Thompsonville Worship Hour

Ontology

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray

Home

Series Code: TWH

Program Code: TWH000004A


00:32 Let us pray.
00:36 Loving Lord we thank You for the goodness
00:39 that we find in Your plan of blessings.
00:44 Today Father, as we walk
00:45 through the message entitled making sense,
00:49 we pray that we can make sense of
00:53 one of the grandest plans ever put together
00:55 for the success of Your people.
00:58 And so Lord guide our hearts and minds today
01:00 that we could be furnished with the knowledge
01:04 that transcends the human understanding,
01:07 sometimes almost to the point of illogical,
01:11 yet when we walk in the path of that plan,
01:15 we find life abundantly.
01:18 And so Holy Spirit come now and make this message clear,
01:23 we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
01:28 I'm going to begin with the scripture readings,
01:32 I know that
01:34 that is the foundation of the sermon making sense.
01:37 You know, if I were to spend the time
01:40 to just give my testimony
01:42 on how God has blessed our lives in God's plan
01:47 we could be here for a long time.
01:51 God blesses us in a way that no one else ever could.
01:57 Can I get an amen to that?
01:59 Amen!
02:00 But God has a plan for blessings
02:03 and today, after we read the scripture reading,
02:06 we're going to see
02:08 how this plan has caused the work
02:11 that is taking place here in Thompsonville
02:15 to have a footprint around the world.
02:17 Let's begin by reading the scripture together.
02:21 Malachi 3 and let's look together at verse 10.
02:25 "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
02:29 That there may be food in My house,
02:33 And try Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts,
02:37 ''If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
02:42 And pour out for you...'" What?
02:44 "'Such a blessing that there will not be room enough
02:49 to receive it.'"
02:51 I'm going to take you to the screen today
02:54 and introduce you to your church,
02:56 to your world church.
03:00 The Seventh-day Adventist Church
03:02 is larger than many of us even can anticipate.
03:07 My wife and I have had the privilege
03:09 of traveling to more than 60 countries,
03:12 seeing the church in New Guinea and Indonesia
03:15 and Tahiti and Hawaii.
03:17 And the Philippines and in London
03:20 and in the Caribbean and in places around the world
03:23 that we never thought we'd ever go
03:24 to Australia, New Zealand
03:26 and we've seen the church function
03:28 at a cellular level from the roots
03:31 all the way up to the highest location of the church
03:36 in Silver Springs, Maryland the General Conference.
03:39 And God has put a plan in place that I want to re-familiarize
03:45 those of you that may know it already
03:47 but introduce some of you that have not heard about it.
03:50 Look at this, I'd like to begin
03:51 by sharing the scripture with you,
03:53 and this is the proclamation that Jesus put in place
03:58 after His ascension to give us our mission statement
04:02 in Matthew 28:19-20.
04:06 The Lord says in His word,
04:09 "Go therefore and make disciples of..." What?
04:12 "All nations,
04:14 baptizing them in the name of the Father
04:17 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
04:21 teaching them to observe all things
04:25 that I have commanded you
04:26 and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
04:32 When the Bible says, "Go therefore
04:34 and make disciples of all nations."
04:36 The intent is God wants His Church to be in
04:38 how many nations?
04:40 All nations,
04:41 and as we sit here today there are roughly about
04:45 276 recognized countries in the world.
04:51 And in many of them
04:52 either in obvious statistics or in undercover work
04:56 God has allowed His church to have His territory.
05:01 In fact our territory
05:02 as a Seventh-day Adventist movement,
05:05 our territory is the world.
05:07 How much church God has called us to be in all the world?
05:11 Pastor C.A. has seen the church function.
05:13 I've gone to places where I've had an interpreter
05:15 when I preach to the people from Poland.
05:18 I've had an interpreter down in I was in New Zealand,
05:21 so I was in Australia at a Polish camp meeting
05:25 and I preached from Friday to Sunday
05:27 and all my sermons were interpreted.
05:32 The only way that they knew what I said was
05:34 through an interpreter,
05:35 God used the gift of tongues to communicate His message
05:39 from English to those who were Polish
05:41 down in the country of Australia.
05:43 I was at Cook...
05:45 I was at a Cook Island at the cam meeting.
05:47 I spoke in the Philippines and in Europe,
05:49 taught the Sabbath school lesson once in Germany
05:52 through an interpreter.
05:53 I was in Africa...
05:57 in Zimbabwe and Zambia, South Africa, Pretoria...
06:02 And as we look at the World Church
06:05 from the way that God intends it to be,
06:08 in order for the church to be around the world,
06:11 we have to have a method and a system
06:14 to get us into all the different components
06:16 of the world.
06:18 Matter of fact, our territory is the world
06:20 but our message is salvation through Christ alone,
06:24 can you say amen?
06:25 Not a unique message,
06:26 it is the message of the Christian church.
06:28 We don't have salvation through our 28 fundamentals,
06:31 we have salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
06:33 The church has been established to preach Christ
06:36 and Him crucified to point people to Christ,
06:39 but our mission also is not just to point people to Christ,
06:41 but our mission is to make disciples of all nations.
06:44 And a disciple is simply somebody who follows Christ,
06:48 somebody whose life is molded after the life of Christ.
06:53 But in our structure as a church through elders
06:56 and deacons and deaconesses and personal ministries,
07:00 through women's and men's ministries,
07:02 through Sabbath school, through our mission fields,
07:06 through our outreach programs
07:07 helping people to build in places
07:10 where a building was not possible
07:12 through their resources,
07:13 God has given us a footprint
07:15 in almost every country of the world,
07:18 what do you say?
07:19 Almost every country,
07:20 you got to get out of Thompsonville sometimes.
07:24 Right, Pastor C.A.?
07:26 You got to get out and spread your wings.
07:28 You got to see the church 'cause you know,
07:30 especially if you've come from a different denomination,
07:32 some people for the most part,
07:34 you go to a church or a local church,
07:35 I'm not going to mention denominations
07:37 but you go to a local church and that's it.
07:40 When the money comes in,
07:42 it goes into the either the pastor's bank account,
07:44 that's not how it happens in the Adventist Church,
07:47 nothing you give this morning goes into my pocket directly,
07:51 can you say amen?
07:52 My salary stays the same
07:54 until the headquarters decides to give me a raise.
08:00 That may happen once every three years.
08:02 I remember we got one raise after five years
08:05 and it was just for the cost of living,
08:08 and one thing you need to know about an Adventist pastor,
08:10 we are not Adventist pastors for the money.
