Instead,

1127
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,000
they gave themselves first to the Lord

1128
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,000
and then to us by

1129
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,000
God's will.

1130
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,000
So again, obviously there were some issues in the Corinthian

1131
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000
church because this is 2 Corinthians now

1132
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,000
and he's still writing about this issue of

1133
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,000
giving in generosity and supporting

1134
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,000
the work of the ministry and the work of

1135
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000
just the church that was going on

1136
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,000
in general. And what he's doing here

1137
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,000
is he's praising the churches in Macedonia

1138
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,000
for their generosity.

1139
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,000
So let me paint the picture here.

1140
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,000
What we're going to see is that the

1141
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,000
Corinthians apparently had made a commitment

1142
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,000
to give a certain amount of money in support

1143
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,000
of the work of the ministry.

1144
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:16,000
And about a year has gone by

1145
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,000
and they haven't followed through yet.

1146
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,000
They haven't come through yet. And Paul's

1147
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,000
going to be going, hey guys,

1148
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,000
like there's needs

1149
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,000
and you made a commitment and of course

1150
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,000
I've already taught you about setting

1151
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,000
stuff aside and being ready and everything

1152
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000
and you need to follow through on your commitment

1153
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000
to do what you said you were going to

1154
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,000
do. And then he says like

1155
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,000
the Macedonian church, far

1156
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,000
far far poorer

1157
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,000
than you are, in extreme

1158
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,000
poverty,

1159
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,000
they gave gladly.

1160
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,000
They gave willingly. They begged

1161
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000
us for the opportunity to participate

1162
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,000
in this joy because they understood

1163
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,000
what it was all about. And he says they gave

1164
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,000
according to their ability.

1165
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,000
That's that same phrase we read in 1 Corinthians

1166
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,000
that they gave in proportion

1167
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000
to their prosperity.

1168
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,000
Now it wasn't a lot because

1169
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,000
again he said they were in extreme poverty.

1170
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,000
So it wasn't

1171
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,000
about the amount. It was about the heart

1172
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,000
of their giving. And then he

1173
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000
said even beyond their ability,

1174
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,000
right, the idea there is that

1175
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,000
they gave sacrificially, that what they

1176
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000
gave was a sacrifice for

1177
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,000
them. Of their own accord

1178
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,000
they begged for the privilege of sharing,

1179
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,000
that they did it willingly, they did it eagerly,

1180
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,000
they did it joyfully. And then

1181
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,000
he says instead

1182
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,000
they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us

1183
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000
by God's will. The phrasing

1184
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,000
there is that their giving was a reflection

1185
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,000
of their relationship with Jesus, right?

1186
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000
It was a reflection of their trust

1187
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000
and their obedience and all of that. And so again

1188
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,000
we see that giving isn't about

1189
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,000
money.

1190
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,000
Giving is about giving ourselves to the

1191
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,000
Lord fully. Saying, God, I'm

1192
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,000
yielding myself to you, I'm yielding

1193
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,000
my life, I'm trusting you with

1194
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,000
everything, I'm trusting you with my situation.

1195
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,000
And when we yield that way,

1196
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,000
the work that God does in our hearts, we see

1197
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000
that Biblical giving will follow.

1198
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000
So there's an idea of the heart issue.

1199
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,000
Now later on in

1200
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,000
2 Corinthians chapter 8, starting in verse

1201
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,000
8, he says to them, he goes,

1202
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:12,000
I'm not saying this is a command, but rather

1203
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,000
by means of the diligence of others

1204
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,000
I am testing the genuineness

1205
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,000
of your love.

1206
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000
Did that

1207
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,000
verse make anybody else uncomfortable for a

1208
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,000
second? Let me

1209
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,000
read what Paul says again.

1210
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000
I'm not saying this is a command,

1211
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,000
rather by means of the diligence

1212
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,000
of others, that's the Macedonians,

1213
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,000
he goes, I'm testing the genuineness

1214
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,000
of your love.

1215
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,000
That's a scary verse.

1216
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000
Because what he's dealing with with

1217
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,000
the Corinthian church is their giving and their generosity.

1218
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,000
And he's

1219
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,000
linking it to

1220
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000
testing the genuineness of their love.

1221
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,000
That's

1222
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,000
a scary thing to think about.

1223
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,000
But again,

1224
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,000
what does the Bible say here?

1225
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,000
He goes in verse 9, for you know

1226
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,000
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he

1227
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,000
was rich, for your sake he became poor,

1228
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,000
so that by his poverty you might become

1229
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,000
rich. And in this matter,

1230
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,000
I'm giving advice because it is

1231
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000
profitable for you, who began

1232
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,000
last year, not only to do

1233
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,000
something, but also to want to

1234
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,000
do it. Now also

1235
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,000
finish the task so that just

1236
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,000
as there was an eager desire,

1237
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,000
there may also be a completion,

1238
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,000
according to what you have.

1239
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,000
For if the eagerness is there,

1240
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,000
the gift is acceptable, according to what

1241
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,000
the person has, not according to what the person

1242
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,000
does not have.

1243
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,000
It's not that there should be relief for others

1244
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,000
and hardship for you, but it is

1245
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,000
a question of equality.

1246
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000
And so

1247
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,000
the first thing we see there is like,

1248
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,000
look, your relationship with Christ

1249
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,000
is going to reflect

1250
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:48,000
the character of Christ in our lives.

1251
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,000
We talked about that last week a lot,

1252
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,000
that one of the chief characteristics

1253
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,000
we see about God with his love

1254
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,000
and everything is that he's generous.

