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Good morning, I'm going to give you New Testament scriptures on tithing besides the one in Hebrew

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7. So real quickly, our first message, we talked about all giving should be motivated by love.

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If it isn't, the giving's of no value to God. There is a principle, what we love is what

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we give to. We'll give our time to it, we'll give our money to it, whatever. And what is

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the tithe? We talked about that in the first message. It's 10%. That's what the word

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means. So what is the purpose for the people tithing

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and giving financially? To return to God what is actually His, and I haven't shown you that one

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in Scripture yet. To supply for God's work on earth, I'm going to show you that this morning.

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To test our hearts, I've told you that one already. It comes out of Corinthians.

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And number four, to provide a way that opens an avenue of blessing and prosperity in every way,

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including financial, for believers. I'm going to show part of that to you this morning.

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Haven't touched it yet, but I'm going to give part of that this morning.

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Second message, the three main ways of giving. Tithe's offerings and alms.

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Won't go any deeper than that. It's in that second message.

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Where did tithing begin? It's not the law. It's not Moses. It's usually those,

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the people who say, well, we don't have to tithe in the New Testament usually go back

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to the law. We've been set free from the law. Well, we have, but we haven't been set free

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from Abraham's covenant. Thank God. That's where it started.

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And here's the principle we don't want to miss. It started with Abraham. When we are blessed

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spiritually through God's ministers, we are to reciprocate by giving back financially.

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That is a principle of Abraham's covenant. And we love to live in the blessing of

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Abraham's covenant, but to participate fully, we have to embrace the principles of Abraham's covenant

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also, which part of it is choose life, like we talked this morning, but also reciprocating on

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the blessing financially. I've shown that to you four places now. One in the Old Testament,

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three in the New Testament. So, giving back for the church, the local church, it's the tithe.

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The tithe belongs to the local church, the 10%. I'll show that to you. I don't know if, well,

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yeah, I will point it out this morning even. For other ministers and other settings, it's offerings.

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We don't give the tithe to other ministers and other settings. We give the tithe to the church we

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are part of and we're working in. Offerings go to them. Oms goes to the needy, the poor. That's

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Oms, not tithes. That's Oms. So, the third message, we talked about the four big covenants,

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Noah's, Abraham's, Moses, Jesus. We talked about which is still in effect, which is all three,

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not Moses, but the three others. And we gave you numerous scriptures on that.

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Through Abraham's covenant and Jesus being in the order of Melchizedek, this is Hebrew 7.

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Abraham tithed to Melchizedek in the same way that Melchizedek and Jesus,

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because Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek, according to Hebrew 7, the same way they're

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both declared to be alive. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, we tithed to Jesus. Melchizedek and

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Jesus in this picture are one and the same. Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek. And again,

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I remind you, because this is huge, it all flows in the principle when we're spiritually blessed,

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we're to reciprocate on that. The last thing we briefly touched was where does the church

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get its funding? Ties and offerings. Now I'm going to directly show that to you this morning.

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But before we go there, Walt, would you come join me? Walt was so kind, we were supposed to do this

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last Sunday, and then the Holy Spirit changed, we went a different direction. So he agreed to

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come and share this morning of tithing in his life and his experience. Yes, thank you.

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So I got a few notes. Can I stand up here? You can. Yeah, especially if you need something to

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put your notes. Yeah, thank you. Okay, tell me if the mic's okay or if I'm too close or too far.

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Don't practice this too often. So I started out with tithing. Just, you know, a little kid,

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mom gives me an envelope coin dollar bill. I thought, well, that's cool. I don't get it.

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You know, but I guess whatever. And, you know, I started to follow hard after God in high school,

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but the tithing thing never really kicked. It just, you know, I was aware of it,

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but it just didn't kick. And in my 20s, it finally occurred to me, well, maybe I should

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put some money aside to make this easier, because when I found that people had needs,

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if I didn't have it already aside, it was hard. It was a mental struggle. Oh, well,

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I might need this for food or pills or whatever. And it was just tougher. So I came across the verse,

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1 Corinthians 16, 2. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of

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money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to

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be made. I tried it, and that was my first step towards making it easier. I didn't have to

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have the mental struggles that I did before to have money put aside. Well, I had had a couple

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of examples in my life that helped. We had a guy in church who was a prosperous guy. This was

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back in the 90s. He had five houses, and I'm like, wow, that's nice, you know. But he was

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incredibly generous. He was a youth minister. He did things with confirmation in this

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particular church. He rented one of his houses to college students that had an indoor pool and a

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hot tub and a trampoline. And he let them use it freely. They didn't have to ask. The college

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students ran the house. Stuff got broken. He didn't get mad. He just fixed it. He was

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one of the most joyful people in giving I'd ever met. And it influenced me because I got to

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receive from this guy. I'd take some kids from my neighborhood and say, hey, let's go jump on the

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tramp. Let's go swim in the pool. Yeah, are you sure? Yeah, he's not here. It's okay. It was

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unbelievable. I just was stunned at his generosity. And you know, he paid the price sometimes.

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But anyway, the next person that influenced me was a single mom that I did work for. I'm a

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very poor. And she basically told me this. She was a Christian single mom. She said, when we don't

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have anything, any money, we paid all the bills, you know, kind of like the widow with the two coins,

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we will go out and pick raspberries and we will give them to people. We will find a way.

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I was floored. I'm like, wow, you don't have any excuses anymore when you meet somebody like

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that. So then we were struggling quite a bit through the nineties in the early 2000s. And

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a family that we ran into, Christian family, we were driving illegally, we were having more kids.

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And the vehicle we had wasn't big enough for all the kids. We didn't have enough, you know,

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seatbelts. So we just like, oh, Lord, what do we do? A family gave us the van we were looking

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for that we couldn't afford. I didn't know these people from Adam. And they just gave it to us.

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And I was stunned, but it started to make an impact on me. Wow. I'm literally, you know,

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seeing what it's like to give that family two more times over 15 years, 20 years,

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out of nowhere would call me up. Hey, we got a 15-pastor van. You need that?

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Well, are you kidding me? It was, we did. We were right at the transition again. And then

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five, 10 years later, they found me again, they had lost track of me. They dug in the internet

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to find me. Hey, we got a SUV. It's, you know, one of those eight passengers. You need it? I'm

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like, really? Three times? So we received. But then we started to give. And we, and that's where

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I really began to see the difference. When I started to give freely,

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I started to see a difference in my heart. And all of a sudden, what was kind of a burden,

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a far away off thing became a joy. And that really changed me because that joy,

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I started to feel God's joy. And for the first time in my life, I understood it's more blessed to

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give than receive. That was life changing and has continued to affect us to this day.

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And ironically, we do a lot of things with cars for people. How'd that happen? Well, you

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know, God works. He's funny. But one of the verses that helped me a lot with the work and putting

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the money aside was Ephesians 4-28. And it says, he who has been stealing must steal no longer,

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but must work, doing something useful with his own hands. And that's where I usually stopped.

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I'm like, yeah, that's probably a good idea. Then there, you know, criminals help them out.

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And I was just trying to figure it out in my head, but I never saw the rest of the verse

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that he may have something to share with those in need. And I heard this guy named Andrew Wamek

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preach that once and he hit the other half of the verse. And I'm like, wow, I just now got a reason

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to work that goes beyond anything I've ever had. It's not just about me. It's not just about my

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family. It's about others too. I actually enjoy working more now than I ever did because

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of that verse. Because if God just opened in that one window, hey, this isn't just about you,

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but it wasn't an obligation. It wasn't a weight. It was a joy. Anyway, so

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one of the things that also impacted me a lot was God's opinion of generosity versus stinginess.

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Proverbs 11-25, a generous man will prosper. He who refreshes others will be himself be refreshed.

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And then I'd see the opposite of that, the stingy ones. A stingy man is eager to get rich

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and is unaware that poverty awaits him. Proverbs 28-22. I saw it in my own family. I saw that

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happen and play out over many decades and I thought, and I have to battle sometimes with

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this person in my family. What are you doing giving to people? What's wrong with you?

