His Harvest is Ready

Give All; Get All God

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray

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Series Code: HHR

Program Code: HHR000007


00:24 Tonight's message is one that we want you to give your ear to
00:29 because it is of crucial importance to your physical
00:34 well-being as well as your spiritual well-being.
00:40 It is called: Give All, Get All God!
00:45 Of course the crew always wonders what does Give All,
00:49 Get all God mean?
00:51 We have a sermon coming up called TBA.
00:53 To be announced,
00:55 My producer, Cheryl Volsch, is looking at this and she thought
00:59 TBA meant there was no sermon there and I was going
01:03 I told her no, TBA is going to be the sermon.
01:05 TBA is what the sermon title is, To Be Announced.
01:08 she was wondering what is that all about?
01:11 Well, it's going to be announced on the night of the sermon!
01:15 That is coming up later on this week.
01:17 But this is Give All, Get All God and I'm going to ask you
01:20 to turn with me, if you will, to the book of Isaiah.
01:24 What book did I say?
01:25 Isaiah 55, and before we read the word of God, let's go to God
01:29 and prayer. Father God we love You and we pray now that You
01:33 would help us to understand our study for this evening,
01:37 because it is of importance to us and to Your kingdom.
01:42 And to the work of God. Give us open and receptive minds
01:48 and hearts, and we thank you in Jesus name. Amen and Amen!
01:54 I'm in Isaiah 55:8, 9.
02:29 This then is the word of God.
02:33 Let me make, at the very beginning, an elementary
02:38 and basic statement.
02:40 Here it is: God is not man
02:47 and man is not God, praise the Lord!
02:53 God does not think like we do,
02:57 God does not act like we do,
03:01 God is not moved like we are. His ways are higher than ours.
03:07 His thoughts are purer than ours, His motives are more
03:13 just than ours, and God has a bigger picture of life
03:19 then we do.
03:20 the Bible says, we see now through a glass darkly.
03:25 Most of our opinions are a construct of what we do not know
03:31 as opposed as to what we do know.
03:34 there is so much in the Universe we, as human beings, don't know.
03:40 our opinions are formed by that little bit of knowledge
03:44 that we do know.
03:46 God has a bigger picture, knows all, understands all, sees the
03:52 end from the beginning and as such God's ways, the way He
03:58 deals with us in this Universe is quite at difference or
04:02 variants then the way we deal with this Universe or
04:05 see this Universe.
04:07 God is not mean, Amen! God is not vindictive.
04:15 God is not vengeful. God is not spiteful.
04:21 God, frankly, doesn't behave like we do.
04:26 There are some things that are Divinely ordained,
04:30 that don't make sense to us.
04:33 Oft times, in our Christian experience, you will find
04:37 that God will take you through a series of steps, or a series
04:42 of experiences that don't particularly make sense to
04:47 you, that you don't particularly like, and that perhaps take us
04:52 beyond the comfort zone that we are accustomed to reside in.
04:56 that is why we have a faith factor in our
05:02 Christian experience.
05:03 Successful Christian living it's not only doing those things
05:07 that we see and that we understand, but it is also
05:12 following those commands given to us by God that sometimes
05:16 don't really make sense to us, and that don't add up to us,
05:21 but that we find in retrospect, if we follow God and listen
05:27 to God, and obey God even when it doesn't add up for us,
05:31 that all things indeed worked together for good to them
05:34 that love Jesus and who are called to His holy purpose.
05:39 God adds by subtraction, what did I say?
05:46 God adds by subtraction. Let's go to the book of 1 Kings,
05:52 What book did I say?
05:53 1 Kings 17:11-12.
06:36 That we may eat and die.
06:43 We see here a very abject case, this is a woman who has
06:49 basically given up on life. She is there with her son,
06:55 mentally she has let go, she has resigned herself to
07:02 the obvious reality of the situation.
07:05 I am a widow, I have no husband, my son has no father,
07:12 we have no benefactor, or protector, we have no
07:18 respite and no resources. we are going to eat this last
07:24 little bit of food and then it's over.
07:27 This is our last supper. We will eat it and sustain
07:34 as long as this little bit of food will last.
07:37 Her language alludes to her mental state, it clues us in
07:43 to what is going on in her head.
07:44 We are ready to die!
07:46 She is called, in the word of God, the widow of Zarephath.
07:50 She is not a Hebrew, she is from Zarephath.
07:54 Zarephath is a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast
07:58 about midway between the cities of Tira and Sidon.
08:02 She doesn't know Jehovah well, she doesn't know Elijah at all.
