Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

Windows In Heaven

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: AFNB

Program Code: AFNB002233S


00:02 - [Narrator] This presentation is brought to you by
00:04 the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.
00:07 (ethereal music)
00:08 - While there's no lack of greed
00:10 across the annals of human history,
00:12 according to ancient records, Marcus Licinius Crassus,
00:15 a Roman governor in the first century B.C.
00:18 may have been the greediest man who ever lived.
00:21 For example, after establishing a fire brigade in Rome,
00:25 he would accompany the firefighters to the scene of a
00:27 blaze and then offer to buy the burning property
00:30 from the panicked owner at an insultingly low price.
00:34 If refused, his fireman would do nothing to help,
00:37 but if the sale was agreed upon,
00:39 the fire was quickly extinguished and
00:41 Crassus would rebuild and rent out the property.
00:45 Through this and other grasping schemes,
00:47 Crassus built his fortune equivalent to billions today.
00:51 Yet his greed appears to have contributed to his downfall,
00:55 one legend has it that his enemies executed him
00:58 by pouring molten gold down his throat
01:00 in judgment for his notorious greed.
01:03 Although a common human tendency today,
01:06 greed isn't part of God's ideal for His people.
01:09 Thankfully, He has a plan to cultivate in us generosity,
01:13 the opposite of greed,
01:15 while at the same time filling our lives to overflowing
01:18 with His true blessings.
01:19 So join me now as we take a closer look
01:22 at this life-changing topic.
01:24 (ethereal music)
01:27 Tonight's presentation,
01:29 dealing with the Windows in Heaven
01:31 is going to be a little bit different.
01:34 Now I might surprise you, but tonight we're going to talk
01:37 about something called stewardship.
01:40 And you might think,
01:41 "Pastor Doug, what does stewardship
01:43 have to do with prophecy."
01:45 Let me show you something here.
01:47 What chapter in Matthew does Jesus give signs of His coming?
01:51 Matthew 24.
01:53 That's one of the best chapters.
01:56 And what's in Matthew Chapter 25?
02:00 A continuation of Matthew 24.
02:01 If you've got your Bibles,
02:03 like I've got a Red Letter Bible here.
02:05 It's all one sermon.
02:07 Matthew 24 drifts right into Matthew 25, no interruption,
02:11 no black letters.
02:12 Jesus is continuing after He talks about His coming
02:16 and who will be ready for His coming,
02:17 He tells a parable of the 10 virgins
02:20 and the bride groom is coming, some were asleep.
02:22 And those who were sleeping they did not have the oil
02:26 in their vessels, they couldn't go into the wedding feast.
02:29 Then He tells a parable of the 10 talents
02:35 and He says that all of His followers,
02:37 His servants were given resources
02:40 and they were to properly use their resources
02:44 and that they would be judged
02:45 when He comes on how they utilize those resources.
02:49 Luke 16 verse 10,
02:53 "Who is faithful in what is least,
02:55 is faithful also in much.
02:57 And he who is unjust in that which is least
02:59 is unjust also in much.
03:01 Therefore, if you've not been faithful
03:04 in unrighteous mammon,"
03:05 meaning that just the money of this world,
03:07 "who will commit to you the true riches?"
03:10 One of the most basic things
03:12 that Christians should be faithful in
03:14 is the resources and the influence for good
03:17 that we have in our lives.
03:19 Another one, Luke 14:27,
03:22 "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me
03:24 cannot be my disciple.
03:26 For which of you intending to build a tower
03:28 does not sit down first and count the cost,
03:31 whether he has enough to finish it.
03:33 Lest after he's laid the foundation
03:34 and is not able to finish it,
03:36 all who see it begin to mock him,
03:38 saying this man began to build and was not able to finish.
03:42 So likewise, whoever of you
03:45 does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple."
03:51 Jesus is very clear that following Him is a 100% deal.
03:55 You find me a verse that says, "Give me 50% of your heart."
03:59 Whoever doesn't forsake all that he has
04:02 and take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
04:06 And when you're all in with the Lord, then He blesses you.
