Participants:
Series Code: ICM
Program Code: ICM220013S
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00:16 Welcome back to our seminar entitled "It's Coming."
00:19 We are so happy to see each and every one of you 00:23 whether you are here physically with us or watching 00:26 from someplace around America or around the world. 00:29 Thank you so much for tuning in, it's amazing that we are 00:34 actually one more night Pr. McGill, only one more 00:37 evening, not tomorrow night though, Friday night will be our 00:41 next presentation and then Sabbath morning at 11:15 noon, 00:46 and so Pr. McGill where are we right now? 00:50 We are in night, you remember the night? 00:54 We are at night 13. That's right. 00:57 We are actually at the Pleasant Hill Seventh Day Adventist 00:59 Church in beautiful San Francisco. 01:01 And so tonight's presentation is called "Making Ends Meet" 01:07 and I'm excited to know what that presentation is all about. 01:11 If you are joining us or want to learn more about previous 01:15 presentations, go to the website, ITS-COMING.COM 01:20 and there you download previous lessons or watch previous 01:24 presentations. What else can we do at the website? 01:26 We want to encourage you to download the lessons, 01:29 all the lessons are there and tomorrow's lesson is going to be 01:32 Lesson 14, you want to make sure to download or take it home 01:36 or if you are on campus, take it home with you 01:38 read through it, answer the questions and bring them back 01:40 and on Friday, not tomorrow, but Friday Pr. John Lomacang 01:45 will be answering those questions. 01:47 So make sure you bring those back. Also, on the website 01:50 you can turn in your questions, any questions that you may have 01:53 and at the 6:30 mark, we have a Q&A that has been 01:58 live-streamed and we will want to encourage you to 02:00 return those questions so they can get answered. 02:03 We also want to make sure that you can write them down here 02:06 in the index card in the back in the registration booth 02:09 you can do that and turn it in that way as well. 02:12 Well at this time we are blessed to have Pr McGill Verases sing 02:16 "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". 02:26 Great is thy faithfulness Oh God my Father 02:39 There is no shadow of turning with Thee 02:52 Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not; 03:04 as Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. 03:16 Great is Thy faithfulness! 03:28 Morning by morning new mercies I see; 03:39 all I have needed Thy hand hath provided: 03:51 great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 04:04 "Music" 04:09 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, 04:20 Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; 04:30 strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow: 04:42 blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 04:53 Great is Thy faithfulness! 05:03 Morning by morning new mercies I see; 05:14 all I have needed Thy hand hath provided: 05:24 great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, 05:35 great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 05:57 Amen! 06:04 Clapping. 06:06 God is faithful is He not? 06:08 Great is Thy faithfulness. Thank you, Pr. McGill. 06:12 Thank you, Tim. 06:14 We're planning on singing Sabbath morning together. 06:17 We'll do a Trio. 06:19 And we're looking forward to God just giving us all the 06:23 strength we need. 06:25 Let's go tonight to the Lord in prayer as we talk about 06:28 How, in the many ways God is always faithful. 06:32 Father in Heaven, we thank you for your faithfulness. 06:37 When we wake up tomorrow Your mercies are new 06:43 every morning and Your faithfulness is always great. 06:47 Father, tonight as we talk about that faithfulness 06:51 in the sense of how You desire to bless us. 06:53 May we be tuned into what the Spirit has to say 06:56 and may Your word come alive and find fertile soil 07:00 in our hearts that we may experience Your faithfulness. 07:04 In Jesus' name, Amen. 07:07 Tonight's topic is "Making Ends Meet." 07:13 What is the topic tonight? 07:14 Making Ends Meet. In this economy that is a big question. 07:21 How do we make ends meet in a world where financially 07:28 everything is unpredictable, everything is unstable. 07:33 The one thing I am glad for tonight is that the economy 07:40 of God is not based on the economy of man. 07:44 God's economy we will find ist far more fluid 07:49 and stable than any economy that man could ever 07:54 bolster or create. 07:56 Let's allow God's word to speak to us tonight. 07:59 Question number one. 08:05 How beautiful the passage is. 08:07 Let's start tonight by saying this together. 08:10 Genesis 1:1 08:19 As creator, God is the rightful owner. 08:25 Everything animate and inanimate comes from the almighty hand 08:32 of God. Creation cannot exist without the sustaining power 08:38 of the almighty God. 08:39 You know it's amazing, we talked about this a few nights ago 08:42 how the earth is exactly the right distance from the sun 08:46 as it needs to be so that we don't burn up or 08:49 freeze to death and the oxygen mix with the nitrogen 08:53 O2 is the right mixture so that we all can exist on this planet. 08:58 I'm not a scientist but I am so glad that God knew exactly 09:02 what to do to sustain His creation. Can you say Amen? 09:05 So because of the creative power of God, He is the rightful owner 09:10 of all that touches this planet. 09:15 Question number two. 09:20 Tonight the scripture is going to come alive when we 09:22 look at God and all of His beautiful perspective 09:24 of His power and His glory. 09:26 Job 41:11 This is amazing. Who has preceded Me 09:31 that I should pay him? God has said who is before Me 09:36 that I should give him anything? 09:37 Everything under heaven, say it together, is Mine. 09:42 Isn't that a wonderful scripture? 09:44 The Lord says who was here before me that I should pay him? 09:48 Nobody! 