08:11 So here comes this guy, that she doesn't know.
08:17 She is ready to eat her last meal and die.
08:20 He represents a God that she has only heard about,
08:23 doesn't really know well, and this guy appears and says,
08:27 listen, rather than eat your last food, give it to me.
08:33 Does that make sense to you? I've got no husband,
08:39 no resources, my son has no father, we are poor, we are
08:44 destitute, with nothing to eat, we have a little flour,
08:48 and a little oil, I'm going to gather some sticks,
08:51 eat this last supper, lay down and die.
08:55 I have one meal left and here comes some guy, representing
09:00 some God, Who is not even from our country and says,
09:03 wait a minute, give me that food.
09:08 Does that make sense to you?
09:11 But I say again, God adds by subtraction.
09:16 this stranger says, if you give me the food, I promise you
09:25 that your food will never run out.
09:31 Sound plausible to you? Makes sense to you?
09:35 Sound like something you would do?
09:38 I have one slice of bread and somebody knocks on the door.
09:44 And says, give me that bread, and I promise you the next time
09:51 you go into your pantry, bread will be there.
09:53 Excuse me!
10:01 God will see to it that your flour and your oil
10:05 will never run out.
10:10 Give all, get all,
10:14 sounds rather counterintuitive doesn't it?
10:18 It doesn't make sense, does it?
10:20 Yet, God says, all.
10:26 We serve a give all, get all God
10:31 God says when you give all, you get all.
10:37 If you hold back, you don't get.
10:42 God adds by subtraction ladies and gentlemen,
10:46 and He multiplies by division.
10:49 So she took a chance and God honored that faith.
10:53 That flour never ran out, and the oil never ran out.
10:58 She gave all and praise God, she got all.
11:01 God adds by subtraction.
11:04 the book is Matthew, what book did I say?
11:07 I'm in Matthew 14:14, I will give you a second to find it
11:30 Christ is moved with compassion on you and me.
11:34 I've seen this happen enough times that when you come to
11:41 your end, Jesus is at His very beginning.
11:45 Tell you a story, I am going to embarrass my stepson.
11:50 He's right there behind that camera.
11:51 You know in the past year he's got 4 automobiles?
11:55 4 of them, if he could nod, he'd nod.
12:00 Got 4, and he bought none of them.
12:05 God gave him 4 cars.
12:11 4 cars, because he needed 4 cars.
12:15 He got one car, it was a gift, it lasted about a month.
12:21 It died on the road.
12:23 I had to tow it with my truck.
12:27 As that car died, he got another car.
12:30 Then he got a truck with a bad engine.
12:37 Somebody gave him another truck with a good engine.
12:41 He took the truck with the bad engine, he took the
12:45 good engine out of the bad truck and the bad engine out of
12:47 the good truck and now he has a good truck with a good engine.
12:53 Then he got a Buick Park Avenue given to him, then he got
13:01 an Oldsmobile given to him.
13:03 4 cars, because he needed 4 cars.
13:08 He has a wife and 3 children.
13:10 He is here doing the work of God.
13:13 His wife is at home with 3 babies.
13:15 He had no car and God it gave him 4.
13:19 Praise God! One day somebody came to
13:24 3ABN and said here is a 100 dollars give it to Kevin.
13:28 I said, where's mine?
13:36 They said, no give it to him.
13:38 I said okay! and I gave it to him.
13:41 Because he needed it, because he has a wife and 3 children.
13:46 One of them is just 14 months.
13:51 God takes care of His own, and God adds by subtraction.
13:55 Amen! And when you put your hand in hand of God,
13:59 God takes care of you. Amen!
14:05 Verse 21 of that same chapter.
14:16 You know the feeding of the 5000
14:18 5 loaves and 2 fishes.
14:20 Jesus divided and multiplied, He multiplies by division.
14:25 Not only does God add by subtraction, He multiplies
14:29 by division. Praise the Lord!
14:31 We call this the feeding of the 5000 but that may be just a bit
14:36 sexist because there were many more then 5000.
14:40 The 5000 only counts men.
14:42 Now when we are doing calculations at 3ABN
14:45 to try and find how many households we are in,
14:47 we say that every subscription is three households.
14:51 So if you have one subscriber there are 3 people
14:54 in the household, usually a household contains mother,
14:56 father, and we account for one child.
14:58 That's pretty much standard industry.
14:59 So let's add this to this particular story.
15:03 If there were 5000 men, there were at least
15:07 15,000 people there, that were fed.
15:10 That's women and children, minimum 15,000.
15:14 Christ fed them all.