08:17 As a pastor you can could say amen,
08:19 we are not in this for the money.
08:23 I remember being talked to by a pastor
08:26 from a different denomination
08:27 and he had come and he was given the privilege
08:30 of sharing with some of our pastors
08:32 and after his sermon he said to me,
08:34 he said, "I got more money in my pocket
08:36 than you make in a month."
08:40 And he pulled out his wallet, he had quite a few thousand.
08:47 And I said to him in a very humble way,
08:49 "We don't do this for the money,
08:52 we do this for the glory of God and the validity of His order."
08:57 So that's why we tell the truth as it is in God's word
09:02 'cause we don't sell out, we don't try to have services
09:05 where I tell you what you want to hear
09:08 so that you can give me more money.
09:10 When you write your check and your tithe,
09:13 it goes straight front and I'll show you today,
09:16 it goes straight from that offering
09:17 but I don't even see it.
09:19 I don't know what comes in,
09:21 I don't know whether you give or not
09:23 and I choose to not know that,
09:25 that's between you and the Lord.
09:29 I don't do favors to other church members for money...
09:35 but when the money comes in,
09:38 because we have a worldwide work,
09:41 we have a worldwide headquarters.
09:44 This is an aerial view
09:46 of the General Conference headquarters.
09:49 This is if I could summarize it,
09:52 this is where all the work in all the countries
09:56 in all the cities and all the nations
09:59 and all the languages,
10:01 this is the main headquarters in Silver Springs, Maryland
10:06 where everything that happens in the Adventist Church
10:09 flows right into that one location.
10:12 We've got a video that I'm going to show you right now,
10:15 that will give you an understanding
10:17 of how this functions in the world church.
10:20 Notice the screen, probably from...
10:22 Welcome to the headquarters
10:23 of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church.
10:26 Opened in 1989,
10:28 this building known as the General Conference,
10:30 houses five separate entities.
10:33 Please join us as we take an inside look
10:35 around the building.
10:37 We start up to in the visitor's center,
10:39 here you can view a timeline of our church's history
10:43 and watch videos on initiative
10:44 sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
10:48 Next we come to the King is Coming
10:50 by Victor Issa.
10:51 This sculpture has ten figures
10:54 representing different regions of the world.
10:57 Each figure is made from bronze
10:58 and weighs about as much as a person
11:00 of the same size would weigh.
11:03 The angel represents
11:04 the guardian angle of the child it is carrying.
11:07 Each morning employees gather here
11:09 in the auditorium for worship.
11:12 This place seats up to 800 people
11:14 and is used for meetings, conferences
11:17 and video productions.
11:19 We are now entering the atrium
11:21 where many events like concerts are held.
11:24 Also here is a Rebok Memorial Library
11:27 which houses over 14,000 books on a variety of subjects.
11:33 The blessed hope by Nathan Green
11:34 was unveiled during the General Conference session
11:37 in Atlanta in 2010.
11:39 The painting is part of an art gallery called Eden to Eden,
11:43 the church leaders are planning for the headquarters.
11:46 Finally, this globe lights up
11:48 to represent each of the 13 divisions
11:51 and over 130 unions around the world.
11:55 This is the whole of history
11:57 celebrating the 150 years of the church's history.
12:01 Adventist Risk Management
12:03 provides solutions for minimizing risk
12:05 within the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
12:08 The Adventist Development and Relief agency
12:11 is a humanitarian arm
12:12 of the Seventh-day Adventist church
12:14 providing emergency relief to communities
12:17 all around the world.
12:19 Here we have the North American division
12:21 which represents the church
12:23 in the United States and Canada.
12:26 At noon, each day employees gather here in this chapel
12:30 to pray for each prayer requests they receive.
12:34 Now we come to the Harry Anderson display
12:37 which includes a self portrait and his personal easel.
12:41 Harry Anderson is well known for his illustrations
12:44 in the Bible story series and also secular publications.
12:49 We're now in the office of President Ted N.C. Wilson,
12:53 he was elected during the General Conference session
12:55 in 2010,
12:57 also located here are the offices
12:59 of the nine general vice presidents.
13:03 The building also includes the offices
13:05 of hundreds of General Conference employees
13:08 who work to ensure religious liberty,
13:10 education, healthcare and more
13:12 for millions of Adventists worldwide.
13:16 Hope Channel is the newest extension
13:18 of the General Conference building.
13:19 Hope Channel is the official television network
13:22 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
13:25 This is the studio where they record popular shows
13:28 like 'Let's Pray,' 'Cross Connection'
13:30 and 'Hope Sabbath School.'
13:33 Another studio in the building
13:34 is a communication department studio.
13:37 Each week A&N video is recorded here.
13:41 Finally, we come to the widest state,
13:43 here we have the painting of Christ of the Narrow Way
13:46 by Elfred Lee.
13:47 This mural illustrates Ellen White's first vision
13:51 and shows a narrow path in which believes
13:53 in three angels' message of Revelation 14,
13:56 are traveling toward the holy city.
13:58 If you are hungry after your tour,
14:00 you can eat in our completely vegetarian cafeteria.
14:04 The cafeteria serves employees and visitors everyday
14:07 from 11:30-1:00 pm.
14:10 If you would like to visit us in person,
14:12 you can make an appointment by visiting Adventist.org.
14:18 So amen? Amen!
14:20 That's a summary of the General Conference,
14:23 that's the newer buildings,
14:25 they were located at a different location then.
14:27 And as we sit here this morning, this is as of,
14:32 actually the statistics are even more recent
14:34 than that as of October 2016,
14:37 you are one member, let's all raise our hands.
14:40 Come on, let's all raise it.
14:41 You are one person
14:44 among 19,126,438
14:50 and after I just mentioned that number
14:52 it's already changed because the Adventist church
14:55 3,000 plus people a day become members of your church.
15:01 Come on say amen some body. Amen!
15:03 These are not just statistics, these are souls being added,
15:06 people receiving the gospel.
15:08 So when you walk through the doors of this building
15:09 which in by the way 3ABN is the physical owner
15:13 of this building and 3ABN,
15:17 hey, and I'll tell you about their function and the growth
15:19 of the Adventist church.
15:20 When 3ABN came into existence in 1984,
15:23 from 1984 to the present,
15:25 the growth of the church has exploded
15:28 because of the footprint that 3ABN had
15:31 long before Hope Channel.