09:50 You see friends, God alone is the Alpha and what else? 09:55 the Omega. It began with God it is going to end with God. 10:00 He was there when it got started, He's going to be there 10:02 when it ends and then He's going to make all things new. 10:05 He is the Alpha and the Omega, that's why the 10:08 Psalmist testifies as he does. 10:10 How does the Psalmist describe God's ownership? 10:24 By the way that's Psalm 21 and 24:1. 10:29 I saw that myself and I thought that's the wise man Solomon. 10:32 David was the one that made that statement. 10:34 Psalm 24:1 10:43 So when we look at the earth... I know that recently there's 10:46 been a race to go out to space, I think Elon Musk was one of those 10:49 racing and Richard Branson was the other one 10:54 I believe it was, no Elon Musk he was one and Richard Branson 10:57 was the other one, they both trying to get people to 11:00 outer space to look back. I'm looking forward to the day 11:03 when we could all go to outer space and not have to look back. 11:07 We'll be able to see this gorgeous planet and all of it's 11:11 gorgeous surroundings, every one of the stars 11:14 as Astronomers said...Every one of the stars that we see 11:18 potentially represent a galaxy. 11:20 The scientists are saying there are hundreds of billions 11:24 of galaxies. And by the way, I'm what you call an 11:28 amateur astronomer and I discovered something 11:31 very interesting...What we see in most of our Astronomy pictures 11:36 scientists say are just where they aimed the telescopes. 11:40 There are black holes that they have not yet even aimed 11:44 a telescope at, so they haven't really seen all of 11:48 God's creation, but God owns everything created. 11:51 Can you say Amen? 11:53 How amazing, the globe, the earth just sits out there 11:58 like God has strings holding it but it's all upheld by 12:02 the mighty hand of God. 12:03 How does God count His livestock? 12:08 Psalm 50:10 12:18 God counts His cattle by hills. Ahh come on you dead ones 12:24 say something. God counts His cattle by hills. 12:29 So when we look around the beautiful hills of California 12:33 the mountains of northern and the mountains of southern 12:35 and we see any cattle, God says, not only is that cattle mine 12:39 but hill is mine. 12:41 You heard the story about that little boy that was arguing 12:43 with another little kid and they were...one was well-off 12:45 and the other wasn't and the little boy that was well-off 12:48 he said you see that boat, that boat belongs to my dad. 12:52 And the little kid couldn't say anything because 12:55 his dad didn't have it. But do you see that mansion 12:56 on that hill? That mansion is my dad's. 12:59 The little boy felt crushed, he said you see that plane 13:03 it just flew overhead, that's my dad's plane. 13:05 And that little boy just got some gumption and he said 13:08 you know what? That water that your dad's boat is on 13:11 that's my dad's water. 13:12 That hill that your father's mansion is on, that's my dad's 13:16 hill, that sky that your father's plane is flying in, 13:20 that's my dad's sky. Come on, say Amen. 13:22 God owns everything. 13:25 You see number five, the Bible provides, the Bible proves... 13:34 Psalms 19: 1-3... 13:56 That's why we like living where we live. 13:58 We live out in the country and you know sometimes it gets 14:01 so dark, you could be walking down the country road 14:03 and feel like you are standing still, because there's no light 14:05 to even give you a reference, it feels like we are floating 14:07 in space So whenever they say there is going to be a star 14:11 shower or tonight you will be able to see Jupiter or Venus 14:14 clearly, we stay up because we can see it. 14:17 Can you imagine how the heavens declare the glory of God? 14:19 One thing I haven't yet seen is the Northern Lights. 14:23 And somebody invited us to Alaska, later on, I'm hoping 14:26 to be able to see that. 14:27 God's creation always testifies of His creative ability 14:33 creation reveals God's glory. 14:36 And number six. 14:43 Well, let's let the prophet tell us. Jeremiah 32:27... 14:54 Friends, is there anything too hard for God? 14:56 Oh no, the toughest for God, there is something hard for God, 15:01 the hardest thing for God is to move the human heart 15:04 that has been hardened. 15:06 That's the hardest thing for God. 15:09 The hardened human heart. God can create galaxies 15:14 at the snap of His finger or the whisper of His voice 15:18 but the hardest thing to do is move the heart of a human 15:22 when their heart has been hardened. 15:23 Isn't that amazing? 15:25 We find also in Hebrews 1:10... 15:37 When I look at the stars and we have this telescope 15:40 now that I want to use more but every now and then 15:42 I would say what is that? and then I would go on my I-Pad 15:45 and you know it has a way to align the heavens with the I-Pad 15:49 technology is amazing, we see things that one day we'll 15:52 be able to walk by, we'll be able to fly by that one day 15:55 and say, I know what that is, I've seen that on my iPad. 15:58 God established earth's foundation. 16:01 That's a picture the scientist say of the Milky Way 16:04 and of a galaxy. There are billions of those and 16:08 I would not put it past God as Hebrews one says. 16:11 He created the world, I would not put it past God 16:14 that we are not the only ones that ever had the form of life 16:19 on it. One day we will find out. 16:21 But I want to tell you this, they're not aliens, 16:25 why would an alien want to come down here and risk 16:28 getting robbed? Or getting beat up? 16:31 Why would aliens want to come down here and deal 16:33 with this mess? There are no aliens, that's a bunch of 16:37 hullabaloo. 16:38 Number 7. Haggai 2:8 16:44 The what is mine? Silver is Mine and the Gold is Mine 16:50 says the Lord of hosts. 16:53 So when you see Silver and Gold, God created it... 16:56 God is the source of all wealth. 