15:17 Multiplication factor of 3, at least 15,000.
15:21 God and God only adds by subtraction and multiplies
15:27 by division.
15:29 Let me say something, everything, everything
15:35 belongs to God. Amen!
15:42 everything, we own nothing!
15:51 How many own their own home?
15:56 Good! Nobody!
15:59 We like to say that we own our own home,
16:01 I own my own house.
16:03 the bank owns your house.
16:05 Unless it is paid for.
16:06 Even if your house is paid for, and you stop paying taxes,
16:10 what does the government do?
16:11 Take your house and sell it for taxes.
16:15 I know a church in New York State, they bought a
16:22 piece of land and they did something so that the
16:25 church became exposed.
16:27 The city sold their church at auction.
16:32 A lady bought a whole Seventh-day Adventist church
16:38 for 25,000 dollars.
16:40 She changed the locks, and locked the Seventh-day
16:45 Adventist congregation out of their own church.
16:47 They sold it for taxes.
16:49 Lady put down 25,000 dollars and owned a Seventh-day
16:52 Adventist church
16:53 So now the church had to buy their church back from this lady
16:57 because they didn't file a simple form with the government.
17:02 She said, I will sell it back to you for 75,000 dollars.
17:07 They got her down, they got her down, but she did make
17:10 a little money.
17:11 So what do we own in this world?
17:14 Nothing! we don't own anything!
17:18 We are truly pilgrims and strangers, it all belongs to God
17:25 Everything belongs to God.
17:27 We own nothing except our character. Amen!
17:32 The only thing you own is your character.
17:35 God said, it all belongs to Him.
17:42 I'm the book of Psalms, what book did I say?
17:44 Psalms 24:1.
18:06 So the houses belong to God, and the land belongs to God.
18:11 The people belong to God, you and I belong to God.
18:17 It all belongs to God, we are truly pilgrims and strangers.
18:23 We are just passing through, this is why you ought not
18:26 set down your roots to deep.
18:27 Wear this earth lightly, I know you have to live,
18:31 you have to work, you have got to eat, we have to support
18:35 our families, but the truth is this earth is passing away.
18:38 So don't get too comfortable down here. Amen!
18:44 The world and they that dwell therein.
18:47 We serve a give all, get all, God and God's got dibbs.
18:53 Now you may not know what dibbs is.
18:56 Dibbs is an intercity thing that we used in Buffalo
18:59 when I was growing up.
19:00 Anybody know what the word dibbs mean?
19:02 Got to be an intercity guy to know what dibbs are.
19:06 Dibbs are claims, you see when you are poor, living in the
19:11 intercity, if anybody got anything, everybody else
19:15 expected them to share it.
19:17 So if you came out with a big candy bar, as a child our
19:22 friends would say, I got dibbs.
19:25 which means I'm claiming a piece of your candy.
19:29 That's what dibbs are.
19:31 dibbs are claims.
19:32 If you were selfish and didn't want anybody to get anything,
19:37 any piece of what you had, you would say immediately
19:41 no dibbs.
19:42 That means, hands off, Candy is mine, you are not
19:47 going to get any.
19:48 But if anybody beat you to it, if they could say, I got dibbs
19:51 before you said no dibbs, you had to share your candy.
19:54 If enough people had dibbs, sometimes you didn't even
19:56 get any of your own candy.
19:58 So I am saying that God got dibbs.
20:02 God has claims on our lives, on every aspect of our lives.
20:08 God's got a claim on us.
20:11 1 Corinthians says, we read it earlier
20:15 and I referred to it in the question and answer period.
20:17 Jesus says, God says you were bought with a price.
20:24 Therefore, glorify God in your body because we belong to God.
20:30 We are signed, sealed, and delivered from sin.
20:33 Humanity then owes it's very existence to our God in heaven.
20:38 Can you say, Amen?
20:40 So we belong to God and everything we have
20:42 belongs to God, and God's got dibbs.
20:45 The book is Haggai, what book did I say?
20:48 Haggai, I will give you just a second to find it because it
20:50 is a little difficult sitting there in the Old Testament.
20:53 Haggai 2:8.
21:08 It all belongs to God.
21:11 The Bible also says, by the way, ladies and gentlemen, it is
21:14 God who gives you strength to get wealth. Amen!
21:17 So don't get caught up in what we call Nebuchadnezzar disease.
21:22 Do you know what Nebuchadnezzar disease is?
21:24 If you don't know I will tell you.
21:26 Nebuchadnezzar disease is a disease that you get a little
21:31 affluent and you began thinking that everything I got is the
21:37 consequent of my labor and I can enjoy it as I please.