1255
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,000
And as his people, we should

1256
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,000
be generous, right?

1257
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,000
Again, as I said earlier,

1258
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,000
that the idea of giving and how we

1259
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,000
handle our money really demonstrates the

1260
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,000
priority of our heart, where our affections

1261
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,000
lie, where our loyalties lie. I'm not

1262
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,000
saying that giving is

1263
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,000
the sole indicator,

1264
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,000
like, are you a Christian? Let's see how much you gave.

1265
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,000
There are some churches that abuse this

1266
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,000
radically, and that's not what I'm saying.

1267
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,000
But when we get

1268
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,000
the Lord we serve and we get what he did

1269
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000
for us, he goes, you know the grace of our Lord

1270
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,000
Jesus Christ, though he was rich, he became poor for you.

1271
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,000
The idea is that

1272
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,000
Jesus gave so much to us.

1273
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,000
He literally laid

1274
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,000
down his life that we would be eternally

1275
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:38,000
saved.

1276
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,000
And the result of that, he goes, just

1277
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,000
be obedient to me, just be obedient.

1278
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000
And that includes these

1279
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,000
ideas of what to do with our finances,

1280
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,000
right? Just be obedient, trust

1281
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,000
me. And so Corinthians, he says,

1282
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,000
you made a commitment last year to give, but you haven't

1283
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,000
followed through.

1284
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,000
Now he says this interesting verse here,

1285
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,000
he goes, if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable

1286
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,000
according to what he has, not according

1287
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,000
to what he does not have. What's the

1288
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,000
idea here?

1289
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,000
The Corinthians, it's not about the amount, it's about

1290
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,000
the heart, right?

1291
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,000
Look at the Macedonian churches.

1292
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,000
They gave generously,

1293
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,000
they gave eagerly, they gave with joy.

1294
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,000
And it was just this beautiful

1295
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:18,000
representation of their great love and joy

1296
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,000
and relationship with Jesus Christ, and

1297
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,000
their understanding of

1298
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,000
what that meant. And so they just wanted to be generous

1299
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,000
the way he was generous. And so he's telling the Corinthian

1300
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:28,000
church, don't back out of your commitment.

1301
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:30,000
And it really seems

1302
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,000
to appear that they're trying to

1303
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,000
back out of the commitment or they haven't followed

1304
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,000
through yet, because maybe they committed

1305
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,000
a lot.

1306
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,000
Maybe he said, we're going to give this much!

1307
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,000
And then they went, why did we say

1308
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,000
that?

1309
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,000
And they're like, well, let's wait.

1310
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,000
And then now it's a year

1311
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,000
later and Paul's going, guys,

1312
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,000
come on.

1313
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,000
He goes, look, if you

1314
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,000
overcommitted,

1315
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,000
then change the

1316
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,000
amount. But don't

1317
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:02,000
not give because you can't give

1318
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,000
what you think is a lot.

1319
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,000
He goes, don't not

1320
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,000
give, he goes, just give

1321
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,000
from what you have.

1322
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,000
God's not asking us to give from what we

1323
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,000
don't have.

1324
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,000
God's just saying, look, I gave

1325
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,000
you this, whatever that

1326
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,000
is, and that is different for every single

1327
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,000
one of us.

1328
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,000
God says, just be generous.

1329
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,000
And we're going to see in a little bit

1330
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,000
that that's different for each one of us.

1331
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:30,000
How much isn't

1332
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,000
the issue?

1333
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:34,000
It's the trust and the willingness

1334
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,000
and the imitation of Christ in faithful generosity.

1335
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,000
That's the issue.

1336
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:40,000
That's the issue of giving. And so by

1337
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,000
the end of this very long section,

1338
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,000
Paul's speaking to the Corinthians about,

1339
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,000
hey guys, follow through, right?

1340
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,000
Do what you said you were going to do.

1341
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:50,000
Don't get wrapped up in how much it is

1342
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,000
or whatever, just give from what you have, right?

1343
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,000
Be generous the way God is generous.

1344
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:56,000
And then at the end of it,

1345
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,000
in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 6,

1346
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,000
he goes, the point is this.

1347
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,000
The person who sows

1348
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,000
sparingly will also reap sparingly,

1349
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:06,000
and the person who sows generously will

1350
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:08,000
also reap generously. Each

1351
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,000
person should do as he is

1352
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:12,000
decided in his heart,

1353
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,000
not reluctantly or out of compulsion

1354
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:16,000
since God loves a cheerful

1355
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:18,000
giver. And so,

1356
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,000
a generous heart is the standard,

1357
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,000
right?

1358
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,000
But what is generous

1359
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,000
for you is different

1360
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,000
than what is generous for me.

1361
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:30,000
What is

1362
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:32,000
sparing for you

1363
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:34,000
is different than what is sparing

1364
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,000
for me. You guys

1365
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,000
understand?

1366
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:40,000
No church,

1367
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,000
no pastor,

1368
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,000
nobody can tell you

1369
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:46,000
it has to be

1370
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,000
this much.

1371
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:50,000
Nobody can tell you that.

1372
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,000
But, whether

1373
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,000
you, for you,

1374
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:56,000
and me, for me,

1375
00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:58,000
are being generous

1376
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,000
or are being stingy,

1377
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,000
what he says is expect the same in return.

1378
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,000
Expect the same in return, right?

1379
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,000
That's that reciprocity

1380
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:08,000
principle he looked at in Luke 6.