16:58 When you see Silver, God created it, that's what I said 17:02 last night. Heaven will be made of precious stones, 17:05 all of those stones were created by God. But let me reiterate. 17:10 God does not adorn His children with precious stones 17:15 He adorns them with His righteous character. 17:18 The New Jerusalem which is the Bride of Christ 17:21 when John in Revelation 21 says, show me the bride of Christ 17:27 and He showed me the New Jerusalem prepared as a 17:32 bride adorned for her husband and then in Revelation 21 17:35 He describes all the precious foundations, 17:37 all created by God. God is the source of all wealth. 17:42 Number 8. 17:47 I don't even have to give you a scripture because 17:50 we're messed up, always trust God more than you trust yourself. 17:55 I Timothy 6:7. 18:05 My mother-in-law used to say, Angie's mom would say 18:09 look in the hand of a baby. She worked with a lot of babies, 18:12 look in the hand of a baby and see what he has or what she has 18:16 when they come into the world. If they have nothing, 18:18 then that's all they are taking out. 18:20 Absolutely nothing. 18:22 So don't get possessed by the things around you. 18:25 We brought nothing in, the only thing we are taking out 18:29 is our character. 18:30 Number 9. 18:35 Ecclesiastes 5:19. 18:49 Everything that you were able to attain by your job, your health, 18:54 your wealth, God allows you to have that, let that be 18:57 the Gift of God but don't let those things be in control 19:00 of you as we see very clearly. 19:06 And the word power there simply means, health 19:08 the word the Wealth means sustenance 19:11 because in earthly terms, wealth means a lot but in divine 19:16 application wealth means all the things you are sustained by. 19:21 And don't miss this, God is not against wealth. 19:25 It is the love of money that is the root of all evil, 19:28 not money itself, don't paint money as bad, 19:31 if you have money you don't like, give it to me 19:33 because in that realm of money nothing wrong with wealth. 19:37 It's the human heart that causes the human heart to change. 19:40 Number 10. 19:44 You know Abraham was blessed to be in the presence of 19:48 a king of Salem called King Melchizedek 19:51 and God so blessed Abraham that's why the Bible says 19:55 that Jesus is a priest after the Order of Melchizedek 19:59 Not after the order of Aaron or the Levites, 20:01 the Levitical Priests had a beginning and an end 20:04 but Jesus is a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. 20:08 we read that in the book of Hebrews. 20:09 So when God was blessing Abraham Abraham blessed Melchizedek. 20:15 We find this in Genesis 14:20 and how did He do it? 20:19 The Bible says... 20:27 This is what Melchizedek said to Abraham. 20:34 Abraham blessed Melchizedek because Melchizedek recognized 20:39 God's blessings in Abraham's life. 20:42 Number 11. 20:49 Leviticus 27:32, by the way tonight I'm talking about 20:55 a topic that no preacher has a problem with. 20:57 Did you hear what I said? 20:59 I don't matter what your denomination, there are no 21:02 preachers that have a problem preaching about money 21:05 have you noticed that? 21:06 Some of them for selfish reasons but tonight we are putting it in 21:09 perspective according to God's Word. 21:12 Leviticus 27:32. 21:24 What they did in those days is when the flock was coming 21:28 in from the field, the shepherd he held out a staff 21:32 and they would count, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, okay 21:38 this one belongs to the Lord as the flock passed by 21:41 that's what that means. Whatever passes under the rod 21:43 the tenth one shall be holy unto the Lord. 21:45 So, the tithe means one-tenth. What does it mean friends? 21:50 One tenth. 21:51 But let me help you understand how the Seventh-day-Adventist 21:55 Church is organized because some people think, 21:57 and I met people that say Pr. John, what do you do 22:00 with all that money that people bring to the church? 22:02 You know what friends, Pastor McGill, Pastor Mitch, 22:04 and I and all Adventist pastors, we get a check either 22:07 once a month or twice a month in the mail or direct deposit. 22:11 There could be five people in church or 500, our check 22:15 does not go up or down because we're in this 22:18 for the TRUTH, not the money. 22:21 Come on Miguel, say Amen. 22:22 If you know how much we make, you know we are not is this 22:25 for the money. We ain't driving to church in no Bentley. 22:28 If you want to give us one, that's fine, there's nothing 22:31 wrong with a Bentley but the point of the matter is 22:34 we are not in this for the financial aspects, 22:36 we're in this for the divine blessings. 22:37 So let's follow the blessings quickly here. 22:40 The Blessing starts with us. Say that with me? 22:43 The Blessing starts with us. I want you to follow this. 22:46 When everyone gives, every need is met. 22:52 Let me go back to that slide in just a moment here. 22:55 You find two people a male and a female 22:57 and then we have PH for Pleasant Hill SDA Church 22:59 Follow The Blessing as I unfold this. 23:01 When Everyone Gives, Every Need is Met. 23:04 That's how your church operates, it has a monthly budget 23:07 and the tithe and offering that comes in is directed 23:12 all of the tithe go to the Conference, but remember this, 23:16 The truth about Tithing is We don't pay Tithe, 23:20 we do what? We Return Tithe 23:24 because it doesn't belong to us. 23:26 One-tenth of your income does not belong to you, 23:30 let's follow the blessing, here it is. 23:31 So, let's look at the start together. 23:34 So when a person at church at the Pleasantville SDA Church 23:38 returns a tithe and offerings those tithes go from here 23:41 to Northern California Conference which is in Roseville. 