21:42 You know you get a new house, the day they give you the key
21:46 you stand outside of your house and say, see that house
21:50 my house, I worked to get that house.
21:56 Or you get a new car, and you stand in front of your car,
22:00 and say, see that car, it's my car.
22:07 I worked to get that car. Or you throw open your closet
22:12 and see all your nice suits and ties, and say, see those
22:16 suits, my suits, I worked to get all that.
22:22 I deserve that.
22:24 You forget that it is God Who gives us the strength
22:29 to get wealth.
22:30 Were God to remove His protective hand from us,
22:34 all of that would be gone, ladies and gentlemen.
22:36 We are to glorify God.
22:38 I know a fellow who is a member, a friend of mine at church,
22:42 who bought a brand-new car.
22:43 told his wife, that is your car this is my car.
22:47 You ride in that car, you don't get to touch that car.
22:50 You know where that car is?
22:52 Back in the shop because the wife said if I don't ride in it,
22:56 we don't own it, took it back. Gone!
23:00 Had another friend, Elder in my church.
23:03 Bought a brand-new Cadillac in 1994 and put a 5000 dollar
23:08 alarm system on it, I didn't know you could buy a 5000 dollar
23:10 alarm system for car.
23:12 They cost 4750 dollars, just at 5000 dollars.
23:15 The alarm system was so sensitive that you didn't even
23:20 touch the car, if you just stood near the car, the car would
23:25 say, "Get back, you're in My space. "
23:29 True story, the car would say, Step back!
23:35 "You are too close. "
23:36 He parked the car in the carport right outside the bedroom window
23:41 His wife told me, Pastor I think if he could get that car in
23:45 the bedroom with us at night, he would bring it
23:46 in the very bedroom.
23:47 Loves that car!
23:49 Do you know where that car is today?
23:52 Well if you know I wish you would tell him because
23:55 he doesn't have a clue.
23:56 He had a 30 days, and they stole it.
24:01 4700 dollar alarm system, kill switch and everything else
24:07 and they came and got it. Stole it!
24:15 They took it, you see how you wear this world loosely?
24:19 because all of these things are going to burn, they are not
24:22 going to be here forever.
24:23 I have lived in New York and Pastored for 30 years
24:26 and I had 3 cars stolen.
24:27 My very first car stolen.
24:29 My second car, you know I bought a, don't tell anybody,
24:33 I bought a sports car.
24:35 I was still single and said I'm going to be married and
24:38 pastoring so I had enough money I bought a 280 ZX.
24:44 I bought it,
24:46 and they stole it.
24:48 The only reason I got it back is because I was visiting somebody
24:53 in the hospital and it was on the empty.
24:55 I said I'm going to make this visit, then I will put
24:58 gas in the car.
24:59 So they stole it while I was in the hospital visiting one
25:00 of my members and it went 3 blocks and ran out of gas.
25:03 So they just abandoned it and left there.
25:05 So they say come get your car, it's 3 blocks down the road.
25:08 It's only reason I still have it.
25:09 Then I bought another car.
25:10 When I was working in the conference office in the
25:13 parking lot with, do you know what a club is?
25:15 That thing you put on, I had a club on it, had a kill switch
25:18 on it, and something to immobilize the pedal.
25:21 11o'clock in the morning, conference office, 20 seconds
25:25 they had it and gone.
25:26 Gone, and my secretary came in, bless her little heart, Maggie
25:31 Rivera, when she got upset she couldn't speak English
25:35 and couldn't speak Spanish.
25:36 She's trying to speak English and trying to speak Spanish
25:38 and she was saying...
25:48 I said Maggie what?
25:49 She said they stole your car.
25:52 took it out of the conference office parking lot, 20 seconds.
25:55 Cut off the club, cut off the thing on the break, disabled
25:59 the kill switch, and gone in 20 seconds.
26:04 So when we talk about it is mine we ought to realize that it
26:08 all belong to God.
26:12 Don't be too upset because the same Lord that got me
26:16 that first car could give me another one.
26:18 God is still good to His people.
26:21 So the Earth is the Lord's, the gold is God's.
26:23 The silver is God's, it all belongs to God and we are
26:27 but trustees, we are stewards. We take care of the things
26:34 that God allows to have, and we give back to God.
26:39 In doing so we are saying thank you to God
26:43 for giving us things.
26:45 It is only fair that when someone gives you a present,
26:48 you say, thank you. AMEN!
26:51 When God gives you the gift of life, you say thank you
26:55 by returning a portion of your life to Him for service.