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You land to them. You usually had interest. No, I don't. I give. It was a battle,

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but it was a worthy battle because God had taken me to a place outside of my family,

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outside of the way it had been raised to give. So I heard another guy once, I don't know who this

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guy was, but God had blessed him with a lot of riches and this was his phrase. God shovels it

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in and I shovel it out. I'm like, I like that. I like that. So anyway, I kind of feel like that

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with my tithing and giving and et cetera, it seems like a river. It needs to keep flowing

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or it gets stinky like a swamp. But sometimes God will dam it up for a little bit. It'll just

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start to build up and then we'll, well, how come we're not? It's not flowing out. Well,

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each time that's happened, he's had a need that comes that's coming for someone that I don't

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know that I wouldn't have had enough for if we wouldn't have saved up. So I began to just

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trust him and like, he knows what he's doing. He's doing this for a reason. We don't see

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it yet, but it's coming. So anyway, let's see. I wanted to read you a story. Oh, one last verse.

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Psalm 37, 25 to 26. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

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or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely. Their children

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will be blessed. So reality check for our family. There was a time where we've been on every kind

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of welfare there is. Food stamps, cash assistance, section eight, children's museum lets us in because

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we're poor, science museum, you know, you name it, we were on it. It was sad and I hated it.

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I was embarrassed about it, but I was there. And I sincerely believe that God used tithing,

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giving to help us out. In 2013, I've, you know, again, I'm a treacher, I have a business.

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Our business income doubled. And to this day, I cannot figure out or point to any reason why.

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It literally doubled and I figured it out near the end of the year. No storms that were extra.

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I didn't advertise. Nothing. It was a supernatural doubling. But it, you know, he did it.

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There's nothing I can point to but God, but it propelled me. Oh, I got to get more equipment.

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It propelled us into being more efficient and having a better business than we ever would

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have had without that supernatural doubling of income. And it enabled us to give more.

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And I was elated. I'm like, not only are we getting, you know, freer and freer in our own

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lives, but we give more. This is a win-win. So anyway, last story, this is something that

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happened last fall. And basically what happened is in the midst of this giving, there is a battle.

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But in that battle, what I have seen, if you hang in there, it basically works out to be.

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He prepares the table for me in the presence of my enemies. Right in the middle of this

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knocky-flat thing he's providing. And it's stunning because you know it's not accidental.

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So can I share this last story? Okay. So I was having trouble getting paid by a townhome

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complex last fall that we did tree work for. It had been about a month and a half and they

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were making a lot of weird excuses. Things were getting lost. They owed me about, I think

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it was about $8,000. I talked to God about it and got an impression that I should pray with

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Bonnie from Word of Life Church. So I called her and asked her to pray for us.

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Within a day or so, I received a check in the mail from another customer who owed me money

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who I'd forgotten about. It was a giving thing. She was tight and I'm like, you know what? Just

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take care of it when you can. Just don't worry about it. It pops in the day after Bonnie

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prays. I'm like, oh, hey, that was nice. I wasn't even praying about that. So within

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another day or two, the townhome complex board president texted me and told me that

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the check would be coming now. I'm like, ooh. So then another day or two later,

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I did a job for a friend who was normally extremely tight on money. She was a single mom

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of growing kids, did not have income. But another guy that she had known from being a

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kid gave her his inheritance. He gave her a house. He gave her money. For the first

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time in her life, she kind of finally could relax again. So I did a treat job for her,

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you know, trying to be reasonable. And she starts writing the check for $2,000 more than

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she owed me. And I saw her writing out the check and I said to her, I think you wrote

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in the wrong total. She said, no, I didn't. And then I said, you don't have to do

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that. And she replied, yes, I do. I was shocked, you know, because we get tips

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once a while. Maybe, maybe a really, really good tip would be 200 bucks. I mean,

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and that's rare. She gave us 10 times that without even batting an eyelid or flinching.

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I was floored. So anyway, not long after the job, the check from the town home

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complex showed up in the mail. It had taken over two months. It was over.

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Thank you, Jesus. But within a few more days, we got the highest paying

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single address job we have ever done. It was $12,000. We got it done in two days.

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And it enabled us to, we had to save up for something six months later that we

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didn't know how we're going to do. And it was done in a day, you know, two days

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actually. But wow. So anyway, God is good. It is absolutely worth giving.

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And as Holy Spirit leads you, I'd encourage you to give us it sacrificially.

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But here's Leading, the still small voice. And I do notice that he does a lot of

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things spontaneously. We'll be driving down the road and there's a guy with the,

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you know, it was Easter actually, a guy with the tire flat. And my son was with me

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and I said, you know, let's help him. And he goes, hey dad, I want to pay for this one.

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I'm like, yes. Yes. It's starting to sink in. Amen. Thank you. That's awesome.

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Just to reference something because I'll say it at the end, I think, let us not grow weary and

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while doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart. That is

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absolutely true in financial giving and tithing. You don't always get the return the first day.

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So let's talk about tithing in the New Testament and finish this thought.

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We're going to look at other scriptures on tithing in the New Testament.

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It did come through the cross unchanged and if I get time I'll show you some, you know, you get

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online and you got social media and you got these clips of people who are saying the opposite

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and they don't give scripture for it, they just say it. And it gets a little bit aggravating

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and frustrating to me because tithing did come through the cross unchanged through Abraham's

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covenant and then scriptures I'm going to show you this morning. So I'm going to go a little

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bit quick because we got a lot to cover. So put your thinking caps on. The New Testament approaches

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it from this perspective. Tithing is expected. I mean that's just how it approaches. Nothing

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has changed. It came through the cross unchanged. For instance you say well it doesn't talk about

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it a lot. Well you'll be surprised this morning you're going to see something you may have

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never seen before. But let me ask you this. The seven days of creation where do you find

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that in the New Testament? Seven days of creation. Where do you find that in the New Testament?

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Do you still believe it? It came through the cross unchanged. The Old Testament describes it.

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New Testament doesn't even talk about it. But yet today the seven days of creation are as true

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as when Moses wrote about them. So it doesn't have to talk a lot about the seven days of

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creation. It just expects us to believe it. Same thing is true with tithing.

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So I'm going to give you a number of scriptures where Jesus and Paul refer back to the Old

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Testament law to substantiate tithing. Why? Well it started with Abraham then the law was

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added so that the people would understand it and realize they were failing.

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There's the scriptures. We've read these before. The reason for the law is that every mouth would be

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stopped. The whole world made guilty. We get a knowledge of sin. And the purpose of the law

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it was added because of transgression until the seed would come. So there is the

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PowerPoint we looked at previous and you I think you understand that. I changed it a little

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bit just to maybe make it different as far as understanding is concerned. Noah's covenant

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started first. Noah's covenant goes on. It has not quit. Abraham's covenant started after Noah's

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covenant. It goes on. Abraham's covenant led into Jesus' covenant and Jesus' covenant goes on.

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So there's three covenants that are active now. Those three. Moses' covenant was added.

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The law was added until Jesus came. So here's the scripture that says Jesus

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that Jesus was referring to and substantiating tithing to continue. It's Matthew 22.

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What are you teachers of the law and Pharisees? You hypocrites. You give a tithe of your spices,

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mint, dill, and cumin. Okay, stop right there. What is Jesus referring to? You tithe of your

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spices, mint, dill, and cumin. What are you referring to? Tithing. What's the source of

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his information there? The law. In the law they had to tithe everything down to their very spices

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they raised. Okay? And Jesus said, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law.

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So you're tithing on your mint, dill, and cumin, but you're not just, you're not merciful, and you're

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not faithful. He said, you should have practiced the last three. Justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

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And just forget about tithing. What does it say? Without neglecting the first three.

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You keep tithing, but you really need to get into a little bit more justice,

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this mercy, and faithfulness. He didn't say anything there that indicated tithing would stop.

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So, however, from Jesus' perspective here, now remember Jesus, even though Matthew, Mark, Luke,

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and John are in the New Testament side of the book, Jesus is still living under law.

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He has to fulfill it. So he's still there. So people will say, well, Jesus had to say

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the tithing continued because he was still under law. Well, yeah, maybe. You know, I agree with that,

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but I don't think it's the only reason. But let's look at where Paul says tithing has to continue,

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and he's not under the law. First Corinthians 9, Paul describes it. Now, he starts this section

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of Scripture upset. Paul is upset. The reason he's upset is because he and Barnabas were not

23:27.500 --> 23:32.480
being treated the same as the other apostles. They had to work for their living. The other

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apostles were supported by the church. Okay? So he's jumping right in. Am I not an apostle?

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Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

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So he's saying, hey, I'm doing stuff here too, ministering. If I'm not an apostle to others,

23:49.260 --> 23:54.440
yet doubtless I am to you, for you're the seal of my apostleship. He's talking Corinthian church.