15:33 Hope channel is the new arm, a new media arm,
15:36 if you ever get a chance to go to the General Conference
15:38 you see Hope Channel,
15:39 Hope Channel would be representing
15:41 maybe this sanctuary,
15:43 not even as larger the sanctuary,
15:45 and 3ABN you've seen the footprint of 3ABN.
15:48 The first worldwide televising of the General Conference
15:51 was done through 3ABN.
15:53 The first large worldwide evangelistic series
15:57 was shown to the world through 3ABN
15:59 which was Mark Finley back in 1995.
16:03 So 3ABN is a part
16:04 of the exploding growth of the church
16:06 although it receives no funding on a monthly basis
16:12 from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
16:15 And I'll show you how all of these entities are supported.
16:18 Out of the 19 million members,
16:20 it is broken down into 13 divisions.
16:23 Here is a color chart of how the world work is laid out
16:28 and those areas that I just covered
16:30 are seen very quickly in a splash, just in a splash.
16:34 I'm not going to take a whole lot of time on this
16:35 because we also have a video that we're going to show you
16:38 that introduces you to how the church is located
16:42 in different regions of the world
16:44 it's called our connection, look at this video.
16:48 We are people and we love to get connected.
16:53 We connect as families because of birth,
16:56 we connect as friends because we click
16:59 and we connect as communities because we care.
17:03 Seventh-day Adventists are people
17:05 who connect in communities called congregations
17:09 which in turn connect to form conferences,
17:12 who connect together to form unions, divisions
17:16 and the General Conference.
17:18 Why do we connect?
17:20 It starts with a connection to the Creator,
17:23 who invites us on a spiritual journey.
17:26 When we journey together,
17:28 we can help each other along the way.
17:31 This journey is a journey of a lifetime.
17:34 And as we learn, and grow
17:36 life becomes filled with meaning and purpose.
17:41 Our greatest joy
17:43 is in helping others along the way.
17:46 Wherever you are on your journey,
17:48 we believe that we have something to offer,
17:51 that can make your life more whole.
17:55 So the next time you see a Seventh-day Adventist
17:58 remember, you're not looking at someone who stands alone,
18:02 they are connected to a World Church
18:05 that has 18 million members, gathered in 13 divisions,
18:10 comprised of 122 unions, formed by 600 conferences,
18:16 serving in 140,000 congregations
18:20 in 208 countries,
18:22 who worship in 924 languages
18:26 and they all want to connect with you.
18:34 Could somebody say hallelujah somewhere?
18:36 This is a beautiful church, amen?
18:39 And by the way as of the production of this video,
18:42 the numbers have increased.
18:43 When this video was made it was at roughly 18 million
18:46 but every day 3,000 more are being added
18:48 around the world
18:49 and thus, we have a total of 19 million.
18:52 Look at the screen again,
18:53 I'm going to bring this up to you.
18:55 Look at these statistics and this is as of
18:57 and these were put out as of 2015.
19:00 How many churches?
19:01 but then 69,000 companies,
19:06 what's the difference between a church and a company?
19:08 A company is a newly formed body of believers
19:11 that somebody might say,
19:12 "Hey, let's put a church in the town right over here,"
19:15 and they maybe meeting in a storefront
19:17 or a newly renovated building
19:20 but they're not yet to the place
19:21 where they have all the pieces in place
19:23 to be an official church, that's considered a company.
19:27 So 81,000 official churches, 69,000 you add it up together.
19:31 Eight and six is 14, 150,000 roughly.
19:36 When Sabbath comes in 151,000 locations in various languages,
19:40 all over the world people are saying
19:42 happy Sabbath, feliz Sabado and wish I had a language
19:45 that I could do that in but I can't.
19:47 Amen!
19:48 Ordained ministers, I'm one of 19,000,
19:52 Pastor C.A. is one of 19,020 but that's ordained,
19:56 that's not pastors in total
19:58 because you have to get to a certain level
20:00 before you are ordained.
20:02 So these are the ones that have gotten to that
20:03 after five years of service or eight years of service,
20:06 they are ordained but pastors that just come
20:08 out of the seminary or out of college.
20:11 So when you add that up together
20:12 not counting laymen and missionaries
20:16 that from week to week are carrying this gospel
20:18 all over the world, more than 19,000.
20:22 Look at the employees, 279,000.
20:25 I'm going to round it up
20:27 because more employees has been added
20:28 since these statistics had been added.
20:31 In the countries where work is established,
20:33 215 countries
20:35 so far we have publicized our presence in 215 countries.
20:40 We don't talk about where we are in countries,
20:43 where Christianity is not allowed
20:46 but I want to say we are there, what do you say?
20:50 I remember being at the General Conference,
20:51 I think it was 2005 or 2010, Pastor C.A. may remember this.
20:55 There was an Asian gentleman that came out on stage,
20:58 he was from China.
21:00 Now all these other countries, a lot of people are coming out
21:03 all their different colors, you know,
21:04 in their beautiful outfits and he came out,
21:07 they say and they mentioned the country
21:10 and he came out by himself
21:11 looking as you may picture a Chinese guy,
21:16 that's a farmer made out way out on the country
21:18 and he came out in this arena where almost 80,000 people
21:23 and he stood in the center of this massive stage
21:26 and he said these two words, "I'm here."
21:32 And he looked at his church family
21:33 that surrounded him in this massive arena.
21:37 Many, many stories in this football stadium
21:40 and I believe 2005, was that in St. Louis?
21:43 Yeah.
21:45 That was St. Louis.
21:46 It was one just, yeah,
21:47 he looked at this massive contingency
21:50 and he said, "I'm here."
21:53 And it slowly caught on and he said,
21:55 "I've been waiting all my life
21:59 to see my church."
22:03 And I tell you there were many, many tears
22:05 but that place erupted
22:07 for the glory of God, breaking into that new field.
22:11 But there are some places we can't publish
22:12 because we cannot let those who don't want us to be there
22:16 know we are already there.
22:19 We have publishing languages 974 languages,
22:23 you saw in the videos there are 940,
22:25 now they've increased that
22:26 because every day in languages and dialects,
22:29 the Bible is being translated
22:31 so that people of other people groups
22:33 can understand this gospel.
22:35 And publishing houses, we have 62 publishing houses
22:37 which would be something like Review and Herald
22:40 or Pacific Press,
22:41 in London it's the Stanbrook Press
22:42 and there are many other publishing houses
22:44 around the nation.