27:00 Is that unreasonable?
27:01 It is not!
27:03 Everything belongs to God, so if we have control of anything
27:09 they are on loan to us by a God who owns all.
27:14 That makes us not on owners but stewards.
27:18 Control of something that belongs to God.
27:22 I'm in the book of Matthew, what book did I say?
27:24 Matthew 25:14, this is a rather lengthy reading.
27:30 so I'm going to give you a moment to find it.
30:48 A powerful statement!
30:50 A powerful parable!
30:51 One it says this, everybody has something that they can do
30:58 to advance the kingdom of God, will you say, Amen?
31:02 You may not be able to preach or teach, or sing, but God
31:07 has given you something that you can do to lift up Jesus.
31:12 One of your tasks while you are here on earth, is to find
31:17 that thing and employ it for the goodness of God.
31:22 If all you do is come to church and sit and sing, Oh How I
31:29 Love Jesus, you are doing yourself and your God
31:33 a great disservice, can you say Amen?
31:36 There are those who say, well you know what I don't say
31:39 too much on my job about Jesus.
31:41 I just live the life quietly, and I say to you, chicken!
31:52 The Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so!
31:56 If nothing else you can tell what great things God
32:01 has done for you.
32:03 And if you are in Jesus, I guarantee God has done
32:06 a lot for you.
32:07 You can share that and by sharing that you are giving God
32:11 interest on the talent of speech that He has given you. Amen!
32:14 If you can sing, sing for God.
32:17 If you can teach, teach for God.
32:19 If you can preach, preach for God.
32:21 God has given you something to do and if you are doing
32:24 nothing, you are saying God You were not fair to me,
32:26 You didn't give me anything.
32:27 God gives all of us talents.
32:30 Listen, if you use what you've got, God will give you more.
32:36 You may not be the best singer, keep on trying.
32:41 God will help you.
32:42 You may not be the best speaker, keep on trying,
32:45 God will help you.
32:46 You know playing basketball prepared me to preach.
32:48 I don't have fear of audiences, but when I was in high school
32:51 I was a very good practice basketball player.
32:54 excellent in practice, get in the game and freeze.
32:57 The coach would say, Murray why don't you do in the game
33:03 what you did in practice?
33:04 I said, because I get scared.
33:07 He said something to me that stayed with me to this day.
33:11 C. A., nobody cares about you, it's not important, they are
33:18 not looking at you, you are part of the team.
33:20 It is not about you, it's about the team.
33:23 If you do your job, everything will be fine.
33:26 And that stayed with me.
33:27 Now when I stand up in front of audiences,
33:29 it's not about me, nobody cares about me.
33:32 It's about the word of God.
33:34 My job is to get you to understand that Jesus loves you.
33:38 He has a calling on your life, and if I do that,
33:40 then I've done God's will.
33:43 Let me tell you a secret, not even in my notes, it's a secret.
33:45 Being afraid of audiences is the ultimate selfishness.
33:51 It is! it is the ultimate selfishness.
33:55 If you forget about yourself and concentrate on what God
33:58 has called you to do, you will have no problem being
34:01 in front of audiences
34:02 it's the ultimate selfishness.
34:03 It is! most folks don't want to see you fail.
34:06 They don't, they want to see you succeed.
34:09 They want to see you do well.
34:11 So concentrate on the word of God, forget about yourself
34:14 and you will do fine.
34:15 Now that's not in my notes, just some ecclesiological
34:19 obiter dictum, some etiological gastroenteritis.
34:22 It's a sneeze trying to get you to catch the virus.
34:24 So concentrate on God because God's got dibbs on your time,
34:31 and He has got dibbs on your talents.
34:33 He's got claims on you, requires one seventh of our time.
34:36 and that one seventh is called the Sabbath.
34:41 So He has got claims, He's got dibbs on your time.
34:45 If you give Him your time He gives you a blessing.
34:49 How many can ratify, how many can affirm,
34:52 the blessing that comes from worshiping on the
34:54 Sabbath day, huh?
34:56 Pastor Gilley preached this morning, I preached this morning
34:59 We went all over the city up and down, up and down
35:02 But we are not tired, we are not burnt out
35:04 because there's energy, there's strength, there is a
35:07 blessing from preaching on the Sabbath day.
35:08 Ed Barnett preach somewhere this morning didn't he?
35:10 Do you feel tired? NO! because God gives you a blessing
35:14 on the Sabbath day.
35:17 Forgive me, I have to talk about something real fast.
35:18 It's not in my notes. Listen! Satan will try to keep you
35:22 from worshiping on the Sabbath.