1381
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:10,000
Given it will be given to you.

1382
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,000
Over and

1383
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:14,000
over throughout the entire Bible,

1384
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,000
God says, I'm paraphrasing

1385
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:18,000
again, but be generous

1386
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,000
as I am generous. And

1387
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:22,000
watch me take care of you.

1388
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,000
Watch me provide for your needs.

1389
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,000
Watch me, watch me just

1390
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:28,000
bless you.

1391
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:30,000
But just, just trust me.

1392
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,000
And here's the reality.

1393
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,000
And you know, you

1394
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,000
may disagree with me with this, I don't know.

1395
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,000
But you know if you're being

1396
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,000
generous or stingy. You know.

1397
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,000
You know your situation.

1398
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,000
You know your income.

1399
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:46,000
You know your job situation.

1400
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,000
You know, you know you.

1401
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,000
I don't.

1402
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,000
But guess who else knows you?

1403
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,000
God.

1404
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,000
God knows your situation.

1405
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,000
God knows your heart.

1406
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,000
So God knows when you sit down and you say,

1407
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:02,000
okay God, this is what you've given

1408
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:04,000
to me here now.

1409
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,000
He knows

1410
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,000
that you know

1411
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,000
that he knows.

1412
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,000
Whether you're being generous or

1413
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,000
stingy. He knows that.

1414
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,000
You know that. And so the

1415
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,000
idea is, is we seek

1416
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:20,000
the Lord, we pray,

1417
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:22,000
we listen for his voice,

1418
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,000
right? And in choosing

1419
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:26,000
to say, God, I'm a Christian,

1420
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:28,000
I want to follow you. I want to be

1421
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:30,000
obedient to your word. I want to do what you're calling me to do.

1422
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,000
I want to follow your word and your way.

1423
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,000
In that process of

1424
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,000
between you and the Lord, you decide

1425
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:38,000
what is generous

1426
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:40,000
for you in your situation.

1427
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,000
Where God has you today.

1428
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,000
And guess what? Your situation

1429
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:46,000
can change from time

1430
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,000
to time. And that's

1431
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:50,000
why it's in proportion to your

1432
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:52,000
prosperity.

1433
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,000
God's blessing you more. Give more.

1434
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,000
You're in a time

1435
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:58,000
where you're like, hey, I'm severely limited

1436
00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:00,000
in my income.

1437
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,000
Then you're going to be giving less

1438
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,000
than you would if you were, you know,

1439
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:06,000
abundantly prospering financially,

1440
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,000
right?

1441
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,000
And it's not the issue of

1442
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,000
how much it is. It's the issue of

1443
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:14,000
are you being regular and consistent?

1444
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,000
Are you trusting God in this?

1445
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:18,000
Are you thinking it through and setting aside

1446
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,000
and doing it intentionally?

1447
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,000
Are you saying, God, I want to do this

1448
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,000
joyfully? I just, God, I want to be like you. I want

1449
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,000
to represent you. I want to...and then

1450
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:28,000
all of that.

1451
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:30,000
And then I don't think God would have put all

1452
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,000
these promises in the Bible if he didn't intend

1453
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:34,000
us to say, and God, I look forward to

1454
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:36,000
being blessed by you.

1455
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:38,000
Now, that's not our goal.

1456
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,000
That's not our reason. That's not our purpose.

1457
00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,000
But God created us.

1458
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,000
And come on. He knew how he created

1459
00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:48,000
us. And one of the

1460
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,000
things he created us with is we tend to be

1461
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:52,000
motivated by reward.

1462
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,000
We just are.

1463
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,000
And I don't think it's necessarily a wrong thing

1464
00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,000
to be like, hey, God, the promises you

1465
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:00,000
said, I'm excited for that.

1466
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,000
I look forward to that. It's not my

1467
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:04,000
reason to give. I just want to be like you.

1468
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:06,000
But again, guess that's

1469
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:08,000
between you and the Lord.

1470
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:10,000
Right? Okay. So.

1471
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,000
So he goes on to tell us

1472
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,000
to do it not

1473
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:20,000
reluctantly. That means

1474
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,000
begrudgingly, right? That means regretfully.

1475
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:24,000
Like the

1476
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,000
Corinthians were doing. Oh, no.

1477
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:28,000
We over committed.

1478
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:30,000
He says, don't do it

1479
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:32,000
under compulsion. That means

1480
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:34,000
to be under pressure. Right?

1481
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,000
Like one

1482
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:38,000
of the things we're going to start doing here

1483
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:40,000
after Easter, and because a number of you have asked

1484
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,000
and we prayed and we feel

1485
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,000
like the Lord wants to do, is we're going to

1486
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:46,000
start taking a collection again

1487
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,000
as a part of our offering time in the church.

1488
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:50,000
We still have the app.

1489
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,000
We still have the website. We still have the offering

1490
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:54,000
envelopes. But as a

1491
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:56,000
part of our worship, we're going to have

1492
00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:58,000
a collection time. And elders, I'm sorry if I

1493
00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:00,000
just sprung this on you. We haven't talked about it yet.

1494
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,000
I'll get to you guys.

1495
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,000
But we're just going to have that as a part of our

1496
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,000
worship time again.

1497
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,000
That doesn't mean that you have to put something

1498
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:10,000
in the bag, right?

1499
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,000
There's no compulsion.