23:44 Am I right? The conference is the office that is over all 23:51 of the SDA Churches in the Northern California area. 23:54 That's what the conference means. Northern California 23:58 Conference, from there a portion of the tithe goes to the 24:02 Pacific Union. That's up and down the west coast 24:05 including Washington, Oregon, and part of Hawaii. 24:08 Notice its expanding, it's getting larger and larger 24:10 a portion of the tithe that went from one then go to 24:13 the next one. From the Pacific Union it goes to the 24:16 North America Division, its getting larger and larger. 24:18 That's all the churches in North America, 24:20 all the work taking place in North America and from 24:23 North America it goes to the General Conference 24:25 which takes care of the work not only at the 24:28 General Conference level but all the work around the entire 24:31 world and we have 13 divisions. So what happens is when you give 24:37 the work in the Philippines can be sustained, 24:40 where they don't have the kind of income, the work in 24:43 New Guinea or certain parts of other countries and in 24:46 the Middle East where they don't have pastors, 24:48 schools, hospitals, it filters down from one location 24:53 to the other. That's why I said the blessing starts with us, 24:56 if we don't give then all these entities begin to wane 25:01 and ultimately the work that has taken place through the 25:05 General Conference, it doesn't continue. 25:07 So let's look at this more specifically. 25:10 Number 12. 25:13 Malachi 3:10 25:34 I could stop right here and tell you story after story, 25:38 after story, about how God blesses those who are faithful. 25:44 I am tempted to do it but I might to do it at the 25:48 end if I have more time. 25:50 God is amazing but I want to cover the scriptures first 25:52 I could always hear the stories later. My point friends is 25:55 God blesses the faithful. Say that with me. 25:58 God blesses the faithful. 26:01 It begins with you, your faithfulness moves the hand 26:05 of God just like a parent where the child is behaving, 26:10 a child that behaves and can be trusted, the parent is open 26:13 to bless that child. But I doubt that very many parents 26:16 put money in the hands of a kid that they know is just 26:18 haphazard or cannot be trusted. 26:20 In the very same way, our Heavenly Father will not give 26:24 anything to harm you, He would not give you more than 26:28 you can handle. That's why some people should not be 26:30 playing the lottery. Amen, somebody. 26:33 A lady called me once and she said Pr. Lomacang, 26:36 I've been trying to find ways of helping my church 26:38 but every time I play the lottery, I never win. 26:41 I said, well then stop playing the lottery. 26:44 God does not support lottery playing, that's gambling. 26:48 We're not blessed by gambling, we're blessed by God's plan. 26:53 Amen! Amen! 26:55 You're faithful, God will bless you. 26:56 Man, I could tell you some stories, I'll put a few of them 26:58 in a minute when I see the time getting later. 27:00 Number 13. 27:06 Malachi 3: 11-12 27:29 Here is the promise that God has made. 27:33 Say that together. 27:37 I heard the story about a farmer once, there was a locust swarm 27:41 that came through and all the farms around got eaten up. 27:44 But one farmer didn't, they said what happened, 27:46 how come they didn't eat your farm? 27:48 But God provided safety for my farm, they said how? 27:52 And he told them how. 27:54 A couple of years later a swarm came through and also ate 27:57 his farm and they said what happened? 27:59 God decided that they were that hungry. 28:01 God decided that this time they were that hungry. 28:07 And He said it belongs to God, He can do with it whatever 28:10 He wants. Amen, somebody! 28:11 So don't get connected there but I'm going to tell you this 28:14 we've had stories where our car would've broken down 28:17 but it didn't break down because we were faithful in giving God. 28:22 I was a young pastor up in the mountains of Weaverville 28:25 and I tell you when I left the bay area, my salary went down 28:30 from $1,000 a month to $500 a month 28:32 I know somebody said that's bad, $375 was my car payment 28:40 you do the math. 28:41 Seventy-five was my car insurance, you do the math. 28:46 It's gone real quick. So one Sabbath morning this young 28:49 pastor decided I'm going to help God out but he needed 28:51 to help me out. So, I went into the small church and 28:55 I said Lord, I need to pay my car insurance on Monday 28:58 if not, they are going to cancel my insurance. 29:00 So I made up my mind that I was not going to return my 29:02 tithe that morning but as I was walking down the aisle 29:05 afterward, I heard God say to me so clearly, If you can 29:09 trust Me, you cannot speak for me. 29:11 And I sat on that rostrum pulled out my checkbook and I 29:17 kinda did one of these things. Okay, God, I'm writing the check. 29:22 I put that check in that plate and I preached like the world 29:28 was coming to an end at 12:30 cause I felt clear. 29:33 That night I was on my way to the Post Office, 29:35 you have to get your mail in the mountains. 29:37 I went to Weaverville Post Office and got our mail 29:41 that night and as we got out mail there was one envelope 29:43 somebody sent me something in an envelope, I didn't even 29:46 know who it was, who was that? 29:48 First when we opened the envelope it was a check 29:50 for $238. Let me give you the math. 29:53 That morning I returned a $75 tithe to the church 29:58 and offering and that night the Lord gave me 238, 30:01 you do the math. 30:02 Seventy-five and 75 is 150 and 75 is 225 and God gave me 30:06 $13 extra dollars just for the fun of it. 30:08 Let me tell you something friends, on that check 30:11 in the Memo section, I would have been terribly guilty 30:15 if I had not been faithful, was written by people 30:18 I never met, because you are faithful. 30:20 I would have felt like a dog if I decided not to trust God. 30:29 Did I know that that envelope was there? 