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He's the one who founded it. Verse 3, my defense to those who examined me is this.

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Don't I have or don't we, him and Barnabas, have the right to eat and drink? Do we have no

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right to take along a believing wife like Peter and some of the other apostles or disciples

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do? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? We got to work because

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you won't support us. Whoever goes to war at his own expense, nobody. Who plants a vineyard

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and doesn't eat of its fruit? Nobody. Who tends to flock and does not drink of the milk of the

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flock? Nobody. Do I say these things as a mere man or does not the law say the same also?

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Oh, oh, Paul's going to the law to support something here now. That's important.

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Why was the law given? Because the people were missing it and couldn't see it.

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So God opened it up really plain and said, here's what's right, here's what's wrong.

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So he's going to go back to the law and grab some principles

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that, as far as Paul is concerned, are still in effect. They're the blessing principles. They go

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back to Abraham. So for it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle the ox while it

25:18.220 --> 25:28.420
treads out the grain. So is it cows, oxen, God's concerned about? Or is he saying this for our

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sakes? Well, obviously it's for our sakes. It's written that he who plows should plow and hope.

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And he who threshes should thresh and hope. He's talking farmer and renter language here now.

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If you're going to have a herd, you've got the hope it's going to produce little ones and

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produce some income and you'll be able to live by it. And if you've raised grain,

25:50.400 --> 25:54.000
you're going to plow in the spring hoping that you're going to get a crop in the fall.

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If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? Ah,

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the principle. There it is again. That started with Abraham and Melchizedek. Melchizedek blessed

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Abraham and Abraham gave him the tithe. There is the principle. Paul is going all the way

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back to Abraham on that principle. So let's read on. Verse number 11, if we have, we've read that.

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Verse 12, if others are partakers of this right over you, wait a second,

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it's not just a principle, it's a right. When you sow spiritual things, you have the right

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to reap a material harvest. This isn't just a good idea, it's a right. He said if others are using this

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right, can't we use it more? Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure all things

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so that we would not hinder the gospel of Christ. So the principle goes back to Abraham,

27:12.720 --> 27:19.200
he refreshes us on it, and then he talks about the right of that principle going on.

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Let's see. Verse number 13, do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the

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things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?

27:32.560 --> 27:42.120
Stop right there. What's he referring to? He's referring to the law. He's referring to

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Moses covenant, the law. This is how it worked under the law. If you ministered, you ate what was

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brought to the temple. You partook of the offerings that were brought to the temple.

28:00.360 --> 28:06.300
Now he's going to say, even sow. What does that mean?

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The way it worked there, it's got to work here. I want you to clean your bedroom even your closet,

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because you know how young people clean their bedroom. They shove everything in the closet.

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Close the door. Now the bedroom is clean, the closet is a disaster.

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When you throw the word even in, it means this is included. Closets included, okay?

28:35.200 --> 28:42.080
He just said this is how it worked under the law. Even so, so now we're going to transition it to the

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New Testament. The Lord has commanded. This isn't Paul's command. The Lord, Jesus Christ, has

28:49.060 --> 28:53.320
commanded that those who preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel.

28:54.760 --> 29:04.240
This isn't a Paul idea. This is Jesus idea. Now he's referring to the guidelines of the

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Old Testament. How did the temple and the altar in the Old Testament get what they were given to the

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priests? Ties and offerings. That's what he's referring to. And Paul is saying, why isn't this

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being done for Barnabas and I? It's our right. This is how God has set it up to provide for

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ministers. He's showing the tie that's still relevant in the New Testament. So now I'm going

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to show you that deeper here in a second. Jesus referred to the law and said, you've got to keep

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tithing. Well, now we know it's New Testament because Paul refers back to the law and says,

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the ties and the offerings is what they made their living by. And the Lord in 1 Corinthians 9,

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verse number 14 said, and it's supposed to happen the same way in the New Testament.

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The Lord has made the command, if you're going to preach the gospel, you should live from that gospel.

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So now before we go back and catch the details on this, let me give you a little history lesson.

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You've got the 12 tribes of Israel. Each one was named after Jacob's sons. Abraham,

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Isaac, Jacob, then Jacob had 12 sons. The tribe of Levi is where we get what's called

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the Levites in the Old Testament. They were the ones who took care of all the physical things that

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had to be done with the tabernacle and then later the temple. Moses and Aaron came from that tribe,

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the Levites. They were brothers. Moses and Aaron were brothers. They came from that tribe,

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Levi tribe. God specifically chose Aaron's lineage to be priests. Everybody else in

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the Levi tribe were responsible for taking care of the tabernacle and the temple and

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you know making sure everything's working and clean and etc. So with that in mind,

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now we're going to go back and look at what in the world was Paul referring to

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when he said, well this is how it works and this is how it's supposed to continue to work.

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We're going to go back to Numbers 18. Now it's also found in Deuteronomy 18,

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but it's a shorter version there. It's just five verses. In Numbers 18 most of the chapters

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devoted to it, as you can see, verses 8 through 32. And the only way you're going to get this

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is we got to read the whole thing. So go with me. We're going to go in a hurry.

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The Lord said to Aaron, who is Aaron, he is the one who is the priest and his lineage we became priests.

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I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me. All the holy offerings. Now there's

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something I want to point out right there. When it comes to giving the tithan offerings

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to God, they are holy. They have to be handled holy. You want to get in trouble as a church.

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You want to get in trouble as a minister. Start abusing the money.

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And it will always come back and bite you because the tithe and the offerings to God are holy. He says

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it over and over and over. Anyway, all the holy offerings the Israelites give me, I give to you

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and your sons as your portion and your regular share. So he's talking about offerings here now,

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not tithe yet. He's talking about offerings. You are to have the part of the most holy

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offerings that is kept from the fire because they were sacrifices. They were animal sacrifices.

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From all the gifts they bring me as holy, as most holy offerings. He says it again.

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Third time, he said, holy. Whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and

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your sons. What part? The first part. He said, I'm giving it to you. Whatever gets burnt in

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the offering, well, that's gone. What's left over? I'm giving it to you. From all the gifts

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they bring me, the most holy offerings. That part belongs to you and your sons. Eat it as something

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most holy. Boy, treat it as holy. Every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

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Not did we catch the holy part yet. Moving on. This also is yours. Whatever is set aside from

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the gift of the wave offerings of the Israelites, that was a different kind of offering.

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I give this to you and your sons and your daughters as your regular share.

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Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat of it. I give you all the finest

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olive oil, all the finest new wine and grain. They give the Lord, they give the Lord as first

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fruits of their harvest. Now that's what Kai was talking about with his question a few weeks back.

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First fruits. And we described that already. Here he's talking about it. So any offerings

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that came in, whatever didn't get burned up in the fire as a sacrifice, belong to the priests and

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Levites. Any first fruits that came in belong to the priests and Levites. Given to God,

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God gave it on to them. Verse 13, all the land's first fruits that they bring to the Lord

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will be yours. All of it. Didn't have to waste any of the olive oil and pour it on the fire

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and make it burn. They could keep it all. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat

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of it. Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord, depends upon what translation you read,

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says holy to the Lord is yours. The first offspring of every womb, this is still first

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fruit stuff he's talking about. Both man and animal that is offered to the Lord is yours.

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Every firstborn of every womb was God's. You must redeem every firstborn son because you can't put them

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in the fire. So you got to buy them back. Guess what that's a picture of? Us getting bought back

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and not being thrown into the fire of hell. And every firstborn male of unclean animals you have

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to redeem. Why? Because you can't sacrifice an unclean animal on the altar. God doesn't want it.

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So you got to buy that worth back. Deuteronomy 14 explains that. When they are a month old,

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you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver according to the

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sanctuary shekel which weighs 20 garas. Now, I just heard somebody in a short the other day say

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everything in the Old Testament that was a tithe was either grain or an animal.

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Well, apparently you're not reading the whole thing because right there it says silver

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was used to redeem and buy back. Well, where did the silver go?

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Presley bites. Got your thinking kept on. Good. Let's keep moving. But you must not redeem

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the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat. You have to sacrifice them. They are holy.

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Sprinkle their blood in the altar, burn their fat as an offering made by fire and aroma pleasing

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to the Lord. Their meat is to be yours just as the breast of the wave offering and the right

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thigh are yours. So certain parts of the animal were sacrificed, were burnt on the offering

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or burnt on the altar. Other parts went to the priests and the Levites.

