Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray
Series Code: HHR
Program Code: HHR000007
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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! |
Revised 2014-12-17