04:10 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
04:14 So with this little background,
04:15 I'm going to study the subject with you
04:17 of Christian stewardship
04:18 and you will appreciate as we go on, I think,
04:20 that it does relate to the themes of being in heaven
04:25 and being faithful in witnessing in these last days.
04:29 So question number one in our lesson,
04:32 what portion of our income belongs to God?
04:36 Answer, all of the tithe is the Lord's.
04:40 First of all, what percentage? 100%.
04:42 But He asked us to remember it by dedicating a 10th to Him
04:47 and to His course and to His service.
04:49 All of the tithe is the Lords, it is holy to the Lord.
04:52 You don't want to touch that which is holy.
04:55 The Bible should be treated in a special way
04:57 'cause it's the Holy Bible.
04:58 And marriage is called holy matrimony.
05:01 That means there's a sacred relationship.
05:03 You don't interfere with that relationship.
05:05 And so when God says that a tenth of all of your increase
05:08 is holy to God,
05:10 that means you're saying you treat it sacred and separate
05:13 and it is used to spread the message of Jesus
05:16 around the world.
05:17 What does God do with our tithe?
05:21 Is the Lord short on funds?
05:23 Does God need our money? No.
05:26 The Bible tells us the cattle on 1,000 hills are His,
05:30 He doesn't need it.
05:31 But why does He ask for it?
05:34 You can tell that when the children of Israel
05:35 came out of Egypt, the Lord says there in Numbers 18:21,
05:39 He says, "I've given the children of Levi,
05:42 all of the tithes in Israel as an inheritance
05:46 in return for their work."
05:47 Now the children of Levi were the priests
05:50 that went and they diffused among all 12 tribes.
05:54 They were to teach them and their families,
05:56 they were to teach the law,
05:57 they were to administer the sacred rights.
05:59 The Levites were also the doctors in the country.
06:03 You notice there were a lot of sanitation laws
06:04 and a lot of health laws that were given.
06:06 And the Levites were the ones who were supposed to,
06:07 and the priest were supposed to help
06:09 administer these things.
06:11 They needed judges.
06:12 The Levites often served that way.
06:14 In America, some of the early pastors
06:17 were called the Parson.
06:19 You know where the word parson comes from?
06:21 Small towns across early America, The Parson,
06:24 that was the parson
06:26 and it was usually a pastor in the community
06:28 and he would settle disputes.
06:29 They didn't have a sheriff and a Marshall in every town.
06:32 He would officiate for weddings, for funerals, for baptisms.
06:37 He was called the Parson.
06:39 If there was a dispute,
06:40 they take it to him and sometimes the elders,
06:42 well the Levites used to do that.
06:44 But notice it says for all of their work,
06:47 it wasn't one of these things where they
06:49 got up and preached the sermon once a week.
06:51 It was a full-time job.
06:53 And so God had designated that the tithe was to support them
06:56 to make sure the ministry of the nation was taken care of.
07:00 Goes on to say the tithes of the children of Israel,
07:03 I've given to the Levites as an inheritance.
07:06 Now they were an agricultural community.
07:09 And so when it talks about tithe,
07:11 that wasn't usually paid in money,
07:13 it was paid in might be grain or oil
07:17 or the fruits of the field so to speak.
07:20 Do you not know...
07:22 And this is Paul speaking in the New Testament,
07:23 1 Corinthians nine, verse 13 and 14.
07:26 Do you not know that they
07:27 which minister about the holy things
07:29 live of the things of the temple,
07:32 and they that wait at the altar are partakers
07:34 with the altar.
07:35 Sometimes people would bring a sacrifice to the altar
07:38 and a portion of it was burnt,
07:39 but a portion would go to the Levites in their family
07:42 to help feed their family.
07:44 Someone might bring a grain offering
07:46 and some of that would go to the Levites
07:47 to help feed their families as they did
07:49 the ministry of the Lord throughout the land of Israel.
07:52 This plan has never really been altered except that
07:55 it's no longer the Levites,
07:57 it's just anybody who is called into a sacred ministry.
08:01 That's the plan.
08:03 1 Corinthians 9:13 and 14.
08:05 "Even so the Lord has commanded
08:07 that those who preach the gospel
08:09 should live from the gospel."