22:46 What about schools?
22:47 We have teachers, our teachers here today,
22:49 look our teachers stand, come on our teachers stand.
22:52 Come on, come on, standup, come on, Miss Haney.
22:56 Can we give them a hearty amen?
22:58 They are two of the teachers
23:02 in the 7,792 schools, that the church...
23:09 God has allowed the Seventh-day Adventist Church
23:11 to plan around the world.
23:13 And we have seen many of them,
23:15 we've got, we've seen many of them
23:16 but we have not been to 7,000, we haven't even been to a 1000
23:20 but the total enrollment as of these statistics
23:22 were 1.8 million students,
23:24 they're going through our halls, our universities
23:27 from kindergarten to elementary school
23:31 to junior academy, to academy, to college,
23:34 to university, to seminary.
23:40 Then there's 175 hospitals, it's a worldwide work.
23:43 The nursing homes and retirement centers are 140.
23:46 Then clinics and dispensaries, in other words,
23:49 the dispensaries would be somewhat like in South America
23:52 where they would have a medical boat
23:53 that goes from community to community,
23:55 from town to town, from village to village
23:57 and they carry on medical work from a boat
24:00 because they will go into places like the Amazon,
24:02 where there are no hospitals,
24:03 where the people don't come to the cities,
24:05 so they go to the people that are out
24:07 in these remote areas.
24:08 These are called dispensaries,
24:10 385 clinics and dispensaries combined together.
24:14 Then orphanages and children's homes is 29
24:16 and food industries,
24:18 where many of the foods that we eat,
24:20 some of these substitute foods that are temporary
24:23 that we are not taking to heaven, amen somebody?
24:27 The transitional foods,
24:28 these are made in various places around the world
24:31 like Loma Linda in Cedar Lake and places down
24:34 and this is a picture, if you've never been
24:35 to a General Conference session before,
24:37 this was a General Conference session
24:39 on Sabbath morning in San Antonio, Texas in 2015.
24:42 Let me say something, I was there, can't you see me?
24:46 I'm in the crowd, Angie's in the crowd.
24:50 When you walk out on Sabbath morning
24:52 and you hear them singing one song,
24:55 I want to tell you, I stood there with my cellphone
24:58 going like this just videotaping in the circle,
25:01 I downloaded those videos and it didn't lose those,
25:03 my phone had an apocalyptic experience
25:06 as we could just die.
25:08 But I got those videos
25:09 when I was standing there on Sabbath morning
25:11 and I saw so many people with their iPads and their phones
25:13 just spinning around, just crying
25:16 and taking pictures and videos of their World Church
25:19 because once every five years, we get together
25:21 to rub our elbows with a hundreds of displays,
25:25 the thousands of people.
25:27 3ABN had a gigantic display
25:30 at the last General Conference session.
25:31 We had to stay at our booths in ships
25:35 because we needed a break
25:37 with all the handshakes and that hugs and the pictures,
25:39 we were blinded by the many flash bulbs
25:43 but how wonderful it was to touch the lives of people
25:46 all over the world.
25:48 But let me tell you how it works.
25:50 Look at this chart very carefully.
25:51 We're going to follow the blessing.
25:53 So now you have the tithe envelope with you,
25:55 it all begins with you on Sabbath morning.
25:58 Open that tithe envelop till you see the place
26:02 where the name and address goes.
26:03 Now I'm not going to tell you yet what to do it
26:05 but just hold it there because I'm going to walk you through
26:07 how this happens.
26:08 On Sabbath morning this
26:11 and I'm going to use this ten dollar bill as an example.
26:13 This ten dollar bill starts a journey,
26:17 if you were a ten dollar bill, you would be able to,
26:21 if you were a ten dollar bill in the Adventist Church,
26:23 you would be able to travel around the world
26:25 because a portion of this
26:27 touches every one of these entities.
26:31 It begins in Thompsonville and then you have Marion,
26:35 you have Thompsonville, you have West Frankfurt,
26:37 you have Mt.Vernon, you have Metropolis
26:41 and other churches in Southern Illinois.
26:44 When they collect offering on Sabbath morning,
26:47 if it's tithing, it all goes to the next IC
26:50 which is the Illinois Conference,
26:52 100 percent.
26:56 What percent did I say?
26:57 100 percent of your tithing leaves this building
27:02 on a journey to the Illinois Conference, 100 percent.
27:07 So some people may say,
27:08 "Well how is it on the back of the bulletin,
27:10 it seems like we didn't make the budget
27:11 and I gave a large tithe last week
27:13 because they left,
27:16 it began a journey to help the worldwide work
27:19 and portions of it comes back for the pastor's salary,
27:23 for the teacher's salary.
27:26 But then it starts the journey to help the work
27:28 in the Illinois Conference,
27:30 that's why you have the percentage there
27:31 on the right side,
27:33 percentage of your dollars go there.
27:34 Then from the Illinois Conference,
27:35 a percentage of that goes to the North American division.
27:40 There's a work in this conference
27:41 that each of us contributes to.
27:43 Give you an example,
27:44 when we first started back in 2004 in Thompsonville,
27:47 we had that little small church down the way
27:49 before 3ABN build the building, anybody remember that?
27:52 If you drive down 149 today,
27:53 you can see it on the left hand side,
27:55 it's just about a mile and a half to two miles
27:56 from here on 149.
27:58 We were there.
28:01 One of the blessings we have
28:02 and this is by the work of 3ABN,
28:04 by the blessings of 3ABN, very few churches
28:07 get to establish this kind of blessing
28:09 is when Sabbath morning comes
28:11 most of the expenses of this building
28:13 are covered by Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
28:16 Amen, somebody?
28:18 We could not physically afford,
28:20 financially afford a building of this size.
28:24 Because God has people all around the world
28:26 that helps to keep His work going forward.
28:29 Many of our expenses, the majority of the expenses
28:31 to carry this building forward are covered by 3ABN
28:34 and we cannot thank them enough.
28:37 But on a legal level,
28:39 all the churches in all the world,
28:44 there's not a single building owned by any pastor.
28:48 We don't own any churches, we don't own it,
28:51 nothing is in my name in this church
28:53 except the suit I have on, that's it.
28:56 So I could be here for a certain period time
28:57 and go on and another pastor comes,
28:59 that's how the church is designed.
29:00 So I have no personal motivation
29:03 to try to swindle you out of your money
29:06 but it goes from here,
29:07 it goes to the Illinois Conference
29:08 and portions of it comes back,
29:10 then a portion from the Illinois Conference
29:12 goes to the NAD, the North American division,
29:15 to the union, got the Lake Union.
