Participants: John Dinzey (Host), Dr. Roland Hill
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000011A
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00:18 Hello and welcome to Foundation Of Our Faith.
00:21 We are pleased that you are with us 00:23 and if you are hearing my voice, 00:26 it just may be that the Lord wants you to stay with us 00:28 during this hour so you can receive the blessing 00:31 that God has for you on this, 00:33 your favorite program Foundation Of Our Faith. 00:36 My name is John Dinzey 00:37 and I appreciate that you are with us 00:40 so that you can receive the blessing 00:43 that's coming straight form God's Word. 00:45 I would like to tell you a little bit about 00:47 what you have missed up to this point 00:50 because this is the third in a series of four. 00:53 And we have Dr. Roland Hill 00:55 presented first the message "It's done." 00:59 Then we heard "Vision delayed but not destroyed." 01:03 That was another powerful message 01:05 and there were several here that heard this message, 01:08 I think we have many new people today. 01:10 If you were blessed yesterday by the message, 01:12 would you say amen? 01:14 Amen, praise the Lord. 01:16 Today the message is entitled, "Wealth is in your worship." 01:21 "Wealth is in your worship." 01:23 If you're not acquainted with Dr. Roland Hill, 01:26 I would like to tell you a little bit about him. 01:27 He is a pastor in the Allegheny East Conference 01:31 and he is now 39 years in ministry, 01:36 soon will be 40 years of ministry 01:39 and the Lord has used him in a mighty way 01:41 to preach in different places in the world. 01:44 And he is happily married 39 years 01:47 with his wife Dr. Susie that is from Honduras I hear 01:52 and we hope to get her on 3ABN Latino as well. 01:56 And we are grateful to hear that 01:59 he's very busy, he has written 18 books 02:01 but I think that number will grow very soon. 02:05 Dr. Roland Hill has a passion 02:07 for bringing people to Jesus Christ 02:09 and presenting God's Word. 02:11 So I would encourage you to grab your Bible 02:14 and join us during this hour to hear 02:16 this message from God's Word. 02:18 Before he preaches this message, 02:21 we're going to encourage you to listen very carefully 02:25 to the words of this message 02:28 in song I would call it, by our musical guest. 02:32 Lyndon is with us. 02:34 Lyndon Carriger is a person 02:38 that is humbly giving himself to ministry in music. 02:43 I was encouraged as I asked him yesterday 02:47 because he literally stepped out in faith. 02:51 He left a job that had a promising news career 02:55 and he also was involved in photography 02:59 for this television station, but the Lord said, Lyndon, 03:04 it's time for you to go into ministry. 03:07 And Lyndon in prayer with his wife decided 03:11 that the time had come. 03:12 And when they firmly made this decision, 03:17 you know, you begin to wonder, 03:18 wait a minute I'm getting a paycheck 03:21 that I get every week or every two weeks, 03:24 what's gonna happen now? 03:27 And so the Lord had the answer 03:29 because very shortly after that decision was made, 03:34 he was offered a job as a musical director 03:37 in a local church 03:39 and the Lord has been taking care of him. 03:41 Amen? 03:42 Amen. 03:43 Today, he will be a presenting a message in song entitled 03:48 "The Lord's prayer," and I think you will be blessed 03:50 as you hear him bring this to us. 03:54 I would like to encourage you 03:56 to pay close attention to the message today 04:00 because it's a message that will transform your life. 04:04 And so immediately after the song, 04:06 Dr. Roland Hill will be with us. 04:08 I would like to invite you to please stand, 04:10 we're going to have prayer. 04:12 We're gonna ask for the Lord to bless us. 04:16 Amen. 04:17 Let us pray together. 04:20 Our loving Heavenly Father, 04:23 we want to thank You for this opportunity 04:26 that we have to hear a message from heaven. 04:30 And, Father, we thank You for bringing Dr. Roland Hill. 04:34 We thank You for bringing Lyndon Carriger. 04:36 We ask You, Father, to use them both. 04:39 Bless them with the Holy Spirit. 04:41 Speak to us through them 04:43 and we pray that as we hear the message, 04:47 you will help us to understand what our responsibility is 04:51 after we hear this message. 04:53 We pray that You will help us to enter into the joy 04:57 that will be presented to us in this message. 05:00 We ask You, Father, for these things 05:03 in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 05:06 Amen, amen. 05:08 You may be seated, 05:09 we'll leave you with brother Lyndon. 05:11 God bless you. 05:30 Our Father 05:35 Which art in heaven 05:46 Hallowed be 05:55 Thy name 05:59 Thy kingdom come 06:06 Thy will be done 06:11 On earth 06:15 As it is in heaven 06:25 Give us this day 06:30 Our daily bread 06:35 And forgive us 06:38 Our debts 06:40 As we forgive our debtors 06:50 And lead us not into temptation 06:56 But deliver us from evil 07:01 For Thine is the kingdom 07:08 And the power, and the glory 07:15 Forever 07:30 Amen 07:37 Thy will be done 07:46 On earth 07:50 As it is in heaven 08:00 Give us this day 08:05 Our daily bread 08:10 And forgive us 08:13 Our debts 08:16 As we forgive our debtors 08:21 As we forgive our debtors 08:24 And lead us not into temptation 08:31 But deliver us from evil 08:36 For Thine is the kingdom 08:43 And the power 08:47 And the glory 08:53 Forever 09:09 Amen 09:19 Amen 09:39 What a powerful, powerful song. 09:41 I think we could say amen again. 