08:11 And when people hear a message like this,
08:13 sometimes you talk about theology folks, they're fine.
08:20 You talk about people's money and they get real quiet.
08:26 It's like this man gave his daughter two silver dollars
08:30 and he said, now one of these is for the Lord.
08:33 You make sure and give it to church
08:35 and one you can do whatever you want with it.
08:37 So she was real excited about that
08:39 and she was skipping over to the store to get some candy.
08:41 She dropped both of the silver dollars
08:43 and one of them rolled off into the gutter,
08:45 down the drain and she said,
08:47 Lord, there goes your dollar.
08:53 Even so those who preached the gospel
08:55 should live from the gospel.
08:57 Is the tithing system part of Moses' old law
09:00 that ended at the cross?
09:02 Some people say, "Oh that's part of the old covenant law."
09:05 What does the Bible say?
09:06 Genesis 28, verse 20 and 22.
09:09 "Then Jacob made a vow saying,
09:11 of all that you give me,
09:13 I will surely give a tenth to You."
09:15 Where do you find the 10 commandments in the Bible?
09:19 Exodus chapter 20 is the first place,
09:22 19, he gathers them to declare the 10 commandments.
09:25 And where do you find Jacob?
09:30 Genesis.
09:31 And so this goes all the way back to the beginning.
09:33 This was part of God's original plan.
09:35 He said, I will surely give a tenth to you.
09:37 Did he keep his vow? He did, when he came back.
09:40 It tells about how he took a large percentage
09:43 of everything that he had when he came back
09:45 and he gave it to his brother Esau,
09:46 who was then the really the priests of the country,
09:49 'cause his father was old and blind.
09:52 It was often the patriarchs that served as the priest
09:55 Abraham offered sacrifice for his family.
09:57 As did Isaac as did Esau,
10:00 as did Jacob.
10:01 They were really the priest back then
10:02 until you get to the time of Moses and the Levites.
10:06 But didn't Jesus condemn the tithing plan?
10:10 Some people say, well tithing, that's an Old Testament law.
10:13 Jesus said in Matthew 23:23,
10:15 that's easy to remember,
10:17 "Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!
10:21 For you pay tithes of mint and anis and cummin."
10:25 Those are little herbs in their garden.
10:27 And so the Pharisees and the scribes
10:29 often had herbs in their garden
10:31 and they'd say, okay, we got one,
10:32 two, three sprigs of parley
10:34 and they are 10 of them.
10:36 And then they'd say one is for the Lord,
10:39 they'd count out they got 10 tomatoes
10:41 and one's for the Lord.
10:42 And they were really precise and fastidious
10:45 about giving their little tithes out of everything they had.
10:48 And Jesus said, you omit the weightier matters of the law,
10:52 judgment, mercy and faith, these you ought to have done
10:56 and not leave the other undone.
10:58 Well wait a second.
11:00 He was condemning their legalism
11:03 but he didn't condemn tithing.
11:04 He said, make sure and keep the priority of justice,
11:08 judgment, mercy and faith these you ought to do.
11:11 And notice what Jesus said,
11:12 not leave the other, paying of tithe, undone.
11:17 If that's clear say amen.
11:18 - [Congregation] Amen.
11:19 - He said don't forget that part.
11:22 There's no other plan
11:23 that's introduced in the New Testament.
11:26 In fact, if you really are interested
11:28 in what the Bible says,
11:29 the New Testament plan is actually more demanding
11:33 and rigorous.
11:35 It tells us, if you read in Acts chapter four,
11:37 Barnabas had a piece of property,
11:39 he sold it and he gave it to the church.
11:41 Acts chapter five, no man said
11:43 that all that he had was his own,
11:45 but they sold their houses and lands
11:47 and they gave them for the spreading of the gospel.
11:50 The folks in the early days of the church
11:51 when the Holy Spirit was poured out
11:53 were incredibly generous because they had just seen
11:57 Jesus die on the cross for their sins.
11:59 They knew He wanted to take this message of salvation
12:01 to the world.
12:03 They realized that people hearing
12:04 and believing the message
12:05 is the difference between life and death.