35:23 There is a thing I call Sabbathitis.
35:27 Inflammation of the Sabbath, heard about it?
35:30 Yeah, you go to bed Friday feeling fine.
35:33 You get up Sabbath morning and something starts aching you
35:36 didn't even know you had Friday when you went to bed.
35:38 Called Sabbathitis, head hurts, back hurts, feet hurt,
35:43 children act up, husband acts up, wife acts up,
35:46 it's called Sabbathitis because Satan wants you to say forget
35:49 about it, I'm going to bed.
35:51 So you have this splitting headache that last to about
35:56 one o'clock, and at one o'clock you're splitting headache, gone!
36:04 But you know what else is gone?
36:06 Your blessing!
36:07 Because you stayed home and Hebrew said you should
36:11 assemble yourself together, so you lost your blessing
36:15 and Satan won, it's called Sabbathitis.
36:17 It's inflammational Sabbath because Satan wants you to
36:20 pull up the covers and say forget about it I'm staying home
36:22 you miss your blessing, don't let that happen to you.
36:26 Do not let it happen, give God His one seventh of that time
36:30 and God will give you a blessing that will keep you throughout
36:32 the whole week.
36:34 There is a joy in being in God's presence.
36:37 there is a joy being in the house of God on Sabbath day.
36:40 If you've never had it, it is because you haven't tried it.
36:43 Because if you try it your going to like it.
36:45 Guaranteed!
36:47 Christ used to preach all day, heal all night and His disciples
36:51 How did You get all that strength?
36:52 Christ says there's presence, there's power in
36:56 My Father's presence
36:57 If you will get up on Sabbath morning, brush your teeth,
36:59 comb your hair, grab your Bible and come to church,
37:01 God will give you a blessing.
37:02 I guarantee He will.
37:04 So God demands then one seventh of our time.
37:07 Isaiah chapter 58, the book is Isaiah 58:13, 14
37:27 "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause
37:31 thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
37:34 and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
37:37 for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. "
37:41 God said you honor Me on the Sabbath day and I guarantee you
37:46 a blessing they cannot be counterfeited.
37:49 Take your foot off the Sabbath, give Him one seventh of our time
37:53 Now, along with the one seventh of our time, God also asks for
37:58 one tenth of our increase. Amen!
38:03 When seventh of our time, one tenth of our increase.
38:07 We are going to the book of Proverbs.
38:08 What book did I say?
38:09 Proverbs 3:9
38:26 Now let's take a look at that and break it down
38:29 just a little bit.
38:30 Honor the Lord with your increase, when you get something
38:33 since God was responsible for you getting it,
38:37 He claims a little piece of it for His own. AMEN!
38:40 Honor the Lord with your substance and with the
38:43 first fruits of your increase.
38:45 So God is saying listen, before you spend what you have on
38:49 what you want, give Me mine first.
38:54 Amen! Give it to Me first.
38:57 Because giving it to God first acknowledges that you respect
39:04 the fact that it was God who gave it to you.
39:07 So God said, give Me mine upfront, and then take the rest
39:13 and do with it as you please, under God.
39:18 But you make sure that God gets His first.
39:24 You don't give Him the leftovers you don't give Him the leavings.
39:29 You don't spend all on you, do what you want, and if you
39:31 have a few pennies just toss them God's way.
39:35 Give God His first.
39:38 It is and acknowledgement that God was the one who
39:42 gave it to you plus, God has guaranteed that if you give Him
39:49 His first, He will see to it that the rest stretches
39:55 out to a little bit. How many can say Amen?
39:56 God says give Me Mine first, and I will make sure that
40:03 the rest is taken care of.
40:06 Now what does God want, how much does He want?
40:10 If I return it to God what is He going to be happy with?
40:14 I'm in the book of Leviticus, what book did I say?
40:17 Leviticus 27:30
40:37 So then, this portion that God is claiming, He says does not
40:46 belong to you, it is Mine.
40:49 It belongs to the Lord.
40:51 God says I claim 10 percent.
40:56 I claim it as mine.
40:58 If you will give Me the 10 percent, then I will help your
41:05 other 90 percent stretch out and meet your needs.
41:11 We serve a give all, get all, God.
41:16 God facilitates spiritual growth
41:20 Let me say this to you also, what we do with our money
41:24 may be the greatest indication or indicator of what's going
41:29 on in our hearts and our lives.
41:31 They say show me what a person spends his money on,
41:36 and I will show you where he is spiritually.
41:39 So we go to someone's house, we can see what they spend
41:40 their money on you have got an idea of what's going on.