09:42 Amen. 09:43 You can do a little bit better than that, amen. 09:45 Amen. 09:46 God is so faithful and God is so wonderful, 09:49 it is exciting to be in the house of God. 09:52 It's exciting to hear God speak in so many different ways. 09:56 I invite you to turn with me in your scripture today 09:59 to one of my favorite passages of scripture. 10:03 Isaiah Chapter 28 10:13 and I want you to follow along as we read 10:16 verses 13 and 14. 10:24 Isaiah 58:13, 14 10:30 a very familiar passage to some 10:33 and it has become one of the most powerful passages 10:37 in my personal ministry and life 10:40 as I've watched God explode this passage of scripture. 10:45 Isaiah 58:13, 14 "If you turn away your foot 10:51 from the Sabbath, 10:54 from doing your pleasure on My holy day, 10:59 and call the Sabbath a delight, 11:04 the holy day of the Lord honorable, 11:07 and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, 11:13 nor finding your own pleasure, 11:16 nor speaking your own words, 11:19 then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, 11:22 and I will cause you to ride 11:24 upon the high places of the earth, 11:28 and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. 11:32 The mouth of the Lord has spoken." 11:37 My message today is entitled 11:40 "Wealth, it's in your worship not in your works." 11:47 I'll say it again, 11:48 "Wealth is in your worship not in your works." 11:54 Father God, as we spend this time in Your Word, 11:57 we ask for a double anointing of Your Spirit. 12:02 We know that unless You speak, 12:03 we will not hear, unless You touch us 12:06 we will not be transformed 12:08 and we've come to be transformed 12:10 under the preaching of Your Word, 12:12 so do it today in a special way 12:14 is our prayer in the name of Jesus. 12:17 Amen. 12:19 Wealth. 12:21 It's a very intriguing word. 12:25 In fact, wealth is a captivating word. 12:31 Wealth is a tantalizing word, but I've discovered wealth 12:36 is often a misunderstood word. 12:41 You know for yourself that there are ambivalent feelings 12:45 and sometimes anxious feelings 12:48 when we mention the word wealth, 12:52 but I want to bless you today. 12:54 I want to lift you up and help you understand 12:57 what the word of God has 12:59 you and I to understand about wealth. 13:01 Listen carefully, you would be excited 13:04 when you hear this clear word of God about wealth. 13:09 "Wealth is what you are, not what you have." 13:17 Oh, I need to say that again. 13:19 So you got to understand, 13:21 "wealth is what you are, not what you have." 13:27 Can I infuse with some energy today 13:30 over the subject of "wealth is in your worship 13:32 not in your works"? 13:33 I want you to understand that you are wealth. 13:39 And I said it, you are wealth. 13:45 I want everyone that hears this message 13:48 to leave here understanding 13:50 that you don't have to chase wealth, 13:52 you are wealth. 13:56 Locked up inside of you 14:00 is the divine ore that gives you value, 14:06 therefore allowing you to give value to the world. 14:13 So I say again that you are wealth 14:18 and you must say to yourself, I am wealth. 14:23 In fact, take the time right now 14:25 and say, "I am wealth." 14:31 Yeah, let's try that again 14:35 because we struggle with the word wealth, 14:36 so we don't want to say it 14:39 but I want you to know that 14:40 you are wealth, so say it with me. 14:42 "I am wealth." 14:47 You see, wealth is really the assignment 14:50 and allocation of value. 14:53 That's what wealth is, 14:54 it is the allocation and assignment of value. 15:00 And God assigned value to all mankind. 15:06 Yeah, I think that's important 15:07 for my audience to know, you have value 15:11 and God created you with value. 15:13 Listen now, in the beginning 15:15 God created men and he gave them value. 15:20 He gave them value. 15:22 Genesis 1:1 said, "In the beginning God created" 15:27 and in that creation account God gave men value. 15:30 Created- Genesis 1:26 says, 15:33 "Created in the image of God," value. 15:39 I need to say that again, 15:40 created in the image of God, that's value. 15:46 But further redeemed 15:47 by the blood of the Lamb, that's value. 15:52 So no matter whether I have a lot or I have a little 15:55 or I have nothing at all, I am wealth. 16:01 You see, all inanimate and animate objects, 16:05 listen now, need you to give it value. 16:10 Oh, I'm gonna share something with you, 16:12 I hope you're ready for it. 16:14 You see, you give value to the world, 16:19 the world doesn't give value to you. 16:23 I know a lot of people love BMWs, 16:29 they're nice cars. 16:32 But I noticed something about BMWs, that, 16:37 what is it that 530i, the biggest one? 16:44 It sits on the lot and I asked the question, 16:49 "What value does it have?" 16:52 If it sits there for ten years, 16:55 all it will do was deteriorate and devaluate. 17:00 Listen carefully now, only when I get in it 17:04 or you get in it does it have value. 