12:08 Sometimes it's frustrating for me involved in ministry
12:10 because I literally see firsthand all the time
12:13 people going from death to life because of the gospel.
12:16 I see marriages restored,
12:18 I see people who are dried up
12:19 and saved from drugs and alcohol
12:21 and their lives are transformed by the power of the gospel.
12:24 But we're limited sometimes in what we can do
12:27 because you're limited in resources.
12:29 In our particular ministries, we do radio
12:32 and television broadcast and publishing.
12:34 You can only do so much. You have to budget that.
12:36 And I thought if the people of God got serious
12:40 about giving for the work of God,
12:41 if they valued eternal life the way we really should,
12:45 there'd be a lot more generosity and there'd be no shortage.
12:49 - [Member] Amen.
12:50 - We are without a doubt the most materialistic generation
12:54 in the history of humanity.
12:56 And I'm not saying that to be critical,
12:58 I'm saying that 'cause it's not your fault.
13:00 We're all kind of victims in this.
13:01 Everywhere you turn, what are the messages you get?
13:04 Buy, buy, buy.
13:05 You can't be happy unless you own one or two
13:06 or three of these.
13:08 And someone's got the new model.
13:09 Even though your old model works,
13:11 you're going to get rid of it and get the upgrade, right?
13:14 And has there ever been a time in history
13:16 when there were more things to buy
13:19 and now you don't even have to go shopping,
13:21 you just click at home
13:23 and they'll deliver it to your door the next day.
13:25 It's amazing.
13:27 But you know what happens
13:28 is the devil almost drowns us in distractions.
13:31 Jesus said beware,
13:32 here's where it comes into prophecy,
13:34 beware unless you heart be overcharged with suffering,
13:38 drunkenness and the cares of this life.
13:42 Don't go anywhere friends, in just a moment
13:44 we'll return for the rest of today's presentation.
13:47 Do you trust in God? Really?
13:50 The truth is a lot of people might say yes,
13:53 but they don't act like it,
13:54 especially when you consider how they manage their finances.
13:58 In fact, the Bible says some people are robbing God
14:01 while they curse themselves,
14:03 but you're thinking how is that even possible?
14:05 Well we've got a fascinating free resource
14:07 we'd like to share with you
14:08 and it's called "In God We Trust",
14:11 and it shows you how to avoid
14:12 the most common financial blunders
14:14 that many experience today.
14:16 And it explains how to apply
14:18 biblical money management principles
14:20 that link your faith and your finances.
14:23 So to get your free copy,
14:24 call the phone number on your screen
14:26 and ask for offer number 135
14:29 or visit the web address on the screen.
14:31 And after you read this incredible resource,
14:33 make sure and share it with a friend.
14:36 Well, let's get back to today's presentation
14:38 and learn some more amazing facts from the Word of God.
14:42 Some people can't work for God
14:43 'cause they have to stay home and take care of their stuff.
14:46 We have to spend more money on alarms to protect our stuff.
14:51 And then we go to garage sales
14:53 and we buy other people's stuff that they don't want
14:54 and we put it in our garage.
14:58 And it is funny but it's also sad 'cause it's true.
15:04 And then the Lord says,
15:05 are you willing to support my message in the world?
15:08 We say, we love you Lord, but now that's pretty serious,
15:10 I got to pay off my credit cards.
15:13 And you wonder where the priority of God is in His work.
15:17 What amazing promise does God make about tithing?
15:21 He says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse
15:24 that there might be food in my house
15:26 and try me prove me now,
15:28 says the Lord in this.
15:30 If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
15:32 and pour you out such a blessing
15:34 that you will not have room enough to receive it,
15:38 God will bless you so you don't even have room.
15:40 Now when He talks about opening the windows of heaven,
15:42 again they were an agricultural society.
15:45 If they had a drought and the crops did not grow,
15:48 then they really struggle.
15:50 God says, if we are faithful in returning a tithe to Him
15:53 and offerings to Him, He said,
15:56 I will open the windows of heaven.
15:58 Furthermore, He says,
16:00 and I will rebuke the devourer for your sake.
16:03 This is in the same passage in Malachi chapter three.
16:06 I'll rebuke the devourer for your sake.