29:17 I cut out one step, it goes to the Lake Union,
29:21 I have one step I missed here.
29:22 Then from the Lake Union to the North American division,
29:25 from the North American division
29:26 to the General Conference.
29:28 I had one step, I forgot there.
29:29 So we have a five, that dollar, church, conference, union,
29:36 division, General Conference.
29:39 And then, the projects that are suggested
29:42 on a three month basis and many of you
29:45 who have Sabbath school lessons
29:47 on the back of your Sabbath school lesson,
29:48 you see that mission project,
29:50 anybody know what I'm talking about?
29:51 They said, we're going to build a church in
29:53 and they mention where it's going to be
29:55 and once every 13 weeks,
29:57 it's called 13 Sabbath offering,
30:00 on a Sabbath to Sabbath basis in your class,
30:02 the teachers pass around a little envelope says
30:04 this is for the mission offering,
30:06 this is for Sabbath school expense.
30:08 Meaning, all the stuff that happens here,
30:11 you participate in making that happen
30:13 and the work that happens in places around the world
30:15 that can never afford it,
30:18 happens by your willing,
30:22 your willingness to give to God's cause.
30:25 But now let's look at that, let's go on and see this.
30:27 So the point of the matter is when everyone gives together,
30:31 every need is met.
30:33 Let's look at this very carefully.
30:35 Here's the tithing envelope.
30:37 On the tithing envelope, if you open it up...
30:45 You're going to see
30:46 on this front cover right here, you see your name and address.
30:50 I'm going to break down to four sections
30:52 because you have, let's look at that is in blue,
30:54 it says tithe, then what else
30:56 is the next blue section is a local church,
30:58 you see that?
31:00 The next one is what?
31:01 Conference Ministry and the next one is what?
31:05 World Church.
31:06 That's how the money takes a journey.
31:09 Now it happens one of two ways, today in the bulletin,
31:13 open your bulletins, let's look at this together.
31:15 Show you how the World Church, so there are people
31:17 that are under certain regions of the world
31:21 waiting for us collectively
31:23 as a people to help them build a church
31:25 where they have none.
31:28 Watch this, North American division,
31:31 today it's going to the North American division.
31:34 Remember that right there, look at that.
31:35 Let's go back real quickly.
31:37 The North American, NAD, today the offering
31:40 is going to the North American division
31:42 which means they have a project that they've established,
31:45 that these funds that we give today
31:48 and what happens when the deacons come by,
31:50 if you don't write anything down
31:53 and you just drop this into the plate,
31:56 it goes to the North American division.
32:00 If you put it in the envelope
32:02 and you don't say anything am I right,
32:05 it goes to the North American division
32:09 because that's what the offering for that day
32:12 was designated for the North American division.
32:15 On the Sabbath when we say it's the local church budget,
32:18 turn your bulletins around, let's look at this.
32:22 I'm going to go through that very quickly here.
32:25 On the Sabbath when we say it's the local church budget,
32:28 you've seen this from week to week
32:29 and you wonder what on earth is that?
32:34 Whenever we say local church budget,
32:36 now this was earlier in January,
32:38 I think the first week but now you look at it today
32:40 on the back of the bulletin, hey and it's higher.
32:43 Amen, somebody?
32:45 That means we get four or five weeks
32:48 to cover our local expenses,
32:50 and by the way for people that say,
32:52 why is he talking about money on Sabbath morning.
32:55 Jesus talked about money more than He talked about hell.
32:59 Because He says, where your treasure is,
33:03 there will your heart be also.
33:06 So when you see this and the offering,
33:08 if the offering today is not for local church budget,
33:11 the question is how can we give?
33:12 Let's go back a few slides here
33:14 and I'll break this down for you.
33:15 It starts that way
33:17 and on the back of the tithe envelop,
33:18 that's simply what you see.
33:20 You see that, but it starts this way, look at that.
33:22 This is where it shows, a local church budget
33:24 and these percentages by the way
33:26 are suggested on the tithe envelop,
33:27 look that again, you see that?
33:30 How much of your income belongs to God,
33:32 somebody tell me?
33:35 I know that always hangs you, people say ten percent,
33:40 that's not what I asked you.
33:41 I said how much of your income belongs to God, how much of it?
33:44 All, that's right.
33:46 Everything you have comes from God.
33:49 But now the next question is how much of your income
33:52 is holy to the Lord?
33:55 Here it is, the tithe ten percent of your income
33:59 that belongs to the Lord.
34:01 We are giving to the Lord what is His.
34:05 Here's the text, Leviticus 27:30,
34:07 this is one of the text, notice what it says,
34:09 "All the..." What?
34:12 "Tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land
34:16 or of the fruit of the tree,
34:19 is the Lord's together it is..." What?
34:21 "Holy to the Lord."
34:25 So the question is how do we make that happen?
34:27 Let's look at this, how do we make that happen?
34:29 Let's go ahead and look at the tithe envelope
34:30 and how you fill that out.
34:32 So now I put their John Doe Smith Wesson.
34:36 So when this tithe envelop shows up in dean's office
34:40 and she doesn't know who it is,
34:42 she only has a couple of options.
34:44 Well, the money is in here,
34:45 will go to the offering of the day
34:47 that's usually the first choice
34:48 because you didn't tell us where you wanted to go?
34:51 So sometimes she goes to the pastor,
34:53 "What do we do?"
34:54 "Well, is there any name?" "No."
34:56 "Well, put into the offering of the day."
34:57 But if you want you might to go specifically,
34:59 let's look at the breakdown of this.
35:01 The first area you see is tithe,
35:02 what do you see there?
35:04 And I'm suggesting that maybe the person's income
35:08 is if the income was a $1000 then one tenth of that is what?
35:12 $100.
35:14 Now just for your own information,
35:16 people often pay off of their net.
35:19 Some people pay off their gross that's between you and Lord
35:21 but at least pay off of your net
35:24 'cause some people have insurance
35:25 and all that comes out of their tithing
35:26 and they pay that when they get their taxes later on.
35:30 Then you have church budget, combined budget,
35:33 that local amount $50,
35:36 when you don't put anything there,
35:39 this decides this languishes.
35:43 When we don't put anything for the local church,
35:46 you'll hear the elders saying,
35:47 "Well, we didn't make our budget this month."