1500
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:14,000
But it means if you want to do it that way, because

1501
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:16,000
there's some of you that are like, hey, look, you know, apps

1502
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:18,000
are cool and websites are cool and all that. Not for

1503
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:20,000
me. Right?

1504
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,000
And you still have this strange little thing

1505
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:24,000
that's about this big. And there's

1506
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:26,000
these papers in it that you write on.

1507
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,000
What are the, right? No.

1508
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:30,000
You're still doing checks. Are you still doing, whatever it may be.

1509
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,000
The idea is we're just

1510
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,000
trying to say, okay, we just want to provide

1511
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:36,000
for everybody to be able to give the way they

1512
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,000
want to give.

1513
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:40,000
But it's not a legalistic

1514
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,000
issue.

1515
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,000
It's not a, oh, no, I have to go sacrifice

1516
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:46,000
on the altar because I forgot

1517
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:48,000
to gave last week type of issue.

1518
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:50,000
It's not a salvational issue. Giving

1519
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,000
is not a salvational issue.

1520
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,000
It's not a, if I don't do this,

1521
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:56,000
Jesus isn't going to love me anymore.

1522
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:58,000
He said,

1523
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:00,000
do it cheerfully. That word in the

1524
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:02,000
Greek is hilarious.

1525
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:04,000
What does that sound like? Hilarious.

1526
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:06,000
God loves a hilarious

1527
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,000
giver.

1528
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:10,000
Right?

1529
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,000
Those are the givers you just

1530
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:14,000
heard right now. They're cracking up.

1531
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:16,000
No, he loves a cheerful

1532
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,000
giver. He loves, like, have you

1533
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,000
ever given something to somebody?

1534
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,000
Have you done something to just bless them?

1535
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:24,000
And they're just, like, amazed and that

1536
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:26,000
feeling you get is like, this feels

1537
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:28,000
so good. Like, wow.

1538
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:30,000
I was just able to bless somebody

1539
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,000
and there's no, like, pay me back, right?

1540
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:34,000
There's nothing. You're like, no strings attached.

1541
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:38,000
That's how God gave to us.

1542
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,000
And he says, just follow my example.

1543
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:44,000
Follow it with

1544
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:46,000
your time. Follow it with your talent. But, yeah,

1545
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:48,000
follow it with your money, too.

1546
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:50,000
Just be a cheerful giver.

1547
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:52,000
Give with high larity. I love

1548
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:54,000
that. I mean, there's really no joy, like,

1549
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,000
being generous the way the Lord is.

1550
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:00,000
And so, again, it's not a legalistic issue.

1551
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,000
It's a we get to issue.

1552
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,000
We get to give like God gives.

1553
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:06,000
And really,

1554
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:08,000
ideally, it's a want to issue, right?

1555
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:10,000
The Macedonian church. I want to.

1556
00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:12,000
They begged Paul, please.

1557
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:14,000
Paul's like, you guys are so broke.

1558
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:16,000
And they're like, nah, Jesus is

1559
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:18,000
everything. Let us. Okay.

1560
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:20,000
How awesome is that heart?

1561
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,000
So, but

1562
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:24,000
the Bible does tell us in the New Testament that

1563
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:26,000
Jesus fulfilled

1564
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,000
the law, right?

1565
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:30,000
This includes the tithing

1566
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:32,000
laws, right? Jesus fulfilled those.

1567
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:34,000
So, are we bound

1568
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,000
by the Mosaic tithing laws

1569
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,000
today as the New Testament church? Are we bound

1570
00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:40,000
by having to give a certain percentage

1571
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,000
elsewhere in violation of Scripture?

1572
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,000
No, we are not. We are not.

1573
00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:46,000
If we don't

1574
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,000
give it all, are we going to lose

1575
00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:50,000
our salvation? No.

1576
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,000
Well, maybe. No, just kidding.

1577
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,000
No,

1578
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:56,000
no, no. Please don't quote me on that, right?

1579
00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:58,000
Jesus died

1580
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:00,000
to atone for all

1581
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,000
sin once

1582
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:04,000
and for all.

1583
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:06,000
It's not a salvational issue, right?

1584
00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:08,000
But we do

1585
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:10,000
read in Scripture that

1586
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,000
if we fail to be obedient in this area

1587
00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:14,000
of our life, we do lose blessing.

1588
00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:16,000
And that includes the

1589
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:18,000
opportunity for financial blessing in

1590
00:53:18,000 --> 00:53:20,000
our lives.

1591
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,000
If we expect God to bless us

1592
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:24,000
in every way,

1593
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:26,000
and of course we want that, God

1594
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:28,000
bless us.

1595
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,000
Well, then we need to obediently

1596
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:32,000
and willfully and joyfully

1597
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:34,000
be generous in every way

1598
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:36,000
like He is. And then

1599
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:38,000
in that, we expect God to return generous

1600
00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:40,000
blessing to us, pressed down,

1601
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:42,000
shaken, running over, as He said in Luke

1602
00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:44,000
6. So yeah, when it comes

1603
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:46,000
to the Old Testament, though, it's God's Word,

1604
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:48,000
right? We don't reject it.