17:06 Can I repeat myself again? 17:08 You see, that car has absolutely no value 17:11 until I get in it, 17:12 but we've gotten it so messed up today 17:15 that we give it value 17:17 and then we need to drive it in order to give us value. 17:23 Yeah, have real mercy. 17:27 You see, wealth from this perspective 17:30 is very difficult for us to comprehend 17:33 because wealth for most of us is about 17:37 the accumulation of property, of money, and investments. 17:42 So wealth is what I've earned, not what I am. 17:49 Oh, let me say that again. 17:52 We struggle with this definition 17:54 that wealth is the assignment and allocation of value. 18:00 So when we start talking about wealth, 18:02 we think in terms of what we have accumulated. 18:05 We think about what we have and so wealth now 18:09 is what we earn, not what we are. 18:14 The Genesis story counteracts this thinking by declaring 18:20 wealth is in your worship, not in your works. 18:27 Genesis 1:1 reading again. 18:30 In fact, I want you to read it. 18:31 I know you know it but I want you to read it 18:33 because this is a powerful passage 18:35 that sets the basis for all value. 18:38 Genesis 1:1 the word of God says, 18:42 "In the beginning God created the heavens 18:49 and the earth. 18:50 God created the heavens and the earth. 18:55 God created the heavens and the earth." 18:58 I know that that's being redundant 19:02 but it is critical in an age 19:04 when people think that we have evolved. 19:10 You see, God declares from the very beginning 19:13 that He is the source of all value, 19:15 therefore He is the source and author of all wealth. 19:23 He declares that I'm the one 19:26 who brought this world into existence. 19:29 I am the one that gives you value. 19:32 Genesis Chapter 2, turn with me there. 19:35 Genesis 2:1, 19:41 here again is a powerful statement about 19:43 what God has done. 19:46 Genesis 2:1, 19:50 "Thus the heavens and the earth, 19:52 and all the host of them, were finished. 19:55 And on the seventh day God ended His work 19:59 which He had done, 20:09 and He rested on the seventh day 20:11 from all His work which He had done. 20:15 Then God blessed the seventh day 20:18 and sanctified it because in it He rested 20:21 from all His work which God created and made." 20:27 Here is Hebrew parallelism. 20:30 He says in verse 2, "His work He had done, 20:36 His work He had done." 20:39 And then in verse 3 he says, 20:41 "His work God had created and made." 20:45 Notice the stress point here. 20:48 "His work, He had done 20:52 His work, He had done. 20:56 His work, He had done. 21:00 His work, He had done. 21:04 His work, He had done." 21:09 The emphasis is "His work." 21:13 God is making it clear that man had absolutely 21:17 positively not one thing to do with the creation. 21:25 It was solely the work of God. 21:27 Therefore, man did not earn the worth and the wealth 21:33 that they have, it is what I call grace. 21:38 Man's wealth wasn't earned or deserved, 21:41 it was an act of God's grace. 21:44 Undeserved and unearned, 21:48 undeserved, listen, and unearned. 21:56 When I begin to understand that wealth is a gift from God, 22:04 it should evoke from me praise. 22:09 It did to David when he reflected 22:11 on the goodness of God, 22:13 the mercies of God, the provisions of God. 22:15 Turn to Psalm 150 and watch what David does 22:19 as he thinks about the God who created everything. 22:23 Psalm 150. 22:26 Notice what David does. 22:28 He gets excited and starts praising Him. 22:33 He says, "Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary. 22:39 Praise Him in His mighty firmament! 22:41 Praise Him for His mighty acts, 22:44 Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 22:46 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, 22:49 Praise Him with the lute and harp! 22:51 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance, 22:53 Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 22:56 Praise Him with loud cymbals, 22:57 Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 22:59 Let everything that has breath, 23:04 praise the Lord!" 23:09 And the reason why David did this 23:10 is because he understood that his worth and his wealth 23:15 was an act of God's grace, it was a gift 23:19 and therefore he understood his wealth 23:23 was in his worship, not in his works. 23:28 See, God understood the dangers 23:36 of wealth disconnected from worth and from worship. 23:42 God understood the dangers 23:44 when wealth was disconnected from worship. 23:47 God knew men, as the centuries passed, 23:52 would catch a disease called Affluenza. 23:59 That's the social disease of abundance. 24:03 God knew that when we start being blessed 24:06 we would do like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30, 24:10 we will look out over Babylon and say, 24:13 look at the kingdom that I have built, 24:17 look at the house that I earned, 24:19 look at the car that I have earned, 24:22 look at the life that I have built for myself 24:25 and think that it was because of our might 24:28 and because of our strength. 24:29 So God established the Sabbath day, 24:35 a day of worship, as an opportunity 24:38 to express continually 24:41 our gratitude for the gift of wealth. 