16:08 They'll not eat up the produce of your land.
16:11 God tells His people to bring all of the tithe
16:13 into the storehouse.
16:14 What does He mean by that?
16:16 What's the storehouse?
16:18 Well you want to bring the tithe together
16:20 so it can be distributed.
16:21 He doesn't want every person sort of deciding for themself.
16:24 In our church, right?
16:25 Some of you know I'm a Seventh Day Adventist
16:27 and other church like Methodist Churches
16:29 and many others we're arranged with conferences
16:31 where people give their offerings
16:33 and tithe at the local congregation,
16:35 the tithe is then sent on to a conference
16:37 where it's used to spread around the world
16:40 to support ministers and missionaries
16:42 and teachers that spread the gospel around the world.
16:45 And this system in our church has been very successful
16:48 'cause we're now in like 170 countries of the world
16:51 doing school work, health work, missionary work.
16:55 It would never happen if it wasn't for the tithing system.
16:58 And I think a lot of people understand that when we tithe,
17:01 who really receives our money.
17:04 Bible says in Hebrews chapter seven, verse eight,
17:07 "Here mortal men receive the tithes,
17:10 but there He, Jesus, receives them."
17:14 And so really when you give, you're giving to the Lord.
17:18 Now someone is thinking, well pastor
17:19 I think I would support the church
17:20 but I got hypocrites in the church.
17:24 Or there's some people in our church that
17:27 I heard that they were in jail
17:29 or they made some decisions on that decorating committee
17:31 I can never support.
17:33 Does the Bible say you should only support the work of God
17:35 if they do everything right?
17:37 How many of you say I would've supported Jesus
17:39 if I lived 2000 years ago,
17:41 I would want to be part of Jesus church
17:43 and I would freely support Jesus, anyone?
17:46 Would you support Jesus if you live back then?
17:48 I mean you would, hope you would, right?
17:50 Would it be the right thing to do,
17:52 to support the ministry of Jesus?
17:54 Do you realize He had a Judas in His group
17:56 and the apostles were arguing among themselves
17:59 and a woman came to the temple one day, a poor widow,
18:02 and she put in her last two mites
18:03 about the smallest coin you can possibly imagine.
18:06 I've got one in my drawer at home and Jesus commended her.
18:12 And you would think that He would've said,
18:13 don't give any money to the temple lady.
18:15 These folks are getting ready to kill me, right?
18:19 But in spite of the fact that the scribes
18:21 and the Pharisees and the priests were after Jesus,
18:23 not all of 'em, but most of them,
18:26 when she gave money to God's course,
18:28 He said, God is going to bless her.
18:30 When Hannah gave her son to the temple,
18:34 she dedicated her son to serve in the house of God.
18:36 It was at a time where the sons of Eli
18:38 were doing things we don't even want to talk about.
18:41 And God said,
18:42 I'm going to bless you because of your faithfulness.
18:43 He's going to grow up and he's going to bring revival to the
18:46 land and I'm going to give you five more children.
18:49 Whatever you do, do it heartily to the Lord and not to men.
18:53 Remember, we're giving to God.
18:55 In addition to my tithe, which belongs to God,
18:58 what else does He ask of His people?
19:01 He says, bring offerings and come into His courts.
19:05 This is Psalms 96, verse eight.
19:07 So you've got tithes, which is a specific amount,
19:10 and then you have offerings
19:11 and God will impress different courses
19:13 and categories on your heart regarding that.
19:16 What's happening when that happens?
19:19 Malachi 3:8, He says,
19:20 "Will a man rob God? Yet you've robbed me!
19:23 But you say, in what way have we robbed you?"
19:25 He says, "In tithes and offerings."
19:28 Now do you see that God mentions two categories there,
19:31 Tithe is a specific amount.
19:34 Offering is not a specific amount,
19:36 which is a segue into our next question.
19:38 How much should we give as offerings? Answer?
19:43 Paul says in 2 Corinthians nine verse seven.
19:45 "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart,
19:50 not grudgingly or of necessity;
19:52 for God loves a cheerful giver."
19:56 Someone said, God loves a cheerful giver,
19:58 but He'll accept it from a grump.