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Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings. Well, he just keeps saying it. Everything

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that has to do with tithes and offerings is holy. The Israelites present to the Lord and I give

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to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. So when you bring your tithes and offerings

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are you giving them to me, to word of life, to pastor eager? Who are you giving them to?

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You're giving them to God. Everything that the Israelites present to the Lord.

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The attitude is I'm giving this to God and he will watch over it and reward you accordingly.

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You're not giving it to the church. I had one guy one time say he needed help in his business

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and he wanted me to buy in. He said we've been coming to the church and giving you money for

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years. Can you help us with this? And I thought well your first mistake was you weren't

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supposed to be giving any money to me. It goes to the Lord. It's an everlasting covenant

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of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring. So what in the world is a covenant of

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salt? Because when you bring those holy offerings, we're not talking tithes, we're talking offerings

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now, it ties into a covenant. Well that's why you got to have some reference books. You can

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made with Israel concerning sacrifices they were to offer forever so that this one never

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ended, this covenant of salt. In Palestine and surrounding countries salt was used in making

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covenants and if a person ate food with salt in it together with another person they became

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friends though they may have been enemies before. Friends is the term speaking of you're

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covenant with that person now. So if there was somebody you didn't like and they invited you

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over and gave you a meal and had a bunch of salt, even though they were your enemy now

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you're in covenant with them. So you had to watch closely what you ate what with.

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The Arab expression is there is salt between us or he has eaten of my salt

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which means partaking of the hospitality of another person cements that covenant that friendship.

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Covenants were generally confirmed at sacrificial meals and salt was always present.

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The covenant of salt pictured the everlasting friendship between God and his people.

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And what did Jesus say in John 15?

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Yeah he said that which is ties back to this covenant.

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We're the salt that's part of what what we're supposed to do here but in John 15 he said

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you are my friends if you do whatever I tell you to do there's a qualifier

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well I'm a friend of God that means you're doing everything he told you to do

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well no not everything you're not a friend of God.

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Jesus said you're my friends if you do if you obey me if you do everything I tell you to do

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he's referring back to this covenant covenant of salt or it could be part of what he's

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referring back to. So I knew you would have questions on that so I thought well let's

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read it. Verse 20 the Lord said to Aaron you will have no inheritance in their land nor

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will you have any share among them I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites

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so the Levites had land in Israel the priests did not Aaron remember Aaron's lineage was the

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priests the priests had no physical land inheritance. Verse 21 I give to the Levites

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all the ties in Israel as their inheritance in return well the Levites were included too here

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according to this scripture in in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting

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I give to the Levites and of course Aaron was over the priests all the ties in Israel

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as their inheritance because they didn't have physical land given to them in return for the

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The work they do while serving at the tent or at the temple.

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Now we're talking tides.

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From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences

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of their sin and die.

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In other words, if you're not tithing, don't go close to where God's presence is, because

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in the Old Testament it would kill you.

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Aren't you glad you're in the New Testament?

41:46.660 --> 41:49.740
Or we'd have a really thin crowd this morning.

41:53.310 --> 41:58.190
It is the Levites who do the work of the tent of meeting and bear the responsibilities for

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offenses against it.

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In other words, breaking things, fixing things, whatever.

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This is the last ordinance for the generations to come.

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They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.

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Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes, that the Israelites present

42:16.830 --> 42:18.230
as an offering to the Lord.

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So the tithes are given to the Lord.

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The Lord says, I give them to the Levites.

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Part of the Levites was, you'll see it here in a second, he breaks it out.

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This is why I said concerning them, they have no inheritance among the Israelites.

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The Lord said to Moses, speak to the Levites and say to them, when you receive from

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the Israelites the tithe I give to you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth

42:44.200 --> 42:48.200
of that tithe as an offering to the Lord or as the Lord's offering.

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So the Levites, the one who did the work at the temple and the tent, received the tenth

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from the people of that tenth, they had to pull out a tenth.

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What for?

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The Lord said, oh, in this way, my mistake, in this way, you will also present an

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offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites.

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From the tithes, you must give the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest.

43:18.200 --> 43:25.500
You must present to the Lord's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.

43:26.360 --> 43:34.180
The Israelites tithe to the Levites, the Levites tithe from what they got to the priests.

43:36.000 --> 43:41.280
Verse 30, say to the Levites, when you present the best part, it will be reckoned to use a

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product of the threshing floor or wine press.

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You and your household may eat of the rest of it anywhere.

43:45.580 --> 43:50.360
For it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.

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That's where Paul is saying, it's my right.

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I ministered to you spiritually.

43:59.120 --> 44:06.620
You, by right, need to give the tenth for the support of the ministry.

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And in the Old Testament it was, and if you don't, make sure you don't go to church because you'll die.

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Don't go to the tent to meeting. Stay away.

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Because if you're not doing this, the presence of God will kill you.

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Why? Because the tithe and the offering is a holy thing.

44:32.890 --> 44:34.930
It's your wages for the work you're doing.

44:35.150 --> 44:38.110
By presenting the best part of it, you will not be guilty in this manner.

44:39.070 --> 44:40.650
Holy offerings being made.

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So now let's go back to Paul again.

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Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple and those who serve at the altar partake in the offering of the altar?

44:52.370 --> 44:55.410
What's he talking about? We just read it to you.

44:59.020 --> 45:00.620
Offerings and tithes.

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Even so, the way it worked back there, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

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Paul is directly stating that ministers in the New Testament are to make their living from the tithes and offerings just like the priests and Levites did in the Old Testament.

45:21.300 --> 45:27.080
And all the various laws, Israel and the land, you know, inheritance, tithes, they're boohoo laws.

45:27.700 --> 45:33.000
Paul doesn't touch any of them. In fact, he's against a lot of them. He says that doesn't apply anymore.

45:33.660 --> 45:36.340
They don't apply to the church. He doesn't deal with that.

45:36.340 --> 45:45.060
But the part that does apply is how ministers, those who minister the holy things, those who serve at the altar are given their living.

45:46.500 --> 45:51.440
And the church, the temple, is funded by the tithes.

45:52.960 --> 45:57.220
So someone's going to ask, but Pastor, isn't the temple the individual believers in the New Testament?

45:57.520 --> 46:01.000
Well, it can be, but it also speaks of the corporate body.

46:02.980 --> 46:08.440
In verse 13, which we just read, and I'll go back to it.

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Do you not know that those who minister the holy things, eat of the holy things of the temple?

46:15.780 --> 46:22.400
He's not talking about a one person thing there. He's talking about the corporate body, the church.

46:23.200 --> 46:28.660
So let's go back to where we were. See if I can find it.

46:31.490 --> 46:35.290
So let me give you some scriptures on this.

46:35.570 --> 46:39.230
Verse 13 that we just looked at isn't referring to an individual.

46:39.450 --> 46:42.710
It's referring to someone who works at the temple in the Old Testament.

46:43.030 --> 46:45.750
And Paul is saying that's equal with the church in the New Testament.

46:46.390 --> 46:50.690
Barnabas and I, Corinthian church, you need to be supporting us.

46:52.330 --> 46:55.510
Okay? Scriptures that refer to the corporate body as a temple.

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I won't read through them just for sake of time.

46:58.570 --> 47:01.690
Here the word you is plural in the Greek.

47:02.110 --> 47:04.810
I always thought that was speaking of a person.

47:04.990 --> 47:10.970
And it can be, but technically it's speaking of plural, which is the church community.

47:11.870 --> 47:18.650
Ephesians chapter 2 19 to 22, Paul describes believers as built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets

47:18.650 --> 47:23.630
in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple.

47:23.770 --> 47:25.950
So he's obviously talking about the church there.

47:25.950 --> 47:33.990
In 1 Peter 2, Peter talks about us as being like living stones each one of us built up into a spiritual house.

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Or Paul would have called that the church.

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2 Corinthians 6 16, we plural are the temple of the living God.

47:44.510 --> 47:45.710
So I want to repeat it.

47:46.310 --> 47:51.130
Paul is directly stating here that ministers in the New Testament are to make their living from ties and offerings

47:51.130 --> 47:53.630
just like the priests and the Levites did in the Old Testament.

47:53.630 --> 47:57.390
And the temple in the church is funded by ties and offerings.

47:57.810 --> 47:58.970
The point is this.

47:59.350 --> 48:06.850
Paul and Jesus drew on the description that the law gave to us to tell us that tithing still exists.

48:08.390 --> 48:09.910
Did you see that?