35:50 "Well, we didn't." You know what happens?
35:52 That means personal ministries can buy more books,
35:55 Don and Janelle always passing out materials,
35:58 they don't have the money to do it this month
35:59 because that percentage
36:01 that comes from our local budget
36:02 couldn't go in there.
36:04 And you'll find out about that tonight
36:06 in our business meeting, you need to be there to see
36:08 how your church works, it's powerful.
36:10 And I'll say this also, every church member
36:13 has the right to ask for a financial report
36:19 to know where their moneys are going.
36:21 Praise the Lord?
36:23 The Lord wants us to be people
36:24 that are not slothful in business.
36:26 Very important, but we go down the list again.
36:29 So let's just to say we put $50 toward our local church,
36:32 that is a suggested amount but whatever
36:35 and tithing is a set amount ten percent,
36:37 offering is whatever you feel,
36:39 God is impressed you to be able to afford to give.
36:42 Then others put church expense and what is church expense?
36:46 Well, when the insurance gets due,
36:48 that comes out of church expense.
36:51 We have other needs at the local level,
36:53 that are covered by church expense.
36:54 Come tonight and you'll find out
36:56 what they are in specific.
36:57 Then Sabbath school expense.
36:59 When you get a Sabbath school lesson,
37:00 guess what?
37:02 They ain't free
37:04 but that's how we study around the world,
37:05 can you say amen to that?
37:07 All the, in other words
37:08 we are part of the family of God.
37:11 Do you know of any family
37:14 that lets you live in that house
37:16 without contributing anything?
37:18 You got to be really young to say yes.
37:21 So I remember my dad, when I was growing up,
37:23 the moment I got a job,
37:24 stacking shelves in the local grocery store,
37:28 I came to visit,
37:29 "Well, how much you going to give me?"
37:31 I said, "Am I paying rent now?"
37:32 He said, "No but you're not living here for free."
37:36 And you know, the sad statistic is this is true,
37:39 the sad statistic is
37:41 that in most cases 30% of the church
37:45 is carrying the other 70% that for the most part
37:49 don't give anything.
37:52 Because they don't understand
37:54 that this is their committed to God.
37:55 You see tithing is not the most you can do,
37:58 tithing is the least you can do.
38:01 It your commitment that God is your God
38:04 and when you don't give the church
38:06 begins to die out slowly,
38:08 all the things we showed you that happens
38:10 and people are getting the gospel in all the world,
38:12 it starts to fade away and before you know it,
38:15 when Thompsonville is not faithful,
38:17 then it makes the conference smaller,
38:20 then the union, then the division,
38:22 then the GC and then all these projects
38:24 that are designated people remain in darkness
38:26 because there's nothing going out there.
38:28 It all begins with us, you do that section.
38:30 The building fund, if we have a building project.
38:34 Then you have evangelism, local evangelism
38:36 and then at the bottom, I put in red
38:38 because I mentioned to you 3ABN
38:40 does not get any monthly funding
38:41 from anything we send to the General Conference.
38:43 How do they exist?
38:45 By us including them in our giving.
38:47 So at the bottom I put there for my example
38:49 Three Angels Broadcasting Network,
38:52 that's how you and so 3ABN
38:54 can continue carrying the gospel,
38:55 they can continue thriving, amen, church?
38:58 And guess what? When they thrive, we exist.
39:02 If we say, "We don't care whether 3ABN makes it or not,
39:04 I'll tell you what?
39:06 They don't make it, this church is gone.
39:10 It's a month by month
39:11 and we're all stewards of God's work.
39:13 Then it goes to the one, next one,
39:14 the conference ministries
39:16 which you see on your tithing envelope.
39:18 Very quickly, evangelism
39:20 and we've explained those in details
39:21 and then finally, you get the bottom
39:23 where you put the total on your tithe envelop
39:24 and you send it in, and that's how that happens.
39:27 So today, that's what we are doing
39:29 the tithing to the very end.
39:31 You might want to try that now if you brought your tithing
39:34 and your offering today, look at this envelope
39:35 and use it for the first time.
39:37 So we can know who you are, so we can help you grow
39:41 in your spiritual walk with Christ
39:42 but now let's look at this in reverse.
39:44 This is kind of scary.
39:46 I gave it a different title
39:48 instead of following the blessing,
39:49 look what I wrote, follow the curse.
39:53 If Illinois, if Thompsonville disappears,
39:56 we're no longer giving.
39:58 Then eventually, the Lake Union disappears
40:04 and the North American division has no work
40:07 and then what happens?
40:09 The whole world is impacted
40:10 and they ask the question what happened?
40:13 While the folk at Thompsonville decide
40:14 that they don't want to give any more, really?
40:18 So what about all this, what about all this evangelism?
40:20 What about the schools
40:22 that we need to build and the hospital?
40:23 I haven't even told you about our hospitals
40:26 and our schools and our universities.
40:31 And so when we look at that, if Thompsonville participates,
40:37 the entire world is blessed, what do you say?
40:41 If Thompsonville, if it begins with you,
40:44 it all starts with us.
40:47 The blessing starts with us.
40:49 Let's say this, the blessing starts with me.
40:54 Let's try that. The blessing starts with me.
40:58 And let me tell you,
40:59 when you put this in the envelope today,
41:02 it's gone past Pastor John, he's not going to see it
41:06 but people around the world will say, "Thank you."
41:09 Like that song, "Thank you, for giving to the Lord,
41:15 high in the life that was change."
41:20 That's what happens,
41:21 people are being baptized in this church,
41:23 all the children now can go to an orphanage
41:26 and have their food and clothing provided
41:28 because of you.
41:30 You decided that one soul is important
41:34 for the Kingdom of God
41:35 and finally, let's look at this text.
41:38 Matthew says it so wonderfully, let's read this together.
41:41 Why does God have a world mission?
41:43 Why does He have a World Church?
41:44 Here it is.
41:46 "And this gospel of the kingdom together will be preached..."
41:49 Where?
41:50 "In all the world as a witness to..."
41:53 How many? "All nations and..." What?
41:57 "Then the end will come." Do you want Jesus to come?
42:02 How many of you want Jesus to come?
42:03 It all begins with you, don't be fearful.
42:06 If you have any questions about what happens
42:09 when you write your tithing envelope
42:11 and you put that money in,
42:13 you can see Dee Hilderbrand or me,
42:15 you can even come on a monthly basis
42:17 to the church board meeting and sit down
42:19 and listen to us discuss the business of your church.