30:31 Absolutely not. But God did. In that very same church 30:35 when my wife and I were down, we were scraping to get by 30:37 but we never went without. 30:38 One Sunday morning me and my wife, we had family members 30:41 come to visit with us. Coming New York, I think it was 30:44 and there were three of them and we hardly had enough food 30:47 for just us and I'm praying in the living room. 30:50 Lord, you know we don't have a lot in the cupboard 30:53 what am I going to do? As I'm praying 30:55 (knocking) Hold on. Lord, you don't know, 30:58 I mean hold on. Lord. Hold on. 31:02 And I was just praying... A church member that drove 31:08 over the mountains from Hayfork to Weaverville 31:12 early in the morning...Now if you know about the mountain, 31:14 you know what I am talking about. 31:15 They said this morning when I got up the Lord said to me 31:19 as I was having my devotions, Pr. John has a need. 31:22 Here's a hundred dollars, He told me to give his to you. 31:24 God, I got to stop...I'm going to teary eyed up here tonight. 31:30 I could tell you stories of how God held back the mountain 31:35 of financial responsibility just because we decided 31:39 to give God what belongs to Him. Amen somebody. 31:41 That's just the beginning. I could man. 31:44 My, you stay for a half an hour, I'll tell you nineteen 31:49 stories. Sorry about those of you online. 31:52 God is faithful, can we say Amen to God? 32:02 When they didn't, this is what the Lord said. 32:07 Malachi 3:9 32:14 I talked about how God protects but when you are not faithful 32:22 God will remove His protection. 32:25 I've had people say I can't afford to return tithe. 32:28 And I say, you know what, you can't afford not to. 32:30 You will never know how powerful God is until you 32:35 decide to test Him. 32:36 When you put God to the test, you might say but 32:39 this is all I have. You don't think He knows that? 32:41 Remember the story of the widow and her son and Elisha? 32:44 She said I just have enough to eat one meal and 32:47 we're going to just die. He said give it to me first. 32:50 And she was never without oil and never without meal 32:54 until the famine passed. 32:55 You don't need to get evidence of God, it's called faith 33:00 when you don't trust God look at what happens. 33:02 Follow the curse. The curse starts with us. 33:08 When the member of Pleasant Hill decide not to give, 33:11 then nothing goes to the Northern California Conference. 33:15 When nothing goes to the Northern California Conference 33:18 it'll shut down eventually and so will the Pacific Union. 33:22 And the Pacific Union getting nothing from the 33:24 Northern California Conference can't send anything to the 33:27 North American Division. 33:29 And the North American Division all of its work will fade 33:31 and there will be nothing to send to the General Conference. 33:34 And what would happen? The world-wide work would end. 33:38 But it starts with you, churches take up tithe and offering 33:44 differently but whatever way they do it, it's your 33:48 responsibility to see that God receives from you what 33:52 He entrusts to you. 33:54 You know tithing and offering is the least that any Christian 33:58 should do to show their appreciation to God, right? 34:01 It's the least, how many of you pay your bills? 34:04 Don't raise your hands. Cause some of you may not 34:06 raise your hands. And we live in debt generally as a society 34:10 most people are in debt, they can't afford to pay their bills. 34:13 If you give God what belongs to Him, and remember 34:15 you're not paying tithe, you're returning it. God will handle 34:19 those things that you have up against you. But keep this 34:23 in mind, even if you return tithe, don't spend what you 34:27 still have flippantly, God requires us to be financial 34:31 stewards, learn how to spend money. 34:33 That's something they don't teach in school, 34:35 how to spend money. If you were wise the worldwide work 34:38 will continue. The last General Conference session 34:40 that was jam-packed, this was in Texas in 2015. 34:44 If you've never been to a General Conference 34:46 there were more than 70,000 people there that day. 34:48 Representatives from around the world, if tithe and 34:52 offering were not returned, that crowd would not exist. 34:55 The work would cease, people from all over the planet 34:59 joined us there in San Antonio, Texas for that 35:03 General Conference Session in 2015. 35:05 The next one is going to be in a few more years in St Louis 35:09 I think in 2025. I look forward to going to that. 35:13 God is good, can you say Amen? 35:14 He wants the church to be united and the only way that the work 35:18 of God can be continued and fulfilled is by your 35:21 faithfulness. 35:22 Question number 15 35:27 Nehemiah 10:37 35:56 Back then they didn't have established companies 35:58 like they do nowadays. So the Levite Priesthood that worked 36:02 in the temple every day, the people supported the 36:05 priestly work. That's why our pastors, they don't say go work 36:10 at Walmart and then work at church on Sabbath. 36:12 God calls us to dedicate our full-time to the work of the 36:15 ministry and believe me, it's not an easy work. 36:18 That's why you got to be patient with your leadership. 36:20 So, what the Bible is saying in essence is a portion of that 36:23 tithe supports the pastors salary and the teacher's salary 36:28 in the church schools and other allocations for the other 36:32 portions of the tithe. If you don't give then the teachers 36:36 won't be able to teach your students and the pastors 36:38 will not be able to shepherd and guide your church. 36:42 Understanding God's plan is always best. Can you say Amen? 36:45 Tithing supports God's work how far? 36:49 World-Wide Work, but it all begins with where? Us. 36:56 Number 16 37:02 God always makes promises but what promise has God made? 37:06 I'm looking at the clock and I have a little bit of time 37:08 because I'm going to tell you some stories. 