1605
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:50,000
We don't toss it out. Although the Mosaic

1606
00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:52,000
Law applied to Israel as a nation,

1607
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:54,000
and although we are not bound by the Mosaic

1608
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:56,000
Law today, and Jesus fulfilled that

1609
00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:58,000
Law, it tells us the principles

1610
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:00,000
we find there are still profitable

1611
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:02,000
for doctrine. They're

1612
00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:04,000
still profitable for teaching and instruction

1613
00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:06,000
and correction. The principles we find

1614
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,000
in the Old Testament still reveal the heart

1615
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:10,000
of God. They still reveal

1616
00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:12,000
His character. They reveal His will, His

1617
00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:14,000
nature, and that's why we study the Old Testament and the

1618
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,000
New Testament. Even though there might be

1619
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,000
some things there where we go, that was

1620
00:54:18,000 --> 00:54:20,000
the Law for Israel for a time, we

1621
00:54:20,000 --> 00:54:22,000
still learn about God and who He is, and

1622
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000
so we can still glean principles from

1623
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:26,000
this. So although the New Testament doesn't teach

1624
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:28,000
that we are bound to fulfill

1625
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:30,000
the Old Testament Law,

1626
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,000
we are still bound by the principles

1627
00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:34,000
of who God is,

1628
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,000
who we are to be as His children,

1629
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:38,000
and how we're to live in response

1630
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:40,000
to all of that. And it's

1631
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:42,000
not to earn or secure

1632
00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:44,000
or maintain our salvation,

1633
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,000
but it's to live in gratitude

1634
00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,000
for all He's done for us,

1635
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:50,000
in saving us and demonstrate

1636
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,000
the priority that He is

1637
00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:54,000
in our lives. And so

1638
00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:56,000
principles, biblical principles like

1639
00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:58,000
generosity,

1640
00:54:58,000 --> 00:55:00,000
like give God the first

1641
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:02,000
of your life in every way.

1642
00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:04,000
You're giving Him the everything,

1643
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:06,000
you know, it's still the call of

1644
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:08,000
the church today.

1645
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,000
Now the New Testament does indeed

1646
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:12,000
command that we are to be givers,

1647
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,000
including financially. We looked at that

1648
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:16,000
in 1 Corinthians 16, 2,

1649
00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:18,000
2 Corinthians 9, 7.

1650
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:20,000
There is however no set amount

1651
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:22,000
that we are commanded to give or required

1652
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:24,000
to give in the New Testament.

1653
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:26,000
However, we are in the New Testament

1654
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:28,000
taught that we're to give regularly,

1655
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,000
consistently, intentionally,

1656
00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:32,000
whatever the amount is we give.

1657
00:55:34,000 --> 00:55:36,000
Now, not giving at all,

1658
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,000
yeah, I think is

1659
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:40,000
disobedience to God's word,

1660
00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:42,000
because the New Testament commands us to be giving.

1661
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:46,000
If we don't give at all,

1662
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:48,000
I think we're demonstrating

1663
00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:50,000
a very poor reflection of Jesus Christ

1664
00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:52,000
in our own lives.

1665
00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:54,000
So yeah, we're to give generously

1666
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:56,000
and sacrificially and joyfully,

1667
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:58,000
right?

1668
00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:00,000
That word generously, incidentally,

1669
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:02,000
means marked by abundance or ample proportions.

1670
00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:06,000
Some of you go, what does ample mean?

1671
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:08,000
Well, I got the definition for you.

1672
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:10,000
Ample, of large or great amount,

1673
00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:12,000
fully sufficient to meet a need or purpose.

1674
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:14,000
Why did I share that with you?

1675
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:16,000
Because often when I

1676
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:18,000
talk to somebody about giving

1677
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:20,000
and the stuff, one of the big, you know,

1678
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:22,000
objections is, there's no

1679
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,000
percentage taught in the New Testament.

1680
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:26,000
We're not under the tithe.

1681
00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:28,000
And, you know,

1682
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:30,000
you're right. You're absolutely

1683
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:32,000
right. Now, in most cases, not all cases,

1684
00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:34,000
that's somebody trying to justify little or no

1685
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,000
giving, but we're not going to go there right now.

1686
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:38,000
When someone says, there's

1687
00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:40,000
no percentage taught in the New Testament,

1688
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:42,000
I say, you're absolutely right.

1689
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:44,000
And then I say, do you

1690
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:46,000
really think 10% is an ample proportion?

1691
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:50,000
And they go, what? And I go, well,

1692
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:52,000
I mean, for that matter,

1693
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:54,000
right, the average percentage of income given by

1694
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:56,000
church attenders in the United States in 2022

1695
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,000
was 2.5%.

1696
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:02,000
Now, that might be your generosity

1697
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:04,000
for where you're at, and that's okay.

1698
00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,000
But for most of us,

1699
00:57:06,000 --> 00:57:08,000
if we're honest with ourselves, we might go,

1700
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:10,000
I could probably be more generous.

1701
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:12,000
Just to give you a frame of reference,

1702
00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:14,000
the churches

1703
00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,000
giving in the United States during the Great

1704
00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:18,000
Depression was 3.3% of their income.

1705
00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:22,000
People gave more during the Great Depression than

1706
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:24,000
we give today in the church.

1707
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:26,000
Just broadly, right?

1708
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:28,000
Again, I'm not trying to

1709
00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:30,000
guilt anybody here, because you guys

1710
00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:32,000
are a generous church, and we're blessed by that.

1711
00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:34,000
But the idea here,

1712
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:36,000
you know, as people go, oh,

1713
00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:38,000
there's no percentage, there's no percentage,

1714
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:40,000
and you're absolutely right.

1715
00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:42,000
But when we start looking at the definition

1716
00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:44,000
of what generously means and ample

1717
00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:46,000
means, right, people are

1718
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:48,000
real quick to go, hey, can we go back to that 10% thing?