24:48 Notice that Adam and Eve's first day 24:53 on this prosperous planet 24:57 was a worship day, not a work day. 25:03 It was a praise day, not a planting day. 25:11 It was a re-creation day, not a recreation day. 25:15 It was a shouting day, not a shopping day. 25:20 It was a holy day, not a holiday. 25:24 See, it was God's plan for Adam and Eve 25:27 standing on the eve of the Sabbath 25:33 to look back over the six days of the creative work of God. 25:40 The grass, the trees, the sun, the moon, the animals, 25:45 all the creeping things of the earth, 25:47 all of the prosperous things that were before them, 25:51 it was God's plan for Adam and Eve to look on them 25:54 and to stand in awe and amazement and say, 25:58 "God, I didn't do this. 26:00 You did it and I thank you for allowing me 26:03 to be positioned in it." 26:05 But it was also God's plan and God's desire 26:11 for them to stand there on the eve of the Sabbath, 26:13 the beginning of the Sabbath 26:15 and to look forward for six days and to say, 26:18 "God, everything that I will experience 26:22 in the six days going forward, 26:25 I will trust You for the success 26:27 and I will believe You for the wealth 26:29 that You will continue to sustain me with." 26:33 You see, Sabbath is a weekly reminder your wealth, 26:39 listen now, your wealth is in your worship, 26:43 not in your works. 26:46 Please don't miss this point, 26:49 don't leave here without understanding this. 26:52 The practice of Sabbath observance, 26:55 listen carefully, the practice of Sabbath observance 26:59 is a public confession 27:03 that you believe that wealth is a gift, 27:09 it's God's emancipation proclamation. 27:14 Sabbath is a reminder 27:16 that God is the creator, the sustainer, 27:21 and the protector of everything. 27:26 It's a reminder that not only is God our righteousness, 27:30 God is our wealth. 27:37 You see, we are because He is, 27:40 therefore we have because He is. 27:45 See, the Sabbath proclamation 27:49 is actually a paradox of production. 27:56 Say that again. 27:58 The Sabbath proclaims the paradox of production. 28:06 You see, God commands that we work. 28:09 Turn your Bibles to Exodus Chapter 20 28:22 and verse 9. 28:30 The Bible says, 28:32 "Six days shall you lay around, 28:42 six days should you be on vacation." 28:46 No, He said, "Six days shall you labor." 28:52 In other words, God does require work 28:55 because work was designed by God to be a blessing 29:00 because God is a God that works. 29:04 And since we were created in his image, 29:06 we must do like God does, we must work. 29:11 But now when we look at our work 29:18 while we put forth all of our human effort 29:23 and God wants us to put forth our human effort. 29:27 But on closer examination, 29:30 at the work that has been done and is being done, 29:35 we discover that it is God doing 29:38 all the work in and through us. 29:42 So it's a paradox. 29:44 It looks like I'm doing all the work 29:48 but on closer examination, 29:49 it's literally God doing all the work. 29:52 Therefore, I can't get any praise or glory from it, 29:56 it all has to go to God 29:57 since I didn't do any work in the first place. 30:01 See, the Sabbath 30:06 becomes God's emancipation proclamation. 30:13 And it becomes this first of all 30:14 because it humbles us, say humbled us. 30:19 When I was a child we used to sing this song, 30:22 "Humble me, humble me," 30:26 we don't sing that song anymore. 30:31 But Sabbath is humbling because when we look at 30:34 what has transpired over the six days, 30:37 we're humbled because we know 30:39 it was God that did the work 30:43 and translating Paul's text into our own passage for today, 30:49 "For by grace I am wealth, 30:52 through faith and that not of yourselves, 30:54 it is the gift of God lest any man should boast." 30:58 So God says, when I say you are wealth, 31:00 it has nothing to do with what you've done, 31:03 it has all to do with what I have done. 31:07 But then after it humbles us, it liberates us. 31:14 No longer are we enslaved to an endless work week. 31:21 Can I get a shout glory? 31:24 No longer do we feel like 31:26 we have to have 25 jobs to get ahead. 31:30 Now, we understand that wealth is a gift 31:33 and while God requires it to work, 31:35 listen now, our wealth is not in proportion to our work 31:40 because if our wealth was in proportion to our work, 31:42 we wouldn't have anything. 31:44 Can I get a shout glory? 31:47 So it liberates us, 31:48 it unshackles us from selfishness, 31:51 it unchains us from materialism, 31:53 and emancipates us from the God of work. 32:00 Because we understand now wealth is in my worship, 32:07 not in my works. 32:09 See, the Sabbath emancipation is vital. 32:11 Sabbath is vital. 32:13 Listen to me, audience, Sabbath is vital. 32:20 And the reason why in a consumer driven economy 32:23 based on the bootstrapping philosophy 32:26 where we really believe, "Huh, I've done it, 32:30 I've picked myself up by own bootstraps," 32:33 but do you realize, 32:34 if you pick yourself up with your own bootstraps, 32:37 you're gonna land on your backside. 32:42 Deuteronomy Chapter 8, come on, turn with me there. 32:44 Deuteronomy Chapter 8. 