20:00 God wants us to be cheerful about supporting His work.
20:04 And how do you determine what the offerings are?
20:07 It says, as you purpose in your heart,
20:10 God will put different things on your heart
20:12 and He'll impress you with different courses.
20:14 Holy Spirit will speak to you.
20:17 Tithe is what percent? 10%.
20:20 Someone says, Pastor Doug,
20:21 how can I get by with 10%?
20:24 I mean, I'm barely making it now.
20:26 The Bible says, prove me now here with
20:28 if I will not open for you the windows of heaven.
20:30 Are you aware that 90% that is blessed
20:34 will go farther than 100% that is cursed?
20:37 - [Congregation] Amen.
20:38 - It's a fact of life. Don't ask me.
20:40 But I've seen several times in the Bible,
20:42 when you get to the bottom of the barrel of flour,
20:45 seems like you keep pulling out one more handful,
20:47 one more handful.
20:48 That's what happened in the days of Elijah.
20:50 You know what that's called?
20:51 F-A-I-T-H.
20:54 Faith, the just will live by faith.
20:57 What commandment are we breaking
20:59 when we refuse to return tithes and offerings to God?
21:04 Is there a commandment?
21:05 Malachi 3:8, "Will a man rob God?"
21:08 That's kind of a horrendous thought,
21:11 "Yet you have robbed me!
21:13 But you say, in what way have we robbed you?
21:15 In tithes and offerings."
21:17 And what does the commandment say?
21:19 Exodus 20 verse 15,
21:21 "You shall not steal."
21:24 What other Bible principles does God share
21:27 in regard to giving?
21:28 There's several things we're going to look at here.
21:29 This is just a spectrum of Bible principles.
21:32 One, it says they first gave themselves to the Lord
21:37 and then to us by the will of God.
21:39 So before you give anything, what is God wanting?
21:43 If you give 'em your hearts, right?
21:46 Proverbs three verse nine,
21:48 Honor the Lord with your possessions
21:50 and with the first fruits of your increase.
21:54 Now do we wait and see at the end of the month say,
21:57 look, if I've got anything left, I'll pay tithe.
21:59 No, no, no. Where's God on your scale?
22:02 In the bachelor home, when we get the cheque out,
22:04 we don't even get the cheque now, it's direct deposit.
22:06 And Karen is one who takes care of all the books,
22:08 she's good with numbers.
22:10 And right off the top, first thing is,
22:13 what are our obligations?
22:14 What are our commitments to God's work,
22:16 to the church, to other charities?
22:18 We do our giving
22:19 and then we find that God is going to continue
22:21 to bless what we have left.
22:24 Honor Him with the first fruits.
22:25 Answer C,
22:27 there's one who scatters and yet it increases more.
22:30 And then there's one who withholds more than is right
22:32 and it leads to poverty.
22:34 This is talking about sowing seeds.
22:38 If you want a big harvest, it's a very simple principle.
22:40 You can't just put one seed in the ground
22:41 and expect a big harvest.
22:43 But the thing is you can't eat that seed,
22:46 if you cast it away.
22:48 If you retain it, nothing else will grow.
22:51 So the principle is you want to cast your bread
22:54 upon the water, so to speak, and it will return to you.
22:57 Scatter the seed and it grows.
22:59 God has designed people
23:01 where He wants us to be channels of blessing.
23:04 So it flows through you.
23:06 And as you've got one hand open in receiving from God,
23:09 we should have the other hand open in giving.
23:12 And if we're faithful in giving with this hand,
23:15 God can put more in this hand.
23:17 And I've just seen it,
23:18 that the more faithful we are in being a channel of blessing
23:21 to others in the world,
23:23 the more God wants to put in our hands
23:24 that His goodness and His blessings might flow through us.
23:27 We're not just talking about things and resources,
23:30 we're talking about the truth and the spirit.
23:32 The more you share your faith,
23:34 the more faith God will give you.
23:36 The more you share the word of God,
23:38 the more you'll understand as you study, it's a principle.
23:42 "The generous soul will be made rich,
23:44 and he who waters will himself be watered."
23:47 Now, who's saying this?