1719
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:50,000
10%

1720
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:52,000
doesn't sound so bad when we look at what

1721
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:54,000
generous means, you know?

1722
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:56,000
But still, there is no percentage

1723
00:57:56,000 --> 00:57:58,000
in the New Testament, okay?

1724
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,000
No specific amount, just an attitude

1725
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:02,000
in which we decide between us and

1726
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:04,000
the Lord what we're gonna give, and

1727
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:06,000
we do it consistently and regularly.

1728
00:58:06,000 --> 00:58:08,000
However, we are

1729
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:10,000
called to give in proportion to our prosperity.

1730
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:12,000
That was 1 Corinthians 16.

1731
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:14,000
And you know the first question I usually get when I

1732
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:16,000
share that with people?

1733
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:18,000
Hey, I want to know about giving, how much am I supposed to give?

1734
00:58:18,000 --> 00:58:20,000
And I go, well, the New Testament says give in proportion

1735
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:22,000
to your prosperity.

1736
00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:24,000
First question is, how much is that?

1737
00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:28,000
Gee willikers. I mean, if there was

1738
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:30,000
just a place

1739
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:32,000
that's somewhere in

1740
00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:34,000
God's Word,

1741
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:36,000
sometime in history, I don't know,

1742
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:38,000
that the Lord maybe shared

1743
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:40,000
a number, a percentage

1744
00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:42,000
perhaps, that

1745
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:44,000
I don't know, might give us some

1746
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:46,000
insight to maybe a target,

1747
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,000
a place to start, something to shoot at.

1748
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:50,000
If he had just said

1749
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,000
something somewhere in his Word

1750
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,000
to reveal to us his mind, you know,

1751
00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:56,000
I don't know, maybe a number like

1752
00:58:56,000 --> 00:58:58,000
10%, or maybe he used

1753
00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:00,000
a word. Yeah, maybe he can invent

1754
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:02,000
a word that means a tenth.

1755
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:06,000
That would be so helpful,

1756
00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:08,000
wouldn't it?

1757
00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:10,000
My point is this.

1758
00:59:10,000 --> 00:59:12,000
If you want to use

1759
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:14,000
the tithe as a guideline, like

1760
00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:16,000
you're in your heart between you and the Lord,

1761
00:59:16,000 --> 00:59:18,000
you say, Lord, I'm going to shoot for 10%.

1762
00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:20,000
Then do that. There's nothing wrong with that.

1763
00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:22,000
You're not violating Scripture.

1764
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:24,000
But if in this season of

1765
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:26,000
your life you're just like, oh gosh,

1766
00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:28,000
I just don't know that I can do that.

1767
00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:30,000
Okay. Then pray and seek the

1768
00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:32,000
Lord and give what you can give.

1769
00:59:34,000 --> 00:59:36,000
But as God prospers you,

1770
00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:38,000
pray and seek the Lord and be ready

1771
00:59:38,000 --> 00:59:40,000
to say, God, as you're prospering me,

1772
00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:42,000
I want to be more generous.

1773
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:44,000
When we combine the Old Testament

1774
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:46,000
principles of the firstfruits and the tithe

1775
00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:48,000
and offering and the New Testament principles

1776
00:59:48,000 --> 00:59:50,000
of generosity, we should come to the conclusion

1777
00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:52,000
that giving is not about checking off

1778
00:59:52,000 --> 00:59:54,000
a duty box, right?

1779
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:56,000
Giving is not about

1780
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:58,000
giving the exact right amount

1781
00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:00,000
so that I've done what's required of me

1782
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:02,000
and God's happy and I could go about

1783
01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:04,000
my life, but I did the thing.

1784
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:08,000
It's about starting with, God,

1785
01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:10,000
everything I have belongs

1786
01:00:10,000 --> 01:00:12,000
to you.

1787
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:14,000
God, you have given me

1788
01:00:14,000 --> 01:00:16,000
eternal life. You have given me

1789
01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:18,000
salvation. You have saved my soul.

1790
01:00:18,000 --> 01:00:20,000
You gave me the brain

1791
01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:22,000
that allows me to do

1792
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:24,000
the thing I do to earn. You gave

1793
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:26,000
me the skills I have. You gave me the

1794
01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:28,000
hands I work with. You gave me the money, right?

1795
01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:30,000
God, everything

1796
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:32,000
that I have, everything

1797
01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:34,000
I am is yours.

1798
01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:36,000
And so, God, what do you want me

1799
01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:38,000
to do with it?

1800
01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:40,000
How do you want me to steward what you've given me?

1801
01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:42,000
It's about asking God

1802
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:44,000
what and how

1803
01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:46,000
and yes, how much.

1804
01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:48,000
And then,

1805
01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:50,000
intentionally, regularly,

1806
01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:52,000
obeying God and stepping

1807
01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:54,000
forth in that without question.

1808
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:56,000
And this can change from

1809
01:00:56,000 --> 01:00:58,000
season to season. That's okay.

1810
01:00:58,000 --> 01:01:00,000
But no,

1811
01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:02,000
don't not give because that's definitely

1812
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:04,000
disobedience as we see in the Scripture.

1813
01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:06,000
Give something, right?

1814
01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:08,000
And then to do so joyfully

1815
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:10,000
and cheerfully and hilariously.

1816
01:01:10,000 --> 01:01:12,000
To be eager to be a part of

1817
01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:14,000
God's work in His kingdom.

1818
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:16,000
To be just excited.