32:48 God foresaw this, He saw us, 32:54 so He gave this passage Deuteronomy Chapter 8, 32:58 speaking to people who have the disease of affluenza 33:02 and for the first time in the history of America, 33:05 and in the first time in the history of the world 33:07 people are being blessed way beyond 33:11 what we've ever thought. 33:13 So God warned and here it is. 33:17 Deuteronomy 8:11, 33:20 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 33:23 by not keeping His commandments, 33:25 His judgments, and His statutes 33:26 which I command you today, 33:28 lest - when you have eaten and are full," sounds like us, 33:33 "and have built beautiful houses" 33:34 sound like us, "and dwell in them 33:37 and when your herds and flocks are multiplied," 33:41 meaning you have more than one car, hallelujah. 33:42 "And your silver and your gold are multiplied," 33:45 you got CDs and investments 33:47 "and all that you have is multiplied," 33:49 listen now, "when your heart is lifted up, 33:52 and you forget the Lord your God 33:57 who brought you out of the 'projects, 34:01 who brought you out of rule, America,' 34:04 and He blessed you and He multiplied you, 34:08 He brought you out of the house of bondage, 34:10 and He led you through the great 34:12 and terrible wilderness, 34:13 in which were fiery serpents and scorpions 34:16 and thirsty land in which there was no water, 34:18 who brought you water from the rock 34:23 and he fed you in the wilderness with manna, 34:26 and he did this to prove you 34:28 that I am the one who is your wealth." 34:34 Can I be plain, can I be straight, 34:35 can I shoot to you, can I talk to your heart, 34:38 can I waken you up, can I get you excited, 34:40 can I get you informed? 34:42 There are only two kinds of wealths, 34:46 two kinds of wealth. 34:49 There's what is called hellish wealth. 34:52 Yeah, I said it, 34:56 it's a gift straight from the devil. 34:59 And then there's heavenly wealth, 35:01 both of these are gifts. 35:05 Hellish wealth, Matthew Chapter 4, 35:08 come on, turn with me there. 35:09 Matthew 4:8-11, 35:16 "The enemy of our souls, the devil himself shows that 35:20 he is the author of some of the wealth 35:22 that we see around here." 35:26 Matthew 4:8, Again, the devil took Him up 35:31 on an exceedingly high mountain, 35:33 and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 35:36 And he said to Him, 35:37 "All these things I will give You." 35:39 Do what? 35:41 "Give You if You will fall down and worship me." 35:45 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! 35:48 For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, 35:51 and Him only you shall serve.'" 35:54 The enemy understood the power of the gift of wealth 35:59 and he offered to God. 36:01 Listen, here are the two terms he said, 36:03 "I will give You." "I will give You." 36:06 He understands that wealth is a gift. 36:09 He said, "I will give You if You will worship me. 36:13 Come with me now 36:14 because you've got to understand 36:16 the final issues on earth, my brothers and my sisters, 36:19 will be over worship. 36:23 And the worship will be tied to economics, 36:26 money, and wealth. 36:28 Revelations 13:6 says, "They can't buy or sell 36:31 save they have the mark of the beast." 36:33 That's because these are economic terms. 36:36 And so worship will come to play. 36:39 Understand, don't get- Listen to me now, 36:43 don't get envious of the wealth of the wicked 36:50 because it was and is a gift straight 36:55 from the hand of the devil. 36:59 Understand the wealth of the wicked burns with pride, 37:04 it's ablaze, listen, with greed. 37:08 It's inflamed with selfishness. 37:12 Hellish wealth is never about distribution, 37:16 only about display. 37:20 And I want you to listen to me, 37:22 that's why the bling is so important today, 37:27 because hellish wealth is never about 37:29 distributing to our communities, 37:31 to help humanity, to build the kingdom of God. 37:34 It's all about me and how I look 37:38 so that the devil gets all of the glory. 37:42 And I noticed something about hellish wealth, 37:44 it strips from its owners all of its self-worth 37:50 and dignity and ultimately destroys them. 37:57 And then there's heavenly wealth. 37:59 Hallelujah for heavenly wealth. 38:03 Do you know that God makes a promise to you, 38:07 a covenant of prosperity? 38:10 Turn your Bibles to Deuteronomy Chapter 8. 38:16 I just love the word of God, I hope you do too 38:20 because it's so plain and simple. 38:23 Deuteronomy 8:18, powerful passage of scripture 38:28 that I think we overlook. 38:29 Verse 18. 38:31 And you shall remember the Lord your God, 38:34 for it is He who gives you 38:35 the power to get poverty. 38:43 Let me ready that again. 38:44 And you shall remember the Lord your God, 38:46 for it is He that gives you the power to stay broke. 38:52 Listen. 38:54 "But you shall remember the Lord your God, 38:55 for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth." 38:58 Why? 39:00 "That He may establish His covenant 39:02 which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." 39:04 God said, I'm giving you outward signs of my covenant 39:08 by blessing you financially. 39:12 You see, heavenly wealth was designed by God to humble us 39:16 and when we receive it we say, 39:17 "God, we don't deserve it, we didn't earn it, 39:20 and You now trust with this heavenly wealth." 