41:54 Amen! you are pretty much what you spend your money on.
42:03 Amen! Amen!
42:10 Your spiritual barometer
42:13 can be determined by what you spend your money on.
42:19 Amen!
42:30 Amen!
42:38 Giving is an act of worship.
42:42 Amen! Amen!
42:52 If you don't like giving to God there is something wrong
43:00 with your relationship with God.
43:04 If you hate to give money to the cause of God, something
43:12 is wrong with your relationship.
43:15 Because loving the Lord is more than singing Oh How I Love Jesus
43:21 It is supporting the cause of Christ.
43:25 So if you don't like to give, if you really hate giving
43:31 God money, something is wrong.
43:34 Amen! Amen!
43:48 Amen! The book is Malachi, what book did I say?
43:52 Malachi 3:6-12 Last book in the Old Testament.
45:27 God is saying, prove Me.
45:28 Test Me! Try Me!
45:32 You guys are stealing from the Lord
45:38 when you don't pay tithes and offerings.
45:43 God has given us something and He claims part of it back
45:50 and the Lord says, there are people out there who are
45:54 embezzling from Me.
45:56 They are stealing that which is Mine.
46:00 You are taking My money and mixing it with yours.
46:05 This ladies and gentlemen is misappropriation of funds.
46:10 What does Jesus say?
46:13 What does God say?
46:14 He says you are cursed with a curse.
46:19 Taking God's money and trying to make ends meet and not
46:26 realizing that giving God His and letting God make your
46:31 ends meet is the sure way to go.
46:34 I had a young lady years ago walk up to me with her statement
46:39 in hand, and said Pastor, here's my income, here's my out go
46:45 my upkeep is going to be a downfall if I pay tithe.
46:50 I looked at her numbers, and she was the kind of person
46:54 who balanced her checkbook to the penny.
46:56 Everything in, everything out.
46:59 she said I can't pay tithe.
47:02 I told her living hand to mouth penny to penny like this,
47:07 you can't afford not to pay tithe.
47:08 I said one flat tire, one problem with your car,
47:14 and you are bankrupt.
47:16 You are living from hand to mouth, check to check, and
47:21 making your bills, you are paying your bills every month.
47:23 But one little upset and your whole financial picture
47:27 goes out of whack.
47:28 She said show me where I can pay a tithe.
47:33 I can't, all I can show you is the promise of God.
47:37 That God says when you put Me first, I will put you first.
47:41 I submit it to you, pay your tithe and let's
47:44 see what happens!
47:45 I said I guarantee you, God is going to take care of you.
47:49 Then I prayed right after that, saying Lord please let
47:52 this one come through.
47:53 You know in two weeks she lost her job, and she came to my
47:59 study, see I told you, see I lost my job.
48:03 So the church helped her out for one month.
48:09 And one month to the day she came skipping into my study,
48:12 Got a new job, got a raise.
48:16 Executive Secretary in a bank, making about 5000 dollars more,
48:25 and I said told Ya!
48:32 We served a give all get all God
48:36 When you give your all to God God gives His all to you.
48:41 He says prove Me, the Lord of hosts if I will not open
48:45 unto you the Windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing
48:49 you won't be able to receive it.
48:50 And that blessing doesn't always mean money.
48:52 Sometimes it means health, it means others get sick and you
48:56 don't get sick.
48:58 Amen! You know we had a Bible worker in New York City
49:03 bless her, Eva Phelps, drove from California to New York
49:08 on a pair of bald tires.
49:09 Got arrested in Cleveland Ohio and the cops said Lady I
49:13 wouldn't go across the street on those bald tires,
49:15 let alone go from New York to California to New York City
49:19 4 bald tires, got to New York city, pulled up in front of
49:23 the conference office and 2 of those tires exploded
49:25 and went flat.
49:27 3000 miles on bald tires, she got right to where she was going
49:31 and all of a sudden went boom, boom flat.
49:33 There were people there who gave her brand-new tires
49:36 right at that moment.
49:38 It wasn't an accident that she drove 3000 miles on bald
49:42 tires and they went flat right in front of the
49:44 conference office, I don't think so.
49:45 I think Jesus takes care of His own.
49:47 I think when you stand up for God, God stands up for you.
49:50 Listen! If your tires have gone flat in Podunk Mississippi, God
49:55 is still God, isn't He?
49:57 God takes care of you and you ought to be able to look back
50:00 over your life and see a pattern a providential intervention
50:03 where ever and when ever you stood up for God
50:07 and God did some special for you.
50:09 You ought to be able to see that in your life.