1819
01:01:16,000 --> 01:01:18,000
God, I get to be a part of what you're

1820
01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:20,000
doing.

1821
01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:22,000
And God's going, great,

1822
01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:24,000
be a part of it. You're going, God, but

1823
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:26,000
I can only do this. He goes, then do that.

1824
01:01:26,000 --> 01:01:28,000
But do it

1825
01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:30,000
cheerfully. Do it with high larity.

1826
01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:32,000
Be excited to be a part of the work God is doing

1827
01:01:32,000 --> 01:01:34,000
because it's about the joy and the

1828
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:36,000
privilege and the honor of being like Him.

1829
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:38,000
To reflect Him.

1830
01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:40,000
Never because we are legalistically bound,

1831
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:42,000
but because we get to.

1832
01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:44,000
That's really the idea. We get to.

1833
01:01:44,000 --> 01:01:46,000
And the icing

1834
01:01:46,000 --> 01:01:48,000
on the cake

1835
01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:50,000
is that when we do

1836
01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:52,000
to His glory for His namesake

1837
01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:54,000
simply to say, God, I just want to

1838
01:01:54,000 --> 01:01:56,000
obey You and express my

1839
01:01:56,000 --> 01:01:58,000
gratitude for all You've given to me,

1840
01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:00,000
He promises to bless us

1841
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:02,000
and to take care of us and to provide

1842
01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:04,000
for us and our needs.

1843
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:06,000
How glorious.

1844
01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:08,000
Proverbs 22, 9 says, a generous person

1845
01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:10,000
will be blessed, for

1846
01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:12,000
he shares his food with the poor.

1847
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:16,000
My prayer for every single person in this church

1848
01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:18,000
and every single person watching this video, whether you're

1849
01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:20,000
a part of our church or not,

1850
01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:22,000
is that you would be blessed.

1851
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:24,000
Blessed.

1852
01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:26,000
That you would experience

1853
01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:28,000
the promises of God and what He says

1854
01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:30,000
in His word for those who are generous as He is

1855
01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:32,000
generous. That as you

1856
01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:34,000
pray and seek the Lord and you find out

1857
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:36,000
what that amount is, whatever it

1858
01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:38,000
is, that you're just faithful.

1859
01:02:38,000 --> 01:02:40,000
Just faithful. And watch God

1860
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:42,000
bless you.

1861
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:44,000
Now, I'm not going to say every

1862
01:02:44,000 --> 01:02:46,000
time that it's like, oh, God gives you money.

1863
01:02:46,000 --> 01:02:48,000
But I can't

1864
01:02:48,000 --> 01:02:50,000
deny the Scriptures that seem to indicate

1865
01:02:50,000 --> 01:02:52,000
that finances are included in the blessing

1866
01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:54,000
of God when we're obedient to Him.

1867
01:02:54,000 --> 01:02:56,000
And I'm not going to shy away from those

1868
01:02:56,000 --> 01:02:58,000
things. But we don't

1869
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:00,000
give as an investment tool.

1870
01:03:00,000 --> 01:03:02,000
We give to just say, God, I'm so grateful

1871
01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:04,000
for what you've given to me. But He does

1872
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:06,000
bless. I pray that you would find

1873
01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:08,000
freedom from fear and

1874
01:03:08,000 --> 01:03:10,000
mistrust and worry and

1875
01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:12,000
anxiety and all of that.

1876
01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:14,000
Especially in your financial

1877
01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:16,000
life. Because so many of us

1878
01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:18,000
are languishing under

1879
01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,000
just such concern

1880
01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:22,000
because of debt and all

1881
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:24,000
this stuff. And next week, we're going to talk about

1882
01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:26,000
some practical habits that the Bible

1883
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:28,000
teaches. So that we aren't

1884
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:30,000
enslaved to debt.

1885
01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:32,000
That we're not buried under

1886
01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:34,000
just poor financial

1887
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:36,000
situations. But that we're doing things

1888
01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:38,000
according to God's word.

1889
01:03:38,000 --> 01:03:40,000
To find the freedom

1890
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,000
that He has for all of us in

1891
01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:44,000
our possessions, in our money. And so

1892
01:03:44,000 --> 01:03:46,000
really that we would be trusting and living

1893
01:03:46,000 --> 01:03:48,000
and applying what God says in His word.

1894
01:03:48,000 --> 01:03:50,000
His teaching, His doctrine

1895
01:03:50,000 --> 01:03:52,000
of finances.

1896
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:54,000
Amen? Let's pray. Father,

1897
01:03:54,000 --> 01:03:56,000
we love you.

1898
01:03:58,000 --> 01:04:00,000
We thank you, God.

1899
01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:02,000
We thank you, Lord.

1900
01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:04,000
We ask you, Lord,

1901
01:04:04,000 --> 01:04:06,000
to really drill

1902
01:04:06,000 --> 01:04:08,000
deep down into our hearts and our minds.

1903
01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:10,000
The reality that

1904
01:04:10,000 --> 01:04:12,000
everything is yours.

1905
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:14,000
God, Lord, when we're

1906
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:16,000
able to hold everything with that open

1907
01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:18,000
hand and to let it go in that sense,

1908
01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:20,000
Lord.

1909
01:04:20,000 --> 01:04:22,000
Gosh, it really does combat the

1910
01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:24,000
selfishness of our sinful nature.

1911
01:04:24,000 --> 01:04:26,000
And so, Lord,

1912
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:28,000
help us to understand that we're stewards.