39:26 And when we get it, rather than trying 39:28 to buy more houses and more cars for display, 39:32 we use it for distribution for the kingdom of God, 39:35 we use it to bless humanity. 39:40 And then heavenly wealth moves us, 39:42 listen carefully, to total life stewardship. 39:50 It moves us to say, "We will manage everything 39:53 that God permits us to possess 39:57 to His name's unending glory so when they look at us, 40:01 they are convinced we serve a living Savior." 40:09 Solomon was blessed with heavenly wealth. 40:12 1 Kings 3:12, 13 you remember Solomon. 40:17 Solomon came to the kingdom and he had enough sense 40:20 to not ask for wealth. 40:24 He said, "God, give me an understanding heart 40:27 so that I can know how to come in and out among your people." 40:31 He said literally, God, I've seen what wealth can do 40:36 and what I need, God, is I need wisdom. 40:38 Listen church, you need wisdom when you receive wealth 40:43 because while wealth is a blessing from God, 40:47 there are some downsides if you don't have worship. 40:52 And God says now, let's go there and read it 1 Kings. 40:55 I think it's a powerful text, 40:57 it solidifies what I've been saying. 41:01 Beginning with verse 12, 41:03 1 Kings 3:12. 41:10 "Then Solomon sat down on the throne of the Father." 41:12 That's 2, let's go to 3. 41:16 "Behold, I have done according to your words, 41:19 see I have given you a wise and understanding heart," 41:24 he gave him wisdom, "so that there has not been 41:26 anyone like you before you nor shall there be any like 41:29 arise after you and I have also" listen now, 41:33 "I have also" listen now I have also given you 41:39 what you didn't ask for, both righteous and honor 41:42 so that there should be no one anyone like you 41:45 among the kings of all the day." 41:47 He said, "I have given you." 41:49 Solomon didn't earn his wealth, God gave it to him. 41:55 See, we underestimate 41:58 the power of worship. 42:06 We don't know that worship has transformative power. 42:11 See, worship is freighted with divine power. 42:17 Worship is explosive, 42:20 and worship can transform wealth. 42:23 Listen to me, worship can transform wealth. 42:27 It can transform hellish wealth to heavenly wealth. 42:30 The story of Zacchaeus is a clear example of it. 42:34 Zacchaeus who got his wealth in the wrong way 42:37 by distortion, by cheating, by lying, 42:42 but he heard about a man named Jesus 42:44 who had nothing but was worth everything, 42:49 and he went to find Jesus. 42:51 Isn't it something, how wealth will send you up a tree? 42:57 And Zacchaeus goes up the tree, 42:59 Jesus sees him, calls him down 43:02 and at the moment that Zacchaeus saw Jesus, 43:06 he fell down, that's another way of saying 43:09 he worshiped God and in the moment of worship, 43:12 his hellish wealth became heavenly wealth. 43:15 How do I know? 43:16 Because all of a sudden repentance came 43:19 and restitution came. 43:20 When you're in the presence of God, 43:22 you will repent and there will be restitution 43:24 that follows and Zacchaeus says, 43:26 unsolicited by Jesus, 43:29 I will give half of my goods to the poor and four fold 43:32 what I have stolen, I will give back. 43:34 That's what happens 43:36 in the presence of God in worship. 43:39 Can I excite you, can I excite my communities? 43:44 When we have true worship, 43:46 things will happen in our communities, in our home, 43:50 but now heavenly wealth can be changed to hellish wealth. 43:54 Solomon, let's just note, it was given wealth by God. 43:58 You read it for yourself, you read it in the scriptures. 44:02 But if you go down to 1 Kings 4, 44:06 you'll see that the heavenly wealth 44:08 became hellish wealth. 44:10 Let's go ahead and read it, 1 King chapter 4, 44:15 chapter 11 that is, and verse 4. 44:17 Chapter 11 and verse 4. 44:24 "For it was so, when Solomon was old, 44:27 that his wives turned his heart after other gods, 44:33 and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, 44:37 and was the heart, it was not like the heart 44:39 of his father David." 44:43 You know, I get really tired of hearing older people say, 44:47 "Pray for the young folks," 44:49 like the old folks don't have any problems. 44:54 Word of God says that in his old years, 44:57 Solomon allowed the women to take his eyes off of God 45:02 and the wealth that he received from God as a gift 45:06 now became hellish wealth 45:09 and he became abusive as a leader 45:12 and started worshiping 45:13 and building temples to other Gods. 45:17 In Ecclesiastes, say chronically. 45:21 Listen now, a worship of wealth rather 45:25 disconnected from worship. 45:29 See, we don't know what worship is, 45:30 we are confused about worship. 45:32 We think worship is a religious workout, 45:35 so you got some groups that will get all up 45:37 and then get all jumping around, 45:39 they think that they're in worship. 45:41 That's not worship, that's a religious workout. 45:45 Then there are those who believe 45:46 worship is a spiritual tranquilizer, 45:49 I come to church and God gives me an aspirin 45:52 and I'm able to make it through the end of the week 45:55 and then there are those who believe that 45:57 worship is a religious ritual, 45:58 so they've got to have one style of worship 46:01 and they go through all of the hymns 46:03 in the worship book and you can't miss one stanza, 46:06 you got to sing all 29 verses. 