37:09 I'm so thankful. Thank you lord that I have a little extra time 37:12 tonight. I am going to share with you of God's faithfulness. 37:14 Nothing is better than a personal testimony, right? 37:17 My wife and I have been all over the world 37:20 more than 60 countries, I think I mentioned that a few times. 37:22 We were on our way to Australia, when we were living here in 37:25 Northern California area and we went out of the airport in 37:29 San Francisco, we flew from San Francisco to Sydney, 37:31 Australia, well, it's a day and a half ahead in time 37:35 so Tuesday here is Wednesday there. 37:37 If you call from their Wednesday you call back to our Tuesday 37:41 try to figure that out. So if you get a call now from Australia 37:44 they're calling you from tomorrow and they're speaking 37:47 they're speaking to you from their yesterday. 37:49 That'll mess you up. 37:51 So here we are in Australia and I was invited to be 37:54 the speaker for a Singles Seminar. I had all my work 37:59 on my laptop and you know, you go through all the security 38:02 at the airport, and I went through all the security 38:04 at the airport at San Francisco International and on the plane 38:08 I was sleeping and I was great. When we got to Australia 38:11 checking into the hotel I picked up my computer bag 38:14 and I said hmmm, pretty light. I said honey do you have my 38:18 computer, she said I don't have your computer. 38:20 You don't have my computer? I don't have your computer. 38:26 To say the least, I began to panic. 38:31 And I thought when was the last time I saw my laptop? 38:35 Not on the plane, I never used it. Ohhh! 38:40 At the security in the San Francisco Airport. 38:44 I'm in Australia, I'm in San Francisco's tomorrow 38:50 my laptop is at my yesterday. Hu, huh? 38:57 And I'm looking at my... what time is it in San Francisco? 39:00 Uh, it's like 4:00 in the morning yesterday. 39:03 Oh man, because I have all my notes, all my sermons, 39:08 everything is on that thing. What am I going to do? 39:11 So I waited until about 8:00 and I called the airport. 39:14 They said, well, how can we help you? 39:17 I said I lost my laptop. They said well the department 39:20 is not open yet, it opens at 8:30, okay, I'll call back. 39:23 I called back and they said how can we help you? 39:26 I said when I was going through security yesterday 39:28 I left my laptop on the conveyor belt. They said sir, 39:34 people lose laptops every day, chances are it's gone. 39:39 Could you check? 39:43 Well, if it was found and turned in, here's the number 39:49 you need to call. Alright. And they open at 9:00. 39:53 I gotta call back. Okay, so 9:00 I mean I didn't leave the 39:57 lobby of that hotel, I waited until 9:00, I called at 9:01 40:01 Hello, how can we help you? Well I left my laptop on the 40:08 conveyor belt as I was going through International. 40:11 They said sir, people lose laptops every day here. 40:16 and they look for it. I said is there a chance you may have 40:19 found it? Maybe somebody turned it in? 40:21 Well, we have a few laptops here, what is the model? 40:26 I said it's a Dell, they said any specific... 40:28 I said I think it's a P-90, they said oh yeah but we have 40:33 a couple of Dell's here. They said do you have a password 40:36 at all so we can see if it is yours or not? 40:38 I give them the password, they said is your picture 40:42 on the screen? I said yes, they said we have it. 40:46 That's an amen right there. I said can you send it FedEx 40:53 to me, I need it tomorrow? They said sir, we don't do that 40:57 you have to come and get it. Now come on now. 41:02 You got to come and get it. How am I going to get this 41:08 by tomorrow before my seminar? And I said are any of the 41:12 presenter's not here yet? 41:13 They said well there's one pastor that hasn't arrived yet. 41:16 Pr. Ivor Meyers. Where does he live? 41:19 He lives in San Jose. Do you know what airport 41:23 he's flying out of? San Francisco. 41:24 Do you have his phone number? I called Ivor as fast as I could. 41:30 Hey John, what's happening my brother? 41:33 We got that instant urban what's up, my brother? 41:37 Hey Ivor check this out, where are you going? 41:39 I'm on my way to the airport. Okay, um, I will be there soon. 41:43 I tell you what. Here's what I want you to do. 41:46 Pick up my laptop, here's the number, here's where you go. 41:50 I got you, I got you. You would never guess 41:55 the name of the company that had my laptop 41:59 and I'm not making this up. 42:02 It was called Covenant Security. (Laughter) 42:06 Come on somebody say Holy Ghost help me out. 42:10 When you make a covenant with God, you've got security. 42:16 Amen! Nobody could have made that story up. 42:21 I could keep going, I got a little more time. 42:23 I was in the St. Louis Airport, we've been trying our best 42:28 to lose stuff, God won't let us. In the St. Louis Airport 42:32 just came back from wherever we were 42:34 and I had my silver pulley with my laptop, my I-Pad, 42:37 my hard drive, my phone, everything in it and we're at 42:41 the hotel in St. Louis and hurrying up, 42:43 you know I got to grab your stuff, get on the bus 42:45 to go the hotel, pick up your car and okay we're doing that 42:47 we're doing that, we're fine. So I get to the hotel 42:49 and I'm putting...and I said honey, do you have my laptop? 42:51 I'm always asking my wife, that's what guys do. 42:53 Do you have my laptop? She said, I don't have your laptop. 42:56 Oh, I left it on the curb outside of the airport. 43:00 I told the bus driver, I said could you go back to the 43:03 airport, he said you know man this is St. Louis, it's gone. 43:08 I said well just get me back as quickly as you can. 43:13 I didn't even sit down, I stood at the front door 43:16 where you know, you are not supposed to stand. 43:17 I stood right there with my head pasted to the window. 43:20 So we got in the airport, he's moving that bus is leaning. 