48:10.130 --> 48:11.170
What Paul just said.

48:11.270 --> 48:12.250
Jesus did it in Matthew.

48:12.530 --> 48:15.850
Paul just went back there and said, here's the offerings.

48:16.130 --> 48:16.890
Here's the ties.

48:17.250 --> 48:18.670
Here's what it was used for.

48:19.010 --> 48:21.010
It's still supposed to be being done.

48:21.010 --> 48:23.310
Why is it not being done for Barnabas tonight?

48:24.650 --> 48:29.490
He went to the law to make his point to describe to them what they should be doing.

48:30.230 --> 48:31.390
Did you see it?

48:32.670 --> 48:32.770
Okay.

48:33.710 --> 48:35.150
Another aspect of this verse.

48:37.210 --> 48:40.890
Those who we read verse 13 verse 14.

48:42.270 --> 48:43.570
He's quoting Jesus.

48:43.850 --> 48:44.790
Just another thought.

48:45.430 --> 48:47.570
Even so, hath the Lord ordained.

48:48.390 --> 48:50.170
Well, I wonder where he's getting that.

48:50.170 --> 48:52.410
Now is that something the Lord personally shared with him?

48:52.790 --> 48:57.230
It might be coming out of that verse that we looked at in Matthew.

48:57.910 --> 48:59.510
Or it might be coming out of this one.

49:00.150 --> 49:02.290
Jesus said, as you go, preach.

49:03.550 --> 49:05.490
Saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

49:06.210 --> 49:07.690
Here is spiritual ministry.

49:08.670 --> 49:09.550
Heal the sick.

49:10.090 --> 49:10.830
Cleanse the lepers.

49:11.190 --> 49:12.050
Raise the dead.

49:12.470 --> 49:13.430
Cast out demons.

49:14.190 --> 49:15.350
Just minister.

49:16.810 --> 49:17.870
There is the ministry.

49:19.270 --> 49:21.130
Freely you've received, freely give.

49:22.310 --> 49:22.790
Now notice.

49:23.930 --> 49:27.330
Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts.

49:28.770 --> 49:31.850
The worker is worthy of his food.

49:32.370 --> 49:37.190
Amplified says, for the workman deserves his support, his living, his food.

49:38.430 --> 49:38.710
Huh.

49:39.350 --> 49:43.710
Well, maybe that's the verse that the thought that Paul was referring back to and saying,

49:43.810 --> 49:46.030
well, even Jesus said that.

49:46.030 --> 49:49.310
I want you to see something there because somebody is going to bring it up.

49:51.210 --> 49:52.870
Freely you've received, freely give.

49:52.990 --> 49:54.990
Well, doesn't that mean you should work for free?

49:55.370 --> 49:55.470
Nope.

49:56.690 --> 49:58.570
Or he's contradicting the next verse.

50:00.550 --> 50:05.370
Why would he say work for free and then say the worker is worthy of his food or his wages?

50:08.570 --> 50:11.150
But somebody is going to bring it up so I felt I had to address it.

50:11.950 --> 50:12.950
So what does that mean?

50:14.170 --> 50:15.930
Freely you have received, freely give.

50:15.930 --> 50:19.450
That has nothing to do with you getting your living from tithes and offerings.

50:20.690 --> 50:26.690
It's talking about don't charge someone for preaching to them, healing them, raising the dead or casting out demons.

50:29.670 --> 50:35.310
What the anointing and the gifts and the covenant has given to us, me.

50:35.490 --> 50:36.550
I'll use me as an example.

50:37.550 --> 50:39.070
I am to freely give.

50:40.290 --> 50:45.830
Once I say, I will pray for you if you give me $100 donation.

50:46.990 --> 50:48.330
I have not violated that.

50:52.810 --> 50:54.270
Boy, they do this on TV.

50:54.430 --> 50:56.990
They did. I don't watch it much anymore because it aggravated me.

50:57.470 --> 51:00.050
But they do this and did this on TV a lot.

51:00.230 --> 51:04.890
If you'll send in an offering of $500, we will pray for you every day for the next week.

51:05.470 --> 51:06.310
What if I don't?

51:07.690 --> 51:08.850
Or we're not going to pray for you.

51:11.610 --> 51:16.230
You received the ability to minister spiritually freely.

51:16.710 --> 51:19.610
You cannot tie a dollar value to it.

51:20.430 --> 51:23.350
And say, we'll cast demons out of you, but this looks like a big demon.

51:23.490 --> 51:24.710
We need a thousand for this one.

51:26.650 --> 51:28.310
Might take us longer than normal.

51:29.650 --> 51:30.490
Can't do that.

51:31.630 --> 51:32.530
That's no.

51:33.410 --> 51:34.870
The ability was freely given.

51:35.430 --> 51:36.690
We have to minister freely.

51:36.690 --> 51:38.470
Don't charge people.

51:39.390 --> 51:41.610
They're obligated already.

51:44.900 --> 51:46.220
Don't miss this part.

51:46.940 --> 51:52.680
Paul said it's our right to receive finances from you.

51:53.220 --> 51:56.780
They are obligated already by Abraham's covenant,

51:57.400 --> 52:01.220
Moses' covenant, which Paul and Jesus both just referred to.

52:10.190 --> 52:12.250
I'll just let that soak just a little bit.

52:16.900 --> 52:21.080
When I counsel people, I do not charge them.

52:22.560 --> 52:24.540
I feel I'm violating that principle.

52:26.460 --> 52:30.700
I don't need their money to live because you're tithing.

52:33.360 --> 52:34.800
You're obligated to tithe.

52:35.540 --> 52:37.320
It's my right to collect that.

52:38.840 --> 52:40.280
Now here we use it for the building.

52:40.560 --> 52:41.420
We use it for outreach.

52:41.940 --> 52:44.340
We use it to pay for the expenses to go to Red Lake.

52:44.340 --> 52:47.360
We use it for everything to make everything function.

52:47.720 --> 52:50.400
But the principle is, if you're tithing,

52:50.540 --> 52:52.080
I don't have to charge for counseling.

52:53.420 --> 52:55.440
And I shouldn't charge for counseling.

52:57.180 --> 52:57.420
Okay?

52:59.580 --> 53:02.960
This is how ministers are supposed to make their living.

53:04.900 --> 53:06.660
They're not to provide for themselves.

53:07.440 --> 53:08.440
That's what Paul's quoting.

53:10.280 --> 53:12.180
So that verse again,

53:14.380 --> 53:16.480
that's how they made it under the law.

53:16.740 --> 53:18.000
And Jesus said,

53:18.240 --> 53:20.560
and you make it the same way today.

53:20.900 --> 53:24.260
If you preach the gospel, you should make your living from it.

53:24.300 --> 53:25.840
Just like in the Old Testament.

53:26.920 --> 53:28.720
So now just in case you missed it,

53:30.100 --> 53:31.740
where did the tithe go?

53:33.540 --> 53:36.780
To the temple, which New Testament Paul said is church.

53:39.980 --> 53:43.380
Giving to someone in need is not tithing its alms.

53:45.840 --> 53:50.300
Giving to a speaker you went and saw is not tithing its offerings.

53:52.920 --> 53:55.300
Now you can give tithe to the church,

53:55.620 --> 53:57.820
and the church give out money to the needy.

53:58.220 --> 53:58.760
That's great.

53:59.740 --> 54:01.240
But you can't take your tithe,

54:01.420 --> 54:03.220
give it to needy people and say, I tithe.

54:03.360 --> 54:04.880
No, you actually gave alms.

54:05.300 --> 54:06.260
You haven't tithed yet.

54:07.160 --> 54:08.900
Tithe doesn't belong to the needy.

54:10.560 --> 54:14.640
The tithe belongs to those who work and serve at the altar.

54:15.740 --> 54:18.780
This is talking about the place where you go to get your spiritual work done.

54:19.060 --> 54:21.860
The place you're plugged into, connected with,

54:22.240 --> 54:25.660
and do your portion of the work, Ephesians chapter 4.

54:26.020 --> 54:28.100
The body builds itself up in love,

54:28.260 --> 54:31.780
as each part does its work, does its job.

54:31.880 --> 54:32.700
It's talking about the church.

54:32.940 --> 54:35.280
Old Testament was temple, New Testament is church.

54:35.280 --> 54:39.920
Special speakers are never referred to as the body or the church corporate body.

54:41.140 --> 54:42.340
Here's some scriptures.