46:12 But worship is not that, 46:15 worship is the adoration of God. 46:17 It is the recognition of the awesomeness of God, 46:20 it is knowing that you're in the presence 46:22 of an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God, 46:25 it is the overshadowing of the almighty, 46:28 it is experiencing the presence of God. 46:32 And the German theologian Rudolf Otto said, 46:35 "It's experiencing the numinous tremendum" 46:39 or the numinous experience. 46:41 Isaiah experienced it. 46:43 In Isaiah 6:5 after King Uzziah died, 46:50 he said he saw the Lord, high and lifted up. 46:53 And listen what happened. 46:55 He said, "Woe is me! For I am undone! 46:57 Because I am a man of unclean lips, 46:59 and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, 47:02 for my eyes have seen the King of glory." 47:05 See true worship humbles you and brings you down. 47:11 But then it rejuvenates you because in true worship, 47:15 in Sabbath worship, listen carefully, 47:18 in Sabbath worship God replenishes the value 47:23 that you've given to things during the week. 47:26 Oh, I feel like preaching now. 47:28 See, all week long you were exhausting 47:30 your value and your worth 47:33 because we don't have an unlimited soul. 47:35 It all comes from God, 47:36 so God said, "I gave it to you." 47:38 Now all week long, you're giving it out, 47:40 you're giving it out, so that by the time 47:42 you get to Sabbath you're done, you need a replenishing. 47:46 So God says, "You're humble to recognize 47:49 you didn't have any, 47:51 so now I'm gonna replace it on the Sabbath." 47:56 So God gives us back value. 47:59 That's why people who don't stop to take time 48:02 with God on the Sabbath always feel worthless, 48:06 always feel depressed, always feel valueless. 48:11 But see, worship is not just simply an emotional encounter. 48:17 God says, Isaiah, that's our text that we let off, 48:19 this is where we come in now, 48:20 Isaiah 58, he says, there is a day to worship on. 48:26 He said, I've set aside a time of day, the Sabbath day 48:30 and when you stop on my Sabbath 48:32 and honor it, you'll be blessed. 48:34 So there's a day, the Sabbath, 48:36 the seventh day of the week, that's the day. 48:39 But listen now, he says, "There is a way." 48:44 Isaiah 58:13-14 go through and says 48:48 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, 48:50 from doing your pleasure on My holy day, 48:52 and call the Sabbath" a what? 48:55 "A delight." 48:57 He said the Lord will bless you. 48:59 So the weight is on Sabbath, it has to be reverend, 49:02 it has to be self-denial, 49:03 it has to be filled with sacrifice, 49:05 it has to be focused and it has to be celebratory, 49:09 it has to be exciting. 49:10 So the Sabbath ought to be 49:11 the most exciting day of our life. 49:13 You're praising God and saying, 49:14 "Thank you, Lord, for the Sabbath 49:16 because now I will be replenished 49:18 in my value on the Sabbath." 49:19 You see, ultimately, Sabbath is about relationship. 49:26 It's a weekly reminder of my rendezvous with my lover. 49:31 Oh, you see, when I love Jesus, 49:39 all week long I'm preparing to see him 49:41 because I've been working all weekend, 49:43 I've been away from him. 49:46 But now the Sabbath becomes the time 49:48 that I'm looking forward to 49:54 and I'm doing everything I can to prepare for that time. 49:59 So when the Sabbath comes, 50:03 I don't worry about a checklist of what I cannot do 50:06 and don't do on the Sabbath. 50:09 Because y'all know how so many Sabbath keepers have done, 50:12 we got a checklist, you can't take a bath on the Sabbath, 50:18 you can't wash your hair on the Sabbath, 50:20 you can't even breathe on the Sabbath. 50:25 And God says you don't need a checklist 50:27 when you're coming to spend 24 hours 50:29 with the one that you love. 50:30 Listen, ladies, if your husband has been away 50:34 for six days and he calls you 50:37 and says, "Baby, I'm on my way home 50:40 and I'm gonna commit 24 hours with you." 50:43 When he gets home, if he says to you, "Baby, 50:46 I'm gonna commit 24 hours with you 50:48 but I want to spend 3 hours watching the football game." 50:55 And you will say, sister, "Not here in this house. 51:00 Nothing wrong with the football but you promised me that 51:03 you'll give me focused attention for 24 hours." 51:06 And that's what God is saying on the Sabbath. 51:08 If you give me 24 hours, 51:09 I will love on you like you can't even imagine. 51:13 You will spend time with the God 51:14 who will replenish your value. 51:21 And God says, not only is there a day, 51:27 not only is there a way, but God says, there's a pay. 51:32 Say pay. 51:35 God makes a covenant. 51:37 You read it earlier Deuteronomy 8:18, 51:41 he said, "I'm the Lord, 51:42 thy God who gives you the power to get wealth, 51:45 that I may establish the covenant." 