1913
01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:30,000
We're simply managers of what you've

1914
01:04:30,000 --> 01:04:32,000
given us, God. And so that we would turn to you

1915
01:04:32,000 --> 01:04:34,000
in all things and say, God, what do you want to do?

1916
01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:36,000
And that, Lord,

1917
01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:38,000
when we hear your voice,

1918
01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:40,000
we would be obedient.

1919
01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:42,000
God, we know the standard, we know the guideline.

1920
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:44,000
You said be generous.

1921
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:46,000
Lord, you even told us

1922
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:48,000
if we give sparingly,

1923
01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:50,000
we'll reap sparingly. If we give generously, we'll give

1924
01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:52,000
generously, Lord. And we know that's not just

1925
01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:54,000
our money, Lord. We know that it's our time and our talent,

1926
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:56,000
everything, God.

1927
01:04:56,000 --> 01:04:58,000
But, Lord, it does include

1928
01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:00,000
our finances. And so just help us

1929
01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:02,000
trust you, God. Help us trust you.

1930
01:05:02,000 --> 01:05:04,000
That, like

1931
01:05:04,000 --> 01:05:06,000
the Macedonian church, Lord, we would be

1932
01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:08,000
eager and excited to be

1933
01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:10,000
a part of what you're doing, God. Even

1934
01:05:10,000 --> 01:05:12,000
if we're in a place of what

1935
01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:14,000
Paul called extreme poverty for them.

1936
01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:16,000
Because,

1937
01:05:16,000 --> 01:05:18,000
Lord, you love a cheerful

1938
01:05:18,000 --> 01:05:20,000
giver.

1939
01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:22,000
Because, God, you are a cheerful

1940
01:05:22,000 --> 01:05:24,000
giver.

1941
01:05:24,000 --> 01:05:26,000
And when we're generous the way

1942
01:05:26,000 --> 01:05:28,000
you're a generous God,

1943
01:05:28,000 --> 01:05:30,000
we know in your word it pleases you.

1944
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:32,000
It blesses you.

1945
01:05:32,000 --> 01:05:34,000
It reflects your nature,

1946
01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:36,000
your character, God, that you gave everything,

1947
01:05:36,000 --> 01:05:38,000
that you gave your very life, that we would have

1948
01:05:38,000 --> 01:05:40,000
eternal life, that we would be saved,

1949
01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:42,000
Lord. What a message the world needs to hear.

1950
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:46,000
But, God, it's a difficult message to get out

1951
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:48,000
when we're being stingy people.

1952
01:05:48,000 --> 01:05:50,000
And so, Lord,

1953
01:05:50,000 --> 01:05:52,000
we trust you with what you've given us, Lord.

1954
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:54,000
Some of us have a lot. Some of us have a little.

1955
01:05:56,000 --> 01:05:58,000
And, God, it's between us and you.

1956
01:05:58,000 --> 01:06:00,000
And what we're gonna do, Lord,

1957
01:06:00,000 --> 01:06:02,000
so speak to us, God.

1958
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:04,000
Speak to us that we would be

1959
01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:06,000
people that are reflecting your nature and your

1960
01:06:06,000 --> 01:06:08,000
will, God, and that, yeah, Lord, we would be in a

1961
01:06:08,000 --> 01:06:10,000
place to experience your blessing, Lord.

1962
01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:12,000
We welcome that. We receive that.

1963
01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:14,000
And, Lord, through

1964
01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:16,000
that, bless our lives individually.

1965
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:18,000
Bless our church. Lord, bless the work

1966
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:20,000
of your church here at Hosanna and every church,

1967
01:06:20,000 --> 01:06:22,000
Lord, that would follow your will and your word

1968
01:06:22,000 --> 01:06:24,000
when it comes to these things, Lord, that we would be

1969
01:06:24,000 --> 01:06:26,000
able to not just

1970
01:06:26,000 --> 01:06:28,000
get by, but, Lord,

1971
01:06:28,000 --> 01:06:30,000
really to move forward in accomplishing your work

1972
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:32,000
and your will, God.

1973
01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:34,000
That we would truly be able to feed more people

1974
01:06:34,000 --> 01:06:36,000
and help more people and

1975
01:06:36,000 --> 01:06:38,000
bless more people and to give to more

1976
01:06:38,000 --> 01:06:40,000
people and, God, to really get

1977
01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:42,000
out and to be loving and practically

1978
01:06:42,000 --> 01:06:44,000
ministering, God, all for the sake of the Gospel.

1979
01:06:46,000 --> 01:06:48,000
But, Lord, we do readily

1980
01:06:48,000 --> 01:06:50,000
admit and accept, Lord, that there

1981
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:52,000
are some expenses and overhead

1982
01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:54,000
that come with all of that, God, and so, Lord, just

1983
01:06:54,000 --> 01:06:56,000
speak to us individually.

1984
01:06:56,000 --> 01:06:58,000
Every single person in this church, Lord, speak

1985
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:00,000
to their heart that they would

1986
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:02,000
hear your voice and be obedient in this

1987
01:07:02,000 --> 01:07:04,000
and experience the blessing you have for

1988
01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:06,000
them. Lord, we love you.

1989
01:07:06,000 --> 01:07:08,000
We thank you, God.

1990
01:07:08,000 --> 01:07:10,000
Bless us, Lord,

1991
01:07:10,000 --> 01:07:12,000
as you are blessed.

1992
01:07:12,000 --> 01:07:14,000
In Jesus' name we pray.

1993
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:42,000
Amen. Let's worship, guys.