54:42.920 --> 54:46.300
I won't go over them that talk about the corporate body.

54:47.260 --> 54:49.460
But the head is Jesus,

54:49.980 --> 54:53.480
and it's the group that is held together by each part,

54:53.900 --> 54:57.780
doing its personal work or making its personal supply.

54:58.860 --> 55:04.120
Where do we go to make our personal contribution

55:04.120 --> 55:05.900
of work and supply?

55:07.900 --> 55:09.420
That's where the tithe goes.

55:15.660 --> 55:17.260
If you're tithing to somebody on TV,

55:17.560 --> 55:21.020
I highly doubt you're going and helping them produce that TV broadcast.

55:22.440 --> 55:24.580
You don't do your personal work there.

55:24.680 --> 55:26.420
Verse 16, Ephesians 4 says,

55:26.980 --> 55:29.080
it's where you are personally involved.

55:29.420 --> 55:31.840
So it's not talking about the universal body of Christ,

55:32.060 --> 55:33.680
it's talking about the local body of Christ.

55:34.920 --> 55:38.560
It's the body that grows because of the work of the people.

55:40.160 --> 55:40.540
Okay?

55:44.390 --> 55:45.530
Let me back up.

55:46.510 --> 55:49.910
Application, we are to give our tithe to the local church where we're plugged in,

55:49.990 --> 55:51.650
not some distant church or random speaker.

55:52.710 --> 55:54.230
We can give offerings to them.

55:55.630 --> 55:55.910
Okay?

55:56.230 --> 55:59.510
So now I know I'm past, but I have to finish the thought.

56:00.770 --> 56:03.130
And then we'll quit and pick it up next message.

56:05.610 --> 56:10.710
Paul says it was his right to be supported.

56:11.010 --> 56:12.650
He said, but I have used none of these things,

56:12.710 --> 56:16.030
nor have I written these things that it should be done to me, done so to me.

56:16.770 --> 56:19.950
He says, so in other words, keep the tithe, keep the offering.

56:20.770 --> 56:24.570
I'm not using it, for it would be better for me to die than to have anyone,

56:25.050 --> 56:27.790
than that anyone should make my boasting void.

56:28.170 --> 56:28.990
Ooh, Paul.

56:30.450 --> 56:31.210
Ooh, Paul.

56:32.150 --> 56:36.390
He's got pride about the fact he supports his own ministry.

56:39.230 --> 56:41.550
So he makes another point in his feeling,

56:41.730 --> 56:43.870
for I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of.

56:44.450 --> 56:47.110
For necessity, he has no choice but to preach, he's called.

56:47.590 --> 56:48.830
Necessity is laid upon me.

56:49.050 --> 56:50.390
Yes, woe is me if I don't do it.

56:51.090 --> 56:53.490
For if I do this willingly, I have a reward.

56:53.910 --> 56:58.630
If I don't do it willingly, then I'm messing with the stewardship

56:58.630 --> 57:01.650
and the entrustment that's been given to me.

57:01.990 --> 57:03.670
He said, so what is my reward then?

57:04.850 --> 57:09.210
That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge.

57:10.070 --> 57:14.110
That I may not abuse my authority in the gospel, because he had the right.

57:15.050 --> 57:17.090
Okay, so now I want you to get something here,

57:17.110 --> 57:19.550
because I have to answer this, because somebody is going to bring it up.

57:19.930 --> 57:21.370
So we have to finish the thought.

57:22.350 --> 57:26.390
Paul first was complaining about, you guys are not supporting Barnabas and I.

57:27.090 --> 57:29.030
Now he's refusing to let him.

57:30.070 --> 57:30.550
Why?

57:30.770 --> 57:32.410
Verse 15 says, because he liked to brag.

57:33.970 --> 57:35.190
I don't take money from anybody.

57:36.070 --> 57:36.510
Boasting.

57:36.770 --> 57:41.070
He said himself, I'm not going to let you take my boasting away.

57:42.010 --> 57:43.930
He didn't even realize what he was saying, I bet.

57:45.810 --> 57:48.750
And he felt his reward was to preach the gospel freely.

57:49.110 --> 57:50.490
And I've had people tell me, well,

57:50.850 --> 57:54.010
Paul was obviously more honorable than you.

57:55.290 --> 58:00.270
Because Paul did it free of charge, you expect us to support it.

58:01.250 --> 58:03.310
Yep, that's what I expect.

58:05.510 --> 58:10.030
Now, here is something you probably don't know.

58:12.290 --> 58:17.390
Paul later asked forgiveness of the Corinthian church for doing that.

58:19.370 --> 58:20.950
Because he was wrong.

58:20.950 --> 58:26.130
And someplace between the book of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians,

58:26.590 --> 58:28.890
the Holy Spirit got a hold of him and said,

58:29.690 --> 58:32.330
you need to quit your boasting and being all proud.

58:32.790 --> 58:35.270
You are doing these people an injustice.

58:36.270 --> 58:36.990
You're wrong.

58:38.710 --> 58:39.790
Let me read it to you.

58:40.850 --> 58:42.810
So now we jump to 2 Corinthians.

58:43.190 --> 58:44.370
Here Paul's addressing it.

58:45.630 --> 58:48.810
For did I perhaps make a mistake and do you a wrong?

58:49.630 --> 58:53.970
In debasing and cheapening myself so that you might be exalted

58:53.970 --> 58:56.350
and rich in dignity and honor and happiness

58:57.190 --> 59:01.210
by preaching God's gospel without expense to you.

59:02.010 --> 59:03.510
See, I didn't use my right.

59:04.090 --> 59:06.290
Was that perhaps a mistake or wrong?

59:06.710 --> 59:07.630
Well, let's find out.

59:09.110 --> 59:11.130
Other churches I have robbed.

59:11.970 --> 59:14.070
Oh, so that's how God was looking at it.

59:14.770 --> 59:16.450
Oh, you'll take ties from other churches

59:16.450 --> 59:18.870
so you can keep boasting to the Corinthian church.

59:19.150 --> 59:20.130
You're robbing them.

59:21.530 --> 59:23.650
So he had been talked to.

59:24.510 --> 59:25.910
Other churches I have robbed

59:25.910 --> 59:29.790
by accepting more than their share of support

59:29.790 --> 59:35.050
for my ministry from them in order to serve you.

59:36.170 --> 59:37.490
Notice this verse.

59:38.590 --> 59:41.890
For in what respect were you put to a disadvantage

59:41.890 --> 59:44.690
in comparison with the rest of the churches?

59:44.690 --> 59:47.290
And he had talked about I put you in a bad spot,

59:47.570 --> 59:48.570
disadvantaged you.

59:49.430 --> 59:53.450
Unless it was for the fact that I myself did not burden you

59:53.450 --> 59:55.350
with my financial support.

59:56.650 --> 01:00:00.790
Pardon me for doing you this injustice.

01:00:01.110 --> 01:00:03.650
King James, New King James in NIV says,

01:00:04.170 --> 01:00:06.830
forgive me this wrong.

01:00:10.600 --> 01:00:12.260
Well, Paul earned his own living.

01:00:12.420 --> 01:00:13.080
Yeah, and he was wrong.

01:00:14.700 --> 01:00:17.240
And in the end he apologized for it and said,

01:00:17.280 --> 01:00:17.700
I was wrong.

01:00:18.840 --> 01:00:21.300
I was doing you an injustice.

01:00:23.360 --> 01:00:26.500
So let's answer this question and we'll call it it.

01:00:27.860 --> 01:00:29.680
One translation says disadvantage,

01:00:30.040 --> 01:00:32.360
one says injustice.

01:00:34.200 --> 01:00:35.180
How was it done?

01:00:36.440 --> 01:00:38.660
Well, he was keeping them from seed time and harvest.

01:00:40.660 --> 01:00:44.140
They were being limited in the blessing

01:00:44.140 --> 01:00:48.400
of the covenant of Abraham and Jesus

01:00:49.920 --> 01:00:52.500
because of the lack of exchange.

01:00:52.780 --> 01:00:55.140
The principal, Paul, started the church.

01:00:55.260 --> 01:00:57.010
He was ministering to them spiritually.

01:00:57.860 --> 01:01:01.740
They were obligated to reciprocate financially.

01:01:02.880 --> 01:01:05.720
He was stopping them from doing that,

01:01:05.940 --> 01:01:07.980
which means he was hindering them

01:01:07.980 --> 01:01:12.040
from being able to walk in the blessing associated with that.