51:50 For years, I've read this passage 51:51 and I didn't understand the precious 51:53 problems of prosperity in this. 51:55 For years, I didn't understand that 51:56 God wanted to make this covenant real 51:58 so the world would know 51:59 that you and I are serving a living Savior 52:04 and that's why many people are afraid 52:06 to become full followers of Jesus 52:09 because they do not believe that it pays to serve Jesus, 52:12 but I got news for you. 52:14 It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day, 52:18 it pays all the steps along life's way. 52:24 Isaiah says it this way, 52:26 said, "If you will delight in the Lord, 52:29 I will cause you," in theology that's cosmology, 52:37 that seeing that God 52:39 is the source of everything that He's behind 52:43 or the cause behind everything that happens. 52:46 And God says since I'm the cause 52:48 behind everything that happens, 52:49 you don't ever have to worry about anything. 52:51 If I have to call into existence 52:54 something new for you, I will, because I'm the creator 52:57 and if you'll honor me on My Sabbath, that's I'll do. 53:00 If I have to create from nothing, 53:01 I will do for you. 53:07 But God says, I'm not just a transcendent God, 53:10 not somebody sitting way up there. 53:13 In my African-American condition, 53:15 it says like this, God sits high, 53:17 but He also looks low. 53:20 God is eminent, He's right here with us. 53:25 And it's in the texts, He says, I'm going to feed you. 53:30 That means God is personally involved 53:32 in our salvation and our wealth creation. 53:37 Listen carefully now. 53:38 God said I'm not leaving your wealth creation. 53:41 You need to hear this today, you need to hear this today, 53:44 God doesn't leave your wealth creation 53:46 to yourself by yourself and with other people, 53:49 He is personally involved with it. 53:52 He said, I'm gonna feed you. 53:54 And, brothers, one of the most romantic things 53:55 you can do with your spouse, 53:57 your wife is, oh, y'all know what I'm talking about. 54:00 You feed your wife off your fork. 54:05 Yeah, I saw some of y'all smile. 54:07 You know, brother, when you wanted to get romantic, 54:10 you got your fork and you put the little food 54:13 in your girlfriend or your spouse's mouth. 54:18 God said, I want to get romantic with you. 54:20 On the Sabbath I want to get romantic with you 54:23 and I'm gonna put it in your mouth. 54:25 And God says, You don't have to worry about 54:27 what other people are getting, listen, 54:31 because I'm personally concerned about your welfare. 54:35 Don't compare, listen, don't compare 54:37 your wealth creation with others. 54:39 God is going to give you what you need. 54:41 Then He said, "I'm gonna feed you 54:42 with the heritage of Jacob thy Father", 54:43 what does that mean? 54:45 There are seven promises based on Jacob's heritage. 54:48 Number one, He said, 54:49 "I'm gonna give you holiness of character." 54:51 God said, when you're on My Sabbath, 54:52 you'll be able to live a pure life in an unholy community. 54:56 Then He said, "I'm gonna give you the blessing of health." 54:58 He said, I'm gonna teach you how to live 54:59 so that you'll live longer than the people in your community 55:02 because I tell you about how to live. 55:05 He said I'll give you superior intellect. 55:07 Can you imagine being 24, listen, 24, 55:10 listen 24 hours in the presence 55:13 of the all-knowing God loving on you? 55:16 Don't you think you'll come out being smarter? 55:21 Skilled in agriculture and husbandry, 55:25 superior craftsmanship. 55:27 Number 5, "Unparalleled prosperity" 55:31 and then last He said, 55:32 "I'm gonna make you a great nation." 55:34 These are the promises 55:37 and they had nothing to do with the work, 55:40 has all to do with the worship. 55:44 And not worship, it's a covenant relationship. 55:48 See, what the world needs to see 55:51 from the community, from you, 55:54 is that He honors His covenant, He pays. 55:57 I've been married for 39 years and don't I look good? 56:05 My wife and I made a covenant, I made a covenant to her. 56:07 I would take care of her and when you see her, 56:10 she's a fine woman 56:13 but if she walked in this building 56:14 and she was disheveled and her hair was uncombed 56:17 and her clothes were nasty and she was smelling, 56:20 you would wonder about the covenant. 56:24 You would say, "You didn't keep your part of the covenant 56:26 because you were going to take care of your wife 56:28 and you- it doesn't show that you do." 56:31 So it is with God when you honor His Sabbath. 56:33 He said, "I'm gonna bless you 56:35 and you're gonna look like something to the world." 56:38 So I ask you today, 56:40 will you stop trying to be wealthy, 56:45 stop trying to find wealth, 56:48 stop trying to search wealth, why don't you just be wealth. 56:53 Say again, "I am wealth." 56:56 Thank You, Father, for the on promises 56:57 that You've given. 57:00 We don't deserve it and we don't earn it 57:03 but, God, thank You for giving us value. 57:07 And now, God, on the Sabbath we accept Your value 57:13 and we will carry it out into the world 57:15 and we will give value to the world, 57:17 so that when people see us, 57:19 they'll see blessings and prosperity 57:21 and then in turn we will give them blessing and prosperity 57:25 and this is our prayer in the precious name of Jesus. 57:28 Amen, amen, and amen. |
Revised 2015-04-27