23:48 Pastor Doug? Or is this the Bible?
23:51 If it's the generous soul, He's going to be watered.
23:55 God will take care of you. Do you believe that?
23:57 - [Member] Amen.
23:59 - Answer D Jesus said,
24:01 "It is more blessed to give than receive."
24:05 And you know what happens first is
24:06 as you give your heart to the Lord,
24:09 God is going to bless you
24:11 and He'll open the windows of heaven for you.
24:13 That's His promise.
24:15 Answer E,
24:16 "He who lays up treasure for himself
24:19 is not rich towards God."
24:21 I've been to the great pyramid in Egypt
24:24 and I went and looked at King Touch's treasures
24:26 and it was amazing to me
24:27 how they buried all of this treasure, somehow
24:29 thinking they were going to use it in the next life.
24:32 But you realize you can't take it with you.
24:36 We will all give an account to God someday
24:38 for what we do with the time we have
24:40 and what we do with the means we have.
24:42 I saw this RV going down the road
24:46 and a great big, really nice expensive RV
24:49 and it was pulling a Jeep.
24:52 They had the bicycles and the scooter on it,
24:54 the canoes on the roof.
24:56 And there was a bumper sticker on the back of the Jeep
24:58 and it said he that dies with the most toys wins.
25:03 That's the attitude of many in the world.
25:05 But in reality, life is kinda like a game of uno.
25:09 You win if you've got nothing left.
25:13 I mean, do you think Noah was glad when the flood came,
25:16 that he had invested in building that boat.
25:19 When the waters rose up
25:22 and he saw that he had spent everything in years
25:24 building that boat.
25:25 But he looked and he saw his family was in the boat.
25:27 Did he have any regrets?
25:30 No.
25:32 He who lays up treasure for himself
25:33 and is not rich towards God, he loses out.
25:35 "Give, and it will be given to you,
25:38 good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
25:41 running over will be put into your bosom."
25:44 I used to sell firewood.
25:45 You sell firewood by the cord,
25:46 128 cubic feet to the the cord of firewood,
25:51 four feet high, eight feet, four feet wide.
25:54 And whenever I had ads for my firewood,
25:57 I put this verse in there, I said,
25:59 we're not going to give you a short chord,
26:02 we're going to give you a full chord.
26:04 And we would round it at the top.
26:05 And you know what happened? Everybody called us.
26:07 We could not keep up with all the orders, my partner and I
26:10 because God blessed.
26:13 And if you're faithful with people,
26:15 if you don't try and short people,
26:16 if you're generous with people, God is going to bless you.
26:21 "Let each one of you lay something aside,
26:23 storing up as you may prosper."
26:25 You know the Methodist principle,
26:27 John Wesley used to say for Christians
26:29 is you want to earn all that you can,
26:32 you want to save all you can
26:34 and you want to give all you can.
26:35 Now you'll have to decide exactly how that works,
26:37 but you want to be faithful in your tithes and your offerings.
26:40 We all need to save, there's nothing wrong with that,
26:42 but you want to be able to give.
26:44 (gentle music)
26:48 - [Narrator] Don't forget to request
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26:54 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer
26:57 or mobile device.
26:58 To get your digital copy of today's free gift,
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27:10 on the request page.
27:12 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's word
27:15 with Amazing Facts, wherever and whenever you want.
27:18 And most important to share it with others.
27:22 - [Instructor] Have you ever skipped a meal?
27:23 Not a bad idea, if you need to watch your waistline,
27:26 but there's a heavenly food,
27:27 you should never skip, God's word.
27:30 Yet how can you dive in daily when you're so busy?
27:33 Amazing Facts has you covered
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27:46 and verse of the day,
27:47 visit amazingfacts.org
27:49 and click on Bible Study in the main menu.
27:51 You'll be glad you did.
27:53 (gentle music)
27:58 - [Narrator] Don't forget to request today's free offer.
28:00 It's sure to be a blessing.
28:02 And thank you for your continued support
28:04 as we take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
28:08 We hope you'll join us next week as we delve deep
28:10 into the word of God to explore more amazing facts.
28:14 (gentle music)
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Revised 2024-05-06