01:01:13.140 --> 01:01:14.600
He said, I did you wrong.

01:01:14.780 --> 01:01:18.500
I did an injustice to you by providing my own living.

01:01:18.900 --> 01:01:20.280
First of all, I robbed from others,

01:01:20.320 --> 01:01:21.440
so I'd get enough to live.

01:01:22.880 --> 01:01:25.240
But secondly, you never got the chance

01:01:25.240 --> 01:01:27.960
to participate in the full blessings

01:01:27.960 --> 01:01:29.900
of Abraham's and Jesus covenant

01:01:29.900 --> 01:01:33.560
because I refused to follow what he told us to do.

01:01:35.140 --> 01:01:35.660
Whoo!

01:01:36.800 --> 01:01:37.820
That's heavy stuff.

01:01:41.840 --> 01:01:43.420
So, we'll stop there.

01:01:43.520 --> 01:01:45.200
We've got a few more things to button this up

01:01:45.200 --> 01:01:46.800
as far as the New Testament is concerned.

01:01:48.180 --> 01:01:51.640
So now, between Abraham's covenant and Hebrew 7

01:01:52.380 --> 01:01:56.700
and what Paul just shared and Jesus shared about the law,

01:01:57.000 --> 01:02:00.260
and Paul specifically laid it out in 1 Corinthians 9,

01:02:03.400 --> 01:02:08.260
tithing is absolutely a New Testament truth.

01:02:09.940 --> 01:02:10.820
Principle. Absolutely.

01:02:12.420 --> 01:02:14.000
I mean, you can't get around it.

01:02:15.160 --> 01:02:16.520
Well, why doesn't it talk about it more?

01:02:18.040 --> 01:02:20.540
Why doesn't it talk about the seven days of creation more?

01:02:21.760 --> 01:02:24.480
I mean, there's a lot of topics in the Old Testament

01:02:24.480 --> 01:02:25.520
that are taught there.

01:02:25.820 --> 01:02:26.980
New Testament never touches.

01:02:28.040 --> 01:02:30.440
Why? Because we're just expected to believe them.

01:02:32.600 --> 01:02:33.880
You know, Brother Hagin said this.

01:02:34.000 --> 01:02:35.340
He said, what the Bible says

01:02:35.340 --> 01:02:37.500
and what it doesn't say,

01:02:37.500 --> 01:02:39.460
you can learn as much from either one.

01:02:40.920 --> 01:02:43.220
It says something, you can learn something from that.

01:02:43.820 --> 01:02:47.940
It doesn't say, oh, then you can learn something from that.

01:02:49.240 --> 01:02:50.540
We can learn both ways.

01:02:52.840 --> 01:02:55.440
So in our process of being sifted,

01:02:59.460 --> 01:03:02.100
let me just give you a smidge of advice.

01:03:04.640 --> 01:03:07.000
To tithe takes faith to be obedient.

01:03:08.360 --> 01:03:11.440
Sometimes we can't just jump from zero to the full tithe.

01:03:12.120 --> 01:03:13.640
And God understands that.

01:03:14.140 --> 01:03:15.220
He's not a hard task, Master.

01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:16.700
He gets that.

01:03:19.460 --> 01:03:20.940
What can you afford?

01:03:21.620 --> 01:03:22.800
I haven't gotten to the scripture.

01:03:23.060 --> 01:03:25.320
Walt read it, 1 Corinthians 16, 1 and 2.

01:03:26.360 --> 01:03:28.440
When you come to church on a weekly basis,

01:03:29.960 --> 01:03:32.040
read verse two with one, not just one,

01:03:32.180 --> 01:03:32.980
read verse two with it.

01:03:34.060 --> 01:03:40.000
Have something set aside in proportion it says to your income.

01:03:41.360 --> 01:03:44.420
What is the only thing that we give to God

01:03:44.420 --> 01:03:46.880
that is tied to how much we made?

01:03:48.360 --> 01:03:48.880
Our tithe.

01:03:49.480 --> 01:03:51.080
Offerings are not, alms are not.

01:03:52.000 --> 01:03:53.020
Our tithe is.

01:03:53.820 --> 01:03:55.760
And we already know that tithe belongs

01:03:55.760 --> 01:03:58.280
the local body where you're involved.

01:04:01.920 --> 01:04:03.740
So how do I get there?

01:04:03.740 --> 01:04:06.180
What can you give consistently every week?

01:04:06.320 --> 01:04:06.900
Can you give $5?

01:04:07.760 --> 01:04:08.480
Start there.

01:04:09.460 --> 01:04:10.860
Say, God, I'm starting with five.

01:04:11.020 --> 01:04:12.060
This is already a stretch.

01:04:13.980 --> 01:04:15.240
But I'm starting with five.

01:04:17.720 --> 01:04:18.920
And give it every week.

01:04:20.320 --> 01:04:21.920
We haven't gotten to the scriptures yet,

01:04:22.020 --> 01:04:23.780
but God says, I will give you seed.

01:04:25.840 --> 01:04:28.440
Seed talks of seed time and harvest that you can plant

01:04:28.440 --> 01:04:30.700
so that you can plant the seed

01:04:30.700 --> 01:04:32.680
and then He says, I'll give you your food.

01:04:33.860 --> 01:04:36.060
So He'll give us what we need to plant

01:04:36.580 --> 01:04:39.820
and then He'll give us, well, if we give $5 a week

01:04:39.820 --> 01:04:40.480
we won't eat.

01:04:41.540 --> 01:04:42.420
Go for it.

01:04:42.920 --> 01:04:43.580
Test your faith.

01:04:44.000 --> 01:04:46.160
He will make sure you're eating

01:04:46.160 --> 01:04:48.060
while you're giving the five bucks a week.

01:04:51.340 --> 01:04:52.340
Something will happen.

01:04:52.460 --> 01:04:54.580
You'll get a raise at work, whatever.

01:04:54.880 --> 01:04:55.780
Something will happen.

01:04:56.880 --> 01:04:59.540
Do that for a while and see if it works.

01:05:00.940 --> 01:05:02.620
Because God said, test me in this.

01:05:02.920 --> 01:05:03.460
I'll show you.

01:05:04.780 --> 01:05:07.300
And once it works, up your faith to 10 bucks a week.

01:05:09.280 --> 01:05:12.100
Up your faith to $15 and just start going up.

01:05:13.300 --> 01:05:14.320
What are you aiming for?

01:05:14.400 --> 01:05:15.940
You're aiming for the 10%.

01:05:18.500 --> 01:05:20.100
But you don't have to start there.

01:05:21.140 --> 01:05:21.900
Start small.

01:05:22.420 --> 01:05:25.300
If, like, Walt referred to some people

01:05:25.300 --> 01:05:26.740
who, when they didn't have anything to give,

01:05:26.740 --> 01:05:28.260
they went and picked raspberries and gave them.

01:05:29.740 --> 01:05:33.380
Dr. Cho's church in Korea, which was,

01:05:33.680 --> 01:05:36.160
I don't know where it is now, but for many years

01:05:36.160 --> 01:05:37.640
it was the largest church in the world.

01:05:39.700 --> 01:05:42.220
They had, he claims, and many,

01:05:42.480 --> 01:05:45.020
I've read from numerous government officials,

01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:47.960
South Korea is one of the most

01:05:47.960 --> 01:05:50.540
prosperous countries in the world now.

01:05:53.100 --> 01:05:55.580
He made the statement and then he quoted

01:05:55.580 --> 01:05:58.960
many government officials who said,

01:05:59.280 --> 01:06:02.640
the reason Korea is prospering

01:06:02.640 --> 01:06:05.220
is because of Dr. Cho's church.

01:06:08.200 --> 01:06:10.420
Because the first thing he taught them

01:06:10.420 --> 01:06:11.920
is you got to get into tithing,

01:06:12.000 --> 01:06:12.900
you got to get into giving.

01:06:13.180 --> 01:06:14.660
These people were poor, they had nothing.

01:06:15.980 --> 01:06:18.460
He said for months, you know what we got

01:06:18.460 --> 01:06:19.520
in the offering plate?

01:06:21.760 --> 01:06:22.640
Pretty rocks,

01:06:24.920 --> 01:06:26.580
pretty feathers that they

01:06:27.420 --> 01:06:29.720
had seen, and it's like, oh, I can give that to God.