43:23 He got to the airport by God's grace, there is my laptop bag 43:28 on the curb where all the cars are pulling up for people 43:31 to get in their cars and to home. 43:33 My laptop bag is right there and nobody touched it 43:36 that bus driver said you must know somebody. 43:39 (Laughter) He said what do you do for a living? 43:43 I said I serve God. Amen! 43:46 When you serve God, He will take care of you. 43:49 One more story since you asked. 43:50 I was down in Orlando, FL to do a concert, 43:54 I had an expensive Mini-Disk Player with all my Mini-Disks, 43:58 like 30 Mini-Disks and I got this Media Player in Singapore. 44:02 I'm at her mother's house we're there for four hours 44:04 we're just talking and eating and I said you know honey, 44:06 I'm going to go practice. 44:08 I go to the room to get my Mini-Disk Player 44:09 there's no Mini-Disks. I said honey, where in my Mini-Disk? 44:13 You're getting the pattern right now right? (Laughter) 44:16 She said I don't know. Don't tell me we left it 44:21 at the airport? I went to the Orlando International Airport. 44:27 I kid you not. By the baggage claim, there was my gray 44:35 hard-shell Mini-Disk player, you know those high-tech 44:38 cases that are waterproof? People are stepping over it 44:41 like it's not even there. Four and one-half hours later. 44:44 If I would have lost that, I would have lost my entire 44:47 music library, all of my original songs, 44:50 all of my backing tracks. 44:52 Let me tell you something, you will never know how God 44:54 can take care of you until you are faithful. 44:57 I got a ton more stories but let's keep going. 45:00 To God be the Glory. Come on say Amen somebody. 45:03 What promises God made, what promise has God made 45:07 to the faithful? Psalm 1:3 45:24 Oh, I can tell you some stories. 45:29 Another story since you asked. 45:31 We were living down at Weaverville 3ABN, 45:35 not Weaverville, Thompsonville at 3ABN, before we moved there 45:39 we had an accident in St. Louis. One Saturday night after a 45:42 big youth conference, I said to the young people, 45:44 when you go home, the devil will do anything he can to 45:47 mess up our evening. On the way home, we were living in 45:50 St. Louis at the time, entering the highway at 22 mph 45:54 our car slid on oil and rolled down an embankment in the dark. 45:58 End over end in our Forerunner. My wife, my mother-in-law, 46:02 and my two nieces, her two nieces. 46:04 The windows blew out, and stuff flying everywhere. 46:07 Let me tell you how God is amazing. 46:09 The day before that accident happened and by the way, 46:12 people were there within seconds to get us out. 46:15 The day before that accident happened, the Lord told me to 46:18 clean my car out. I detailed that car Pr. Mitch. 46:22 So all the stuff that would have been flying around, 46:24 was not in the vehicle. God saw this coming. 46:28 As a result, we have no Forerunner, 46:30 we got stuck in the snow a number of times and I went down 46:33 to the General Conference with Pr Doug to be a state Evangelist 46:36 as I came to the audience and recognized and welcomed the 46:40 television audience. After the program somebody said 46:43 when you stood up there tonight, the Lord spoke to me and said, 46:46 that young man is my servant, you bless him. 46:49 Now, prior to this, so that lady said well come to my office 46:55 to make the long story short. Two days later she gave me 47:00 the keys to a brand-new 2005 silver, eight-cylinder, 47:04 305 horsepower Nissan Armada SUV. 47:08 You know what she said to me? God told me to bless you, 47:11 I'll pay the insurance, I'll pay the note, 47:13 I'll pay for all repairs, you you just drive it 47:15 and be faithful. 47:17 But that's not the hook, that's not the hook. 47:20 Less than three months earlier my wife and I were shopping 47:25 around for an SUV, just dreaming on a Sunday afternoon 47:30 when the dealership was closed. We stood by a silver 2005 47:36 305 horsepower Nissan Armada, my wife said come here, John, 47:41 put your hand on top of mine, she said we're going to 47:48 claim this in Jesus' name and her prayer was Lord, 47:52 I don't know how you are going to get it to us but get it 47:55 to us before the General Conference session. 47:58 When we were driving down the highway with our family 48:01 in it, we recalled that prayer and how God pulled that car 48:04 out of nowhere and the lady's name was Faith. 48:13 Her name was Faith Joiner. 48:18 We never met her before, and she said if you 48:22 never see me again, you don't owe me a thing. 48:25 She passed away four months later. 48:27 Her name was Faith, what is God saying? 48:31 I'm faithful but you will never know if you think what you have 48:35 belongs to you, you will never see God move in a way 48:38 that He wants to. It just moves my heart to think about it. 48:40 I'm just getting started. Number 17, but I don't have 48:45 all the time, I need to keep going. 48:46 Praise you, Lord. And my wife still to this very day has 48:52 that lady's funeral program in her Bible, 48:53 we never forgot those people that have been kind to us. 48:59 Blessings are reciprocal friends, what you do comes back. 49:02 Luke 6:38 49:19 Let's look at this reciprocal blessing. 49:21 Many of you don't know that what you get, 49:24 starts with you. 49:25 Blessings are reciprocal, what you give. 49:28 When you give somebody a spoonful of sugar 49:31 you are going to get a spoonful of sugar. 49:32 When you give somebody $5.00 you are going to get $5.00. 49:36 God is saying how you bless others will come back to you. 49:40 People have called us and said I want to bless you 49:43 and I said no, that's okay, they said don't rob me of 49:45 my blessing. and I've seen God move in our lives 49:50 in ways that are amazing. 