50:11 because God is so very true, let's go to the book of Matthew
50:14 and the clock is becoming my enemy again.
50:17 Matthew 23:23
50:36 God is saying, pay your tithe, pay Him gladly,
50:41 give to those who need, you give and God will see
50:47 that you get.
50:48 Amen! Even in worship, got to do this real fast.
50:52 When you come to church you know you don't come to receive
50:55 Did you know that?
50:56 People say I come to get a blessing, you don't come to
50:58 church to get a blessing, that's wrong.
51:01 You say what my battery goes down I come to church to get
51:05 my batteries recharged, that's not worship, that's Wal-Mart.
51:07 You don't do that, you don't come to get a blessing,
51:08 you come to receive a blessing.
51:10 People say I come church to get revived, get my batteries
51:15 recharged, I often say what do you do when you're
51:17 batteries are empty?
51:20 You come to church to give, the motto in the Bible is to give.
51:24 You come to church to give worship, to give praise.
51:26 But you always come to give, you come to give
51:28 and God sees that you get.
51:30 So you give a little praise, you give a little of yourself,
51:33 and God gives you a blessing.
51:34 You don't come to get a blessing you come to give yourself
51:37 and God gives you the blessing.
51:38 That is the biblical model, we serve a give all get all God.
51:42 When you give all, God sees to it that you get all.
51:46 He sees to it that your wants are taken care of.
51:48 He's sees to it that your mortgage is paid.
51:50 He sees to it that your lights stay on.
51:52 He see to it you get health so that you can get wealth.
51:54 So you can work and take care of yourself and take care
51:57 of His cause. Amen!
51:58 Jesus says do for Me and I will do for you.
52:03 Praise God, let's go to 2 Corinthians 9:7
52:07 because my time is slipping away from me.
52:08 You know someone gave me some Counsel today,
52:11 they said Pastor, start out running we notice that you
52:13 start out slow and the time runs away from you
52:15 then you get fast toward the end so start out fast.
52:18 And you can slow down at the end but I keep reversing it
52:22 so now I'm running because I'm running out of time.
52:38 God loves a cheerful giver, so God not only tells you
52:42 what to give, He tells you how to give.
52:43 Give it cheerfully because God doesn't need your money.
52:48 Amen! God doesn't need your money.
52:53 God can create money, God has people out there with millions
52:57 of dollars who He could shake that money out of.
53:01 God doesn't need to get your money, you need to give it.
53:07 Because it blesses you when you give.
53:10 You have hurt this whole nation because when you refuse to
53:14 give of your funds, the person that is ultimately damaged
53:18 is you!
53:20 You hold on, you can't receive.
53:23 God can't put anything into a clenched fist.
53:26 Amen! You have to let go.
53:29 and so that God and bless you.
53:31 So when you give to God you can claim the promise
53:35 God I gave to You, now You promised to give to me.
53:39 God is good and true to His word, can you say Amen?
53:43 That's what this thing tithe is all about.
53:46 When you hold back, the only person you hurt is yourself,
53:49 ladies and gentlemen and God says you don't believe Me
53:53 Prove Me! Try Me! Test Me!
53:56 Ironclad money back guaranteed!
54:01 You take care of My kingdom I'll take care of your needs.
54:05 How many trust God tonight?
54:08 How many believe that God will bless them?
54:11 Are you going to pay your tithe?
54:14 Then a little offering to thank God over and above the tithe?
54:20 You do it and I guarantee you, God is going to bless you.
54:26 Because God is as good as His word.
54:28 He cannot lie, He does not lie, He has proved it in my life,
54:33 and so many, many others.
54:35 Amen! Try Him! Trust Him! He's as good as His word.
54:41 Let's stand now and dedicate our wallets now to Jesus,
54:44 as we dedicate our lives.
54:46 Father God, we are praying to You now, because we love You.
54:50 We understand Your will for our lives.
54:53 We know and understand that You ask one seventh of our
54:57 time called the Sabbath,
54:58 and one tenth of our increase called the tithe.
55:01 And then offerings as you bless.
55:04 Help us Lord to understand this truth, that when we give
55:08 to You, You give to us.
55:10 When we bless Your kingdom, You bless our lives.
55:14 Oh, Lord, Help us to give not grudgingly, not of necessity
55:20 Not just so we can get, but that we can advance the
55:24 kingdom of the Most High God.
55:26 Bless us and keep us, give us health and strength to serve
55:32 You and to dedicate our talent and our lives to You.
55:35 and we will love You and praise You and serve
55:39 You forever, in Jesus Name! AMEN!


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Revised 2014-12-17