01:06:32.220 --> 01:06:34.540
Many testimonies of people on the way to church

01:06:34.540 --> 01:06:36.060
saying, I've got nothing to give,

01:06:36.300 --> 01:06:38.340
so they would stop and they'd look in streams

01:06:38.340 --> 01:06:41.220
or they'd drag, they had to give.

01:06:41.740 --> 01:06:44.340
Because he was teaching them, if you give,

01:06:44.940 --> 01:06:46.480
just what we looked at this morning,

01:06:47.040 --> 01:06:49.760
this whole process of the blessing of Abraham

01:06:49.760 --> 01:06:50.500
will get on you.

01:06:52.280 --> 01:06:56.140
And he said, we got nothing but rocks and feathers

01:06:56.140 --> 01:06:59.200
and sticks that had been whittled

01:06:59.200 --> 01:07:02.700
and, you know, stick whittled into a cross.

01:07:03.080 --> 01:07:04.340
There's my offering for the day.

01:07:08.040 --> 01:07:09.340
He said, that's where we started.

01:07:10.460 --> 01:07:11.800
He said, and all of a sudden

01:07:11.800 --> 01:07:13.420
our people started prospering

01:07:13.420 --> 01:07:15.380
and God gave them ideas and inventions

01:07:15.380 --> 01:07:16.240
and businesses.

01:07:17.280 --> 01:07:19.780
And his church grew like mad.

01:07:20.840 --> 01:07:22.800
I mean, the local body

01:07:23.600 --> 01:07:26.000
was well over 50,000 people

01:07:26.000 --> 01:07:28.140
that came through that place in a Sunday morning.

01:07:28.900 --> 01:07:29.940
They had numerous services.

01:07:31.320 --> 01:07:32.840
If my memory is right, they seated

01:07:32.840 --> 01:07:34.360
over 10,000 at a crack.

01:07:35.600 --> 01:07:37.940
Am I right on that? Yeah, I am.

01:07:40.520 --> 01:07:44.380
How did they build a 10,000-seat

01:07:44.380 --> 01:07:47.400
auditorium in all the facilities needed to go with it

01:07:47.400 --> 01:07:49.980
offer rocks and feathers

01:07:49.980 --> 01:07:51.360
and sticks?

01:07:52.980 --> 01:07:55.000
They didn't. Do you know how they built it?

01:07:55.960 --> 01:07:58.280
God began to prosper the people

01:07:58.280 --> 01:08:00.240
and the people kept

01:08:00.240 --> 01:08:02.060
honoring God.

01:08:04.620 --> 01:08:06.420
The number of

01:08:06.420 --> 01:08:08.780
multi-millionaires in his church

01:08:08.780 --> 01:08:10.400
back in the 1980s

01:08:10.400 --> 01:08:12.140
when a million dollars still counted

01:08:12.140 --> 01:08:13.060
for more than it does now,

01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:16.560
it was unbelievable

01:08:16.560 --> 01:08:18.340
the number of multi-millionaires

01:08:18.840 --> 01:08:19.800
in his church

01:08:21.140 --> 01:08:22.180
who started

01:08:24.340 --> 01:08:25.760
with giving something

01:08:25.760 --> 01:08:27.340
we would consider worthless.

01:08:30.690 --> 01:08:32.910
God said, I'll look at that as being holy.

01:08:35.570 --> 01:08:37.390
A grubby little rock you found

01:08:37.390 --> 01:08:39.210
that you polished up and you put in the offering?

01:08:39.490 --> 01:08:40.730
I'm going to call that holy.

01:08:41.950 --> 01:08:44.170
Because what's holy will reproduce

01:08:45.770 --> 01:08:46.650
and multiply.

01:08:50.020 --> 01:08:52.000
We haven't gotten into any of that stuff yet.

01:08:52.180 --> 01:08:54.220
We're just still settling the argument.

01:08:54.640 --> 01:08:56.380
I don't believe tithings in the New Testament.

01:08:57.040 --> 01:08:58.740
And yeah, and you know who usually says that?

01:08:59.480 --> 01:09:00.460
The poor people.

01:09:02.760 --> 01:09:04.100
Just stop and think about it.

01:09:04.780 --> 01:09:06.100
Of all the people who've said that,

01:09:06.140 --> 01:09:07.700
well, I don't believe tithings in the New Testament.

01:09:08.340 --> 01:09:09.660
How much money do you have?

01:09:10.340 --> 01:09:11.620
Well, I barely get by.

01:09:11.740 --> 01:09:14.540
Well, you put the two together.

01:09:15.940 --> 01:09:17.220
Out of your own mouth,

01:09:17.360 --> 01:09:19.100
you just named your own curse.

01:09:20.700 --> 01:09:21.900
Put the two together?

01:09:22.060 --> 01:09:22.880
Let's change that.

01:09:24.020 --> 01:09:25.920
Well, I'm going to just stick with tithing.

01:09:25.980 --> 01:09:26.900
It's not part of the New Testament.

01:09:27.040 --> 01:09:27.700
Well, then stay poor.

01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:28.560
Ain't my issue.

01:09:30.320 --> 01:09:30.980
Your issue.

01:09:37.650 --> 01:09:39.950
So Lord, as we're being sifted

01:09:41.010 --> 01:09:43.030
and as you're getting the chaff

01:09:43.030 --> 01:09:45.170
separated from the things in us

01:09:45.170 --> 01:09:46.490
that really have value,

01:09:48.510 --> 01:09:50.910
help us not to let...

01:09:50.910 --> 01:09:54.210
help us that as we get spiritual opposition,

01:09:54.390 --> 01:09:55.430
our faith doesn't fail.

01:09:56.330 --> 01:09:58.430
I pray what Jesus prayed over Peter.

01:09:58.890 --> 01:09:59.850
I pray over this body.

01:10:00.530 --> 01:10:01.450
There will be opposition.

01:10:01.830 --> 01:10:03.370
I pray their faith does not fail.

01:10:03.790 --> 01:10:05.910
But that they just, by determination

01:10:05.910 --> 01:10:08.210
on the basis of what your word says,

01:10:08.690 --> 01:10:10.850
they just slowly keep walking forward.

01:10:11.450 --> 01:10:14.950
And your word will not return void.

01:10:15.870 --> 01:10:18.230
It will produce in us

01:10:18.230 --> 01:10:19.830
what you've promised it will produce.

01:10:20.250 --> 01:10:22.510
So I pray as, you know,

01:10:22.610 --> 01:10:23.550
as you're shaking us,

01:10:23.670 --> 01:10:26.050
as you're trying to get garbage out of our life,

01:10:26.110 --> 01:10:27.010
it's not supposed to be there.

01:10:28.870 --> 01:10:32.230
That we look beyond our current circumstances

01:10:32.230 --> 01:10:33.430
and our current pain

01:10:33.430 --> 01:10:35.370
and look into the promise and say,

01:10:36.510 --> 01:10:38.270
we're going to do something to change this.

01:10:39.870 --> 01:10:42.330
Because that is the earthly benefit

01:10:42.330 --> 01:10:44.230
of what you asked us to do.

01:10:45.890 --> 01:10:47.110
That's the earthly benefit.

01:10:48.330 --> 01:10:50.010
You want your kingdom funded, yes.

01:10:50.650 --> 01:10:52.350
But for those who are willing to do it,

01:10:52.670 --> 01:10:55.110
you promised you'd open the windows of heaven

01:10:55.110 --> 01:10:57.270
and pour out a blessing they could not contain.

01:10:58.330 --> 01:10:59.810
That's the earthly benefit.

01:11:01.310 --> 01:11:04.050
So I encourage you, God never asked something of you

01:11:04.050 --> 01:11:05.850
that he does not return to you

01:11:07.790 --> 01:11:08.950
multiple times over.

01:11:10.130 --> 01:11:11.710
He just doesn't, that's not how God works.

01:11:13.070 --> 01:11:14.330
So take some of these things,

01:11:14.450 --> 01:11:16.030
think about them, let them soak in,

01:11:16.170 --> 01:11:17.490
and make some determinations.

01:11:17.670 --> 01:11:18.630
Maybe it's a buck a week,

01:11:18.730 --> 01:11:19.830
maybe it's five bucks a week.

01:11:19.930 --> 01:11:21.450
Maybe you can jump right into the tie

01:11:21.450 --> 01:11:22.390
that won't hurt you at all.

01:11:24.190 --> 01:11:25.930
Whatever, just start

01:11:26.650 --> 01:11:28.190
and let the process begin.

01:11:28.810 --> 01:11:28.990
Amen.