49:52 When our nephew needed a car, I remember that very well. 49:55 He was down at La Sierra University came home 49:59 from college for hours and he said, uncle, I can't get around, 50:02 I need a job. I was saving money up Miguel for my second CD 50:05 I had some money in the bank, I said to my wife, 50:08 I don't want to tell him no. He said it's okay, 50:12 always hear the word no. I took that money and gave it 50:15 to him so he could get a little car while he's in college. 50:18 When I was on my way home there on 5th and Fairfield, 50:24 California, the car in front of me had the license plate 50:29 and it said papa. Let me help you understand what that means. 50:31 Papa, PAPA. You know what happened when I was a young man 50:36 and I wanted a car? Papa gave me the money to get it, 50:41 the man that raised me. And the Lord was saying, 50:43 what Papa did for you, you just did for somebody 50:47 and I'm going to bless you. 50:48 I gave my $2,000 away for my CD project. A month and a half 50:51 later somebody I did not know sent me $20,000 to pay for my CD. 50:56 You don't think God can work? if you don't test Him, 51:00 you will never know. It's not always about financial blessings 51:02 sometimes about health. Sometimes it's about 51:05 the sanity of mind, sometimes its about the stability of your home 51:08 but you gotta put God to the test. Somebody ought to say 51:10 Amen! Amen! 51:12 But blessings are reciprocal, what you give will come back 51:14 to you, it is always true. He said give and it will be given 51:18 to you. Number 18. 51:22 2nd Corinthian 9:7 51:33 This guy does not look cheerful. 51:35 Here's my point. 51:42 Don't say Here God, I'm tired. You're always asking for money 51:47 here's your tithe. 51:48 He won't give you a diddly squat. When your heart is right, 51:51 the blessing will come and let me make this point, 51:54 don't even give to get blessings, give what we call 51:58 disinterested benevolence, give expecting nothing 52:01 and then it will come when God knows you need it. 52:04 Don't be like this guy counting the pennies. 52:06 I'm so glad they had that picture. 52:09 Number 19 52:15 What will He do? 52:17 Proverbs 11:24-25 52:39 That means when you help somebody, you will be blessed. 52:43 So here's the principle, what- ever we water will water us. 52:47 Say that together. Whatever we water, will water us. 52:50 That's a reciprocal blessing. Many of us don't know that 52:53 blessings are reciprocal. I've been saying that God will 52:57 bless you, proportionate to your willingness to help others. 53:00 If you know somebody who needs help and you have the ability 53:03 don't pray about it, help, help them. 53:05 Nothing angers me more than people that are financially 53:08 able and they push the responsibility to somebody else 53:12 by saying I'll pray for you. 53:14 That happened to me in Florida, I won't even tell you that story. 53:17 Okay Lord, thank you for telling me to shut up. 53:24 Number 20 53:28 Luke 12:15 53:43 I think you will appreciate this, it looks like 53:45 some of your houses. 53:48 Are you ready friends? 53:51 Do not let your possessions possess you. 53:53 Go home and clean out that garage. Amen, wives? 53:57 I've been telling your husband for years, he's still 54:02 collecting stuff. 54:04 Number 21 54:09 I Corinthians 4:2 54:18 Let me make a very important point. 54:25 Pr. McGill, Pr. Mitch and I we also return tithe 54:29 and offering. So, your tithe which helps the Conference 54:33 and the pastors and teachers, we get it now we return that 54:36 it continues to go around and around in circles. 54:39 God doesn't say pastors keep it all for yourself 54:42 no, not at all. God will bless us because we understand 54:46 that God is the source of all of our blessings. 54:48 And the last one, I think it is Number 22 55:01 Acts 20:35 55:21 Let's say that again, It is more blessed to give 55:25 than to receive. Giving is a greater blessing than 55:29 receiving. Believe me, I've seen that there are people 55:33 that sometimes call and when we have a little extra change 55:35 we give it to them and it comes back in full measure. 55:38 Sometimes we have family members call and say, I, I, 55:41 can you cash at me some money? We got it and then the next week 55:44 money shows up from nowhere. 55:46 And sometimes when family member call said we can't 55:50 help you financially but thank you for helping us 55:52 and we're going to pray that God will help you, and He does 55:55 and do you know when He does it? He does it when He knows 55:58 the need is greatest. You see friends, giving is a 56:01 greater blessing than receiving. Why is that so important? 56:04 God so loved the world that He did what friends? He gave. 56:10 Tonight I want to ask you, do you want to have the blessing 56:16 that God intends for your life to have? Come on raise your hand. 56:19 Some of you people are tighter than a plastic drum 56:23 you need to loosen up your purse and recognize the best way 56:27 to be blessed is to give towards God's work. 56:30 Support your local church. Support the endeavors of your 56:33 school, or to your conference. Support evangelism, 56:36 You know these meeting costs something. 56:38 So, you know what, if I've been blessed, I'm going to bless 56:40 my church, I'm going to lighten the burdens of the work 56:43 that's taking place here. All these books and CD's given out, 56:46 they're not free, they come courtesy of 3ABN and your local 56:50 pastors, and your local church and it's giving. 56:52 God will bless you. Let's pray tonight. 56:55 Gracious Father in Heaven, Lord, that song is so beautiful 56:59 Great is Your Faithfulness. 57:01 We know it, we've experienced it and it continues. 57:05 We're excited about it Father, and tonight we are praying 57:10 that Your children are excited that they will know that 57:14 Your hand will be moved by hearts that are not grudging, 57:17 that hearts are not stingy, but lives that are faithful. 57:21 So bless us Lord always, and may the blessing we receive 57:24 be a blessing that we give. In Jesus' name we pray. 57:28 Amen! Can we say Amen? |
Revised 2024-10-17