42:23 You see here it is, some people don't,
42:25 I've heard somebody said,
42:26 "Well, I don't believe in church."
42:28 Or "I don't believe in the organized church."
42:29 What you believe in the disorganized church?
42:33 Come on now, really.
42:35 I don't believe in organized WalMart,
42:36 I want to go to the disorganized WalMart.
42:39 I want to walk in and out where nowhere anything is,
42:41 really that doesn't even work.
42:43 The devil uses those phrases to frighten you
42:46 but God has a church
42:48 that is organized, can you say amen?
42:51 God is a God of order,
42:52 let all things be done decently and in order.
42:56 Lift up Jesus as our message, lift up Jesus as our only hope,
43:00 lift up Christ as our only means of salvation.
43:05 But it was Jesus that said that when the disciples wondered
43:10 how they're going to help out the Roman government,
43:12 Jesus says go down to the ocean
43:14 and you're going to see a fish open his mouth
43:18 and he found a coin in the fish's mouth
43:19 and he says give to Caesar
43:21 what's his and to God what's His.
43:24 Tithing is not something separate from Jesus
43:27 but let me tell you this,
43:30 you can't pay your way into heaven.
43:33 You can't buy your way into heaven,
43:35 if you don't have a relationship with Jesus,
43:37 you can have as much as you can
43:38 but you will never make the kingdom.
43:41 But giving is a result of a blessing
43:46 that you want to be
43:47 when the Lord has done something to you.
43:49 I remember the story of a man that was about to get baptized
43:52 and he was all dressed,
43:53 he had on his baptismal robe and heap,
43:55 he had on jeans but he forgot his wallet
43:58 in his back pocket he said to the pastor,
43:59 "Wait, wait, don't baptize, my wallet is no..."
44:02 Pastor said, "No leave it,
44:03 I want to baptize your wallet too."
44:07 Some people get baptized but they don't want their money
44:09 to do anything with it.
44:11 If you really believe that Jesus is coming soon,
44:16 Ford, Mercury, GMC, Toyota,
44:20 Honda, Apple Computers, Microsoft
44:23 they all organize
44:25 and so with this beautiful background,
44:27 man, I feel like going to get me a nickel.
44:30 With this view we are making cents, dollars and cents.
44:35 I could tell you some stories.
44:38 David the psalmist said "I am, I've been young
44:44 and now I'm old
44:46 and I've never seen the righteous forsaken
44:51 or a seed begging for bread."
44:53 My wife and I wouldn't be where we are today,
44:56 had it not been for God's faithfulness to us.
44:58 Now notice what I said, had it not been
45:01 for God's faithfulness to us, we were in instances,
45:05 in situations where I remember as a young man
45:07 and I've had so many,
45:08 I can't tell you the more recent stories
45:11 because I'll have to change
45:12 the name to protect those who contribute.
45:15 But God has provided for my wife
45:17 and I in so many wonderful ways.
45:19 Somebody once asked us, he said, "What do you guys do
45:22 that people just feel moved to help you out periodically?"
45:25 And it's not all the time but periodical,
45:27 sometimes you don't know how this is going to be
45:28 and somebody shows up and blesses us with something.
45:32 But I can tell you the stories that are in the past.
45:35 One Sunday morning I was sitting down at our home
45:39 and we were on our way to the airport
45:41 to pick up my wife's brother
45:43 and his wife and their new daughter.
45:46 And I said, "Honey if I only even make $500 dollars a month
45:51 and $349 was for our car payment,
45:53 that's before they put us up in the mountains
45:55 of northern California and cut our salary in half
45:58 to see if I was going to survive.
46:02 I said, "Honey we don't even have food for us
46:04 let alone three more people for a week,
46:08 what are we going to do?"
46:12 So I went to the living room and sat down on my couch
46:14 and I sat there and I...
46:16 You don't always have to kneel down,
46:17 you just sometimes, sometimes you've just got to talk to God.
46:21 And I sat on that couch, I said, "Lord..."
46:22 And my hands, I had a prayer like the church
46:26 I was praying for, I said, "Lord, we have a need.
46:33 I don't know how this need is going to be supplied
46:34 but we have a need."
46:35 I'm sitting on the couch and somebody's at the door.
46:38 I say, "Hold on, I'm almost done...
46:43 hold on, I'm praying, don't interrupt my prayer."
46:51 Cut the prayer short, okay, "Who is it?
46:55 What are you doing here?
46:57 You live like almost 40 miles away
46:59 on the other side of the mountain?"
47:02 And our church member said, you know, this morning
47:03 when I was having my devotions
47:05 the Lord said pastor and his wife has a need
47:09 and she opened her hand
47:11 and put five $20 bills in my hand
47:15 and I stood there and I just began to cry.
47:18 I said "Lord..."
47:20 I wonder you leave your house, she said, well, you know
47:23 it's 40 something miles away,
47:25 I left and she told me how long,
47:26 before you call...
47:28 Yes, amen.
47:30 I will answer, come on, am I telling the truth?
47:32 Anybody got those stories?
47:33 Before you call I will answer.
47:36 And while you are yet speaking, I will hear.
47:40 Now I said I wasn't doing anymore text,
47:43 but I have to read Malachi 3, I've got to do that.
47:46 Open your Bibles.
47:47 We're gonna do Malachi 3:8-11
47:49 and we're going to call this a day.
47:53 Well you know whether we call it a day or not,
47:54 it's a day.
47:57 We're going to go to Malachi 3,
47:59 and I'm gonna give you God's plan in a nutshell,
48:02 verse 8 down to verse 12,
48:06 because this is a serious question.
48:10 This is a serious question.
48:14 I don't know if it was this church or not
48:17 but I remember one Sabbath saying,
48:18 you know, the police are on their way here
48:22 to arrest some of you for robbing God.
48:25 Remember saying that.
48:26 So the police are waiting outside
48:28 for those of you who rob God today.
48:31 Look at the text, Malachi 3:8, this is amazing.
48:35 "Will a man rob God?
48:40 Yet you have robbed Me!
48:42 But you say, 'Okay Lord
48:44 in what way have we robbed You?'
48:47 In tithes and offering."
48:50 See God don't need any money, amen, somebody?
48:55 He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
48:57 the gold and silver is His, if He was hungry,
49:00 He said I won't even tell you...
49:06 But giving is a test of your heart
49:10 and somebody once said, "I can't afford to give,
49:12 you know, what I said to them, you can't afford not to give.
49:15 Look at what He promises.
49:17 Let's go past verse 9, go to verse 10.
49:20 "Bring all that tithes into the storehouse,
49:23 the place where you worship, the place where you fellowship,
49:26 the place where all your needs are being supplied spiritually,
49:30 that there maybe..." What?
49:32 "Food in My house or meat in My house."
49:35 And the Lord says, "And try Me now..."
49:37 And I love the Hebrew that says,
49:38 if you don't believe Me, test Me.
49:41 Try Me out and I could tell you,
49:44 we could tell you that throughout our marriage
49:48 from year to year,
49:49 from one situation to the other,
49:52 we have tried our best to lose stuff
49:56 that God wouldn't even let us lose.
50:05 Then He says, "And try me now and this,"
50:08 Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you,
50:11 the windows of heaven and do..."
50:12 What?
50:13 "Pour out for you such a blessing
50:16 that there will not be room enough to receive it."
50:20 If you want to know how rich God is tonight
50:22 as the little boy said tonight.
50:26 Tell you Ellen described with a little boy
50:28 and I'm going to have the deacons in place
50:30 because we're going to have the offering now
50:32 and the tithing.
50:34 Little boy was sitting next to another little kid,
50:36 you may have heard the story before me so bear with me.
50:41 And the little rich kid told the little poor kid,
50:46 he said, "You see that hill?
50:52 You see that house on that hill,
50:54 that's my daddy's house."
50:59 Little boy had nothing to say.
51:02 He said, "Hey, come here with me."
51:03 Took him down to the, "You see that boat?
51:06 That's my daddy's boat.
51:12 Beautifully laid out, beautifully laid out."
51:15 Then he heard this,
51:19 "See that plane that just flew over,
51:21 that's my daddy's plane."
51:23 And that little boy who had just appeared in tattered jeans
51:26 didn't know what to say.
51:29 He just sat there
51:30 and feeling crushed in his spirit
51:32 and God gave the little boy something to say.
51:37 He said, "Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute.
51:41 You see the house on that hill, my daddy owns that hill."
51:53 He said, "You see that boat floating on the water?
51:55 My daddy owns the water."
51:59 He said, "You see that plane flying in the air?
52:02 My daddy owns the air.
52:06 My father is rich in houses and land,
52:09 he owns the cattle on a thousand hills
52:12 but you'll never know it unless you try him.
52:16 You ain't trying him to bless me...
52:18 'Cause as I said and brother, all your treasures know that
52:22 and nothing you put today
52:23 is coming directly to my account.
52:25 If my check fail to show up, I ain't calling you,
52:27 I'm going to call the conference.
52:31 Because there are other people in other churches
52:32 that are all contributing to the welfare of this church.
52:37 The God has called us as a people,
52:39 if you really believe God, If you believe He is God,
52:43 then you will also believe there is nothing hard for God.
52:47 God ain't your homie, God ain't your boy,
52:52 He is your savior.
52:54 He wants to bless you but you got to try him
52:57 and when we do and when we are faithful,
52:59 not only will we never have to stand up here on any Sabbath
53:03 and say, "We did make our budget."
53:06 But we'll say, "Oh, you are so faithful,
53:10 we are now able to add another program
53:12 to the local church."
53:14 You don't think that personal ministries
53:15 wants the funds to give out more tracts
53:17 for men's ministries, that pavilion that's outside,
53:20 that pavilion that JR and his team worked on.
53:24 You know that happen
53:25 because of you're faithful giving.
53:28 He came up with a vision,
53:30 we could put a pavilion out there,
53:32 put it before the church.
53:33 You know, how some of you make it
53:34 from month to month when your check doesn't show up
53:36 you know, it's private you come to the church to say,
53:41 "You know I'm not making it in this month."
53:42 We save to the church,
53:44 they write a check to help you out,
53:45 that's benevolence.
53:46 Tonight you'll find out how much money goes
53:49 through this little tiny body of believers
53:52 and you'll understand it only happens
53:54 because you trust God.
53:56 When we're going to Africa, show you how to work works.
54:00 When we were going to Africa few years ago
54:03 my wife stood up here and put that before the church.
54:07 It was a number of years ago,
54:08 Abby was a lot younger than she is now.
54:10 I never forgot what she did.
54:13 She was saving up money for a laptop,
54:17 it's a $100 she had, she was saving up
54:21 and she said I want to give you this Sister Angie
54:24 because they need it more in Africa than I needed here.
54:28 She gave that $100
54:31 and then it moved everybody else to start giving
54:34 and she gave some shoes, nice red dress.
54:38 Everybody else started giving
54:39 'cause that young girl decided to do that.
54:41 She said their needs are more important than mine.
54:43 We went down to Africa and we were able to put about
54:46 seven or eight children in school
54:49 with the giving that people have,
54:51 not a penny went in our pocket.
54:53 We have video of the little girl
54:54 wearing the dress that Abby sent
54:55 and somebody else wearing the shoes that she sent,
54:58 that's what giving is all about.
55:00 Systematic, disinterested benevolence,
55:03 you know that means?
55:04 Give expecting nothing in return
55:07 and when you expect nothing,
55:09 God can trust you with everything.
55:11 Loving Father in heaven, we are praying right now
55:14 for the tithe and offering because today our church
55:16 has learned about your benevolent system.
55:19 This is a massive church,
55:22 yet every person every, every grain
55:24 of wheat is needed
55:27 for the whole harvest to be plentiful.
55:29 Every apple on the tree is needed
55:31 for the bushels to be filled.
55:35 Every member is needed
55:36 for another soul to be added to the kingdom.
55:39 So Father help us to understand
55:41 that all we've got to do is try you,
55:43 just put you to the test and we will understand
55:48 that our God is always faithful.
55:51 As the deacons come forward Lord today,
55:52 we pray that You bless the offering,
55:54 that You'll blessed it to the overflowing
55:57 and then when these moneys come from unselfish hearts
56:02 for You love a cheerful giver.
56:05 That those who give cheerfully, those who give abundantly
56:09 and not just out of necessity, you'll pour back into them
56:13 as you said in Your word it will be pressed down,
56:15 it will be shaken together, it will be running over.
56:17 That's Your blessing, that's Your promise,
56:19 You've said that.
56:20 Bless Your children
56:22 for the furtherance of the gospel,
56:24 for the preparation of the soon coming of Jesus
56:26 this we pray in